November Hill farm journal, 101 (bee hives!)

We had some sunshine after last week’s daily rain but then shifted back to rain yesterday with a late afternoon thunderstorm. Today it’s overcast but thankfully not raining! Time to dry out a little bit so the daily routine can get back to normal.

Saturday morning it was dry and not too hot, and our honeybee nuc delivery from western NC went off without a hitch. I coordinate an annual bee nuc purchase and delivery for our county, bringing in VSH honeybees with terrific genetics and sweet natures. 7 Stands Farm is a family-owned business and they are wonderful to work with.

I got home with two new nucs and my husband helped me get them down to Arcadia. We opened the nuc box entrances so they could fly and start to settle in. Late Saturday afternoon we went down to install them into their permanent hive boxes. The bees were super busy when we opened the first nuc up and since our smoker wouldn’t stay lit and husband was getting a little bit agitated himself, I decided we should give them the entire day and overnight to settle in. We closed everything back up and called it a day.

Yesterday, Sunday, we went down at 11 with a well-lit smoker and got rolling. Things went perfectly. These nucs are thriving, with many bees packed on the five frames. We decided to go ahead and put a second hive box on both, and we fed all three colonies with 1:1 sugar syrup with some Honey Be Healthy added, since our main nectar flow is now over. Bees need nectar to build new comb, and 1:1 syrup closely resembles nectar. They need new comb in order to build out their frames to grow new brood, store the pollen to feed them, and to make and store honey for the winter. That’s the life cycle of the honeybee, and why we won’t be taking any honey from these colonies this year. They’ll need all they can make for their own survival.

After making a decision to put the new hive boxes in my potager, I changed my mind the day before the nucs arrived. While the potager is at the end of the paddock and fenced off from horses and donkeys, if for any reason we needed to move the hive after putting bees in it, we’d have to do a gradual move through the back pasture, through Poplar Folly, and finally down into Arcadia. It could be things would go fine in the potager, but there’s also a chance the bees would have bothered the horses. So we moved the hive boxes Saturday morning and all three are in Arcadia, well away from the herd and, honestly, in a little bit of heaven down there right now with all the things blooming. They can and do fly up to the pollinator beds by the house. I think the decision to keep all the hives together is the right one.

So, here they all are.

Echo is the hive we installed the end of March. They were able to to take full advantage of the nectar flow and have built out their brood box and have a great start building out the second hive box. They stayed busy in their usual foraging routine yesterday while in the literal center of the installing activity. Thankfully we have plenty of room to space these hives out so they weren’t really bothered by all the new bees flying around!

Artemis hive was the agitated one on Saturday. They were very focused on us as we opened up the nuc and getting in our faces more than is usual. They never bumped me but with agitation spreading to my husband, it felt like a bad combination. Yesterday, with more time to settle in and my husband and I both well-rested and ahead of the heat of the day, things went perfectly. I’m happy they’re in their new home and hope they use the syrup to get rolling with comb building. Thankfully the inkberry hollies are now in full bloom, so along with all the wildflowers in Arcadia, the pollinators I’ve planted in Poplar Folly, and the pollinator beds coming into full bloom at the house, they have plenty to forage as well.

And finally, Hegemone. They are in the spot where I had the two hives last year. I’ve been keeping an eye on the area for the past few months after big rains, insuring that we’re not seeing a lot of water run-off. I’ve done some work uphill from the area to address the run-off, and it’s paying off. There is one dry stream bed that flows when we get huge rainfall in a short period of time, but it’s well in front of the hive and shouldn’t bother them at all. These bees have been super active since we got them off our truck, finding a way out of their nuc box before we even opened it. Even today they’re still flying about, but they’re in their new and spacious home now and can hopefully finish settling in today and get to work foraging.

We had a little drama yesterday early evening, after the deluge, when our county bee group posted an email about a swarm report (we get a lot of calls from the community when people find swarms of honeybees, which we love, because instead of people killing them, we can send out experienced beekeepers to collect the swarms and install them in hive equipment) that was less than a mile from November Hill. I had a moment of paranoia that one of our nucs had swarmed and husband ran down to check on them. They were fine. Whew! I am not an experienced beekeeper and have not yet collected a swarm, so I’m glad we didn’t have to yesterday!

Several people were going to coordinate to get someone over to the swarm before nightfall. We’re lucky to be in a county with a large number of experienced beekeepers, many of whom are certified and have gone on to meet requirements for journeyman and master beekeeper. We also have a very active beekeeping association, so we have a lot of support in general.

I’m glad the bees are home and we can help keep them happy and healthy as we move toward summer, then fall, and into winter.

A few rainy day photos in lieu of native plant posts

It’s been raining all week and still have another day to go, so I’ve not been out much. I took a peek this morning from the front porch and ran down during a break in the rain to take a few photos of some flowers getting ready to come out. The echinacea seem like they’re just waiting for a bit of sunshine to really pop.

The milkweed are slowly coming out. That is a stunning echinacea bloom to be standing tall on the right.

 These are ??? - what are they? I’m going to have to wait until the flowers come out and identify them.

 Here they are from above:

On a different note, about six months or so ago I stopped buying dishwashing liquid in plastic bottles. I got a lovely wooden dish brush and a block of white soap that is finally down to a sliver. Both came packaged in nothing but brown paper, compostable or reusable as wrapping paper.

When it came time to reorder, this olive oil soap was back in stock and check it out! Perfect for November Hill, good for the environment, a pleasure to use when washing hands and dishes.

November Hill farm journal, 100

Wow - 100 farm journal posts!

The heart of November Hill is the house, but the barn is so close behind the house I count it as part of it.

This week we’re having a multi-day rain event, which hasn’t happened in awhile. We need the rain but having it stretched out over 5 days is not my idea of a good week. But I’m rolling with the weather since I cannot control it!

I reorganized who is where in the barn this week. They come in for the day now and I’ve moved Keil Bay into the double stall open to barn aisle + big barnyard. This is the “special” place to be and was originally given to Salina and the donkeys when she got older and needed special attention. 

Keil would say, if he could talk, that he has always been deserving of special attention (and I assure you he has gotten it). Now that he’s 31, he gets the barn aisle during the spring/summer seasons. The barn aisle is coveted because you get the full fan effect there, and you get to survey all the stalls, plus have access to the big barnyard. It’s where the humans enter the barn, so any time one of us goes out, Keil can get to us easily. 

Cody has moved into what was, years ago, “his” stall - on the house side of the barn. That stall opens into the rear shelter and the little barnyard, which is also an active area for the humans when doing chores. 

Apache and Rafer have moved to the far side of the barn, with their end stall open to the dirt paddock. It’s not quite as spacious as it used to be for the donkeys, who went right through the rubber fencing into the arena and on through to the back pasture. Now that we have the board fencing between dirt paddock and arena, they are thwarted.

Redford is allowed to be a “floater.” He’s a good citizen and is rewarded by getting his choice of roommate for the day. Rafer and the pony have become super bonded and they sometimes leave Redford out, so he often chooses to hang out with Keil or Cody, and any time one of us is at the barn and he wants to switch places, he is allowed to. 

The only downside to this plan is that Keil Bay is, and I say this with all affection, a total slob. He drops manure up and down the barn aisle, not bothering to move so much as an inch from where he happens to be standing. The others helpfully go out to their own dedicated manure pile areas, keeping their stalls and shelters clear and making muck duty super easy. With Keil I have to literally muck around his hooves. This has always been the case, and it always will be, so all I can say is that is just who he is. The King.

Otherwise the vegetable garden is doing really well, the pollinator beds are too, bees are good, dogs and cats are good, and while I’m always playing catch up with my various projects, I’m good too. I had a lazy day today, stayed in PJs until 4 when I had a webinar on developing a pitch deck for TV series projects, and now I’m listening to the rain fall and wondering where all the hours went. It’s too late to take a nap and too early to go to bed.

I think I’ll get out the dog brushes and work on Bear Corgi. He is a fluffy and while wonderful in every way, his coat is a grooming nightmare!

Here’s to sunshine before Saturday, when the two bee nucs arrive!

Milkweed ready to pop!

Just now:

We have rain moving in for the next several days - I hope it gives everything a good watering without messing up the blooms of the milkweed and other things getting ready to come out. This is going to be a big bright orange focus in my front pollinator bed when it peaks!

The sweet bay magnolia’s first bloom ever!

This is one of three sweet bay magnolias I planted last fall. Two have buds, and this one has this new bloom as of yesterday!

The flower almost fills my hand, and has a beautiful, sweet, but not overpowering scent. I’m so glad I planted these native trees!