Well, our cruise in April kind of threw me off my posts and am just now catching back up again. Instead of trying to recreate the whole summer, I figured it would be easier to do it in one fell swoop.
It's been a hot summer but it didn't seem to bother the bees. We were able to add three new hives that have survived so far. We also had our rock star hive give us one of the best seasons we've had so far. The bees in the pic above spent most of the summer hanging out on the front porch like that. At first I thought they were overcrowded, but after inspecting, I came to the conclusion that they were just hot and liked hanging out on the porch, catching the evening breeze.
Seth took his buddies down in the Knife Slash sink hole.
The bees loved having the watering trough to get their water. I put a board in it to make it easier and prevent drowned bees. It worked pretty well although they seem to prefer hanging out on the side despite the board.
I've been working hard on the new field all summer. It's satisfying to see how much it's improved but kind of depressing how much there is left to do.
Got the fence painted and did some clearing by it. There are still some big cedars that I left, but after looking at them for a month or two, I think they have to go. They're just too scraggly.
I stepped up my beekeeping this summer and added more hives. I also stepped up my inspections. It was painful, literally. Several times the bees got so mad they stung through my heavy gloves.
The never ending process of planting fence posts. I've developed a new system that works pretty well. I haul a trailer with all my gear which includes a generator, jackhammer, machete, concrete, breaker bar, post hole digger, extension cord and a chainsaw. With my mobile post operation I can put in a post just about anywhere a 4-wheeler can go.
Here's a before and after shot of the big field I've been working. We're getting close.
The unexpected arrival of Simple Jack the donkey on Valentines day really screwed up my fencing plans this year. I spent a big part of the summer fixing fences he'd destroyed. Electrifying the summer pen was part of that process.
I found that my overalls, despite being stylish and comfortable are also great for carrying parts while I'm working
Since I got into the bee biz, identifying wildflowers has become an interest of mine. Usually I'm able to track them down but this pretty flower has so far eluded identification.
Brown eyed Susans had a good year
Sarah was a big help getting the 2nd corner post set on the new field. It was a lot of work, but you could hit it with a truck and it wouldn't move.
All this time doing bees and I've never seen one actually working a flower until this summer. We were ecstatic to see this one working a flower in a far corner of the property this summer.
Part of the anti-Simple Jack fencing program included building a solar tower for fence energizing box. I was really happy with how it turned out.
It's been so long since I've worked the bee field that it's getting all grown in with grass. I need to either scrape it or bush hog it soon.
Mid summer moon rise over the old shed.
More bee inspections. This frame looked a little sporadic, but there is still a lot of capped brood and larvae in various stages.
After taking a year off, we decided to get back into goats again after finding a really cheap deal on them. Hopefully these will fare better than the last ones
Sadie isn't too sure about her new buddy. Part of the reason for getting them is to give Sadie some company, but the goats pretty much stick to the sink hole so Sadie is still alone since Simple Jacks mysterious disappearance.
The third, and hardest, corner post so far. Only one more corner to go. Look for more updates to come since we're all caught up now.
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