Spring at the Prop

I decided to head to the prop for lunch and just take some time with my camera to capture some random shots.

Here's a pic of the old hickory that died, looking back across the old bee yard towards the winter pen.  That stump is so dug in that I gave up trying to get it out.  Instead, I put a mushroom log on top of it to see if the mushrooms will do the job for me.

From 2015-04-09

One of our projects this winter was to clean up the old graveyard.  Here are some markers that are so old, they don't even have a name on them.  They used to be so buried in undergrowth that initially we didn't even know they were there.

From 2015-04-09

Another perspective on the markers.  In the foreground, on the right, you can see the remains of a fire we lit to burn of some of the cut wood.  It's also good for keeping the weeds down.  Nothing will grow on a fire spot for at least 2 years.

From 2015-04-09

I found this weird fluorescent mold growing on a tree back in the forest.  At first I thought it was spray paint, but it was actually mold.  It interesting all the oddities we find back in the primeval forest.

From 2015-04-09

Forest Creatures VII

Latest episode of Forest Creatures.  We have a few encore performances from Bob Cat and Arnold Dillo as well as the Mutt family.

Devils Urn

I found some nice clumps of Bulgaria Inquinans (Devil's Urn) mushrooms tonight. Unfortunately they're not good for much unless you're northern Chinese and have spent a lifetime building up a resistance to the toxins.  I'm also seeing a lot of Oyster mushrooms but haven't had the nerve to try eating any of them.

From 2015-04-15

On the bee front, it looks like our hive survived the winter and it's starting to ramp up production.  We're seeing a lot of bees in the hive and the queen is laying eggs

From 2015-04-15

The brood pattern isn't as solid as I'd like to see though.  I'm definitely going to need to look at re-queening in the fall.

From 2015-04-15

This picture is a good example of the bee life cycle.  On the far right are eggs.  In the center are larvae (curled up in  C shape) and on the left are pupae, getting ready to come out as bees.

From 2015-04-15

The population seems strong, although I'm praying they don't swarm.  We're seeing a few queen cups (not capped) so I'm a little nervous.

From 2015-04-15

Checking the frames.

From 2015-04-15

For some reason, they keep building this snake-like burr comb.  We've cleaned it away several times but they keep building it back.  Strange.

From 2015-04-15

Forest Creatures VI

This week's episode of Forest Creatures.  The odd thing on this video (and some of the others) is that the critters always seem to be going the same direction on the trail.

Forest Creatures V

The latest episode of Forest Creatures.  This week's surprise star is the Angry Turkey.  You don't want to mess with this guy.