Bee Oasis

Look what we did yesterday!

We inherited this cute little pond from David's grandma and we worked hard yesterday to get it installed in the garden area behind our back porch. It was a little bare back there, so we thought this would add a nice touch to the yard and work double duty as a bee oasis!

When planning out the space, David had the idea to plant some flowers that the bees would like. He went to the store and saw some Russian sage that the bees were going crazy over, so he picked up some of that for our new backyard space.

We really didn't have a water source for the bees other than a bucket set up close to the hive, so this will also work as a great way for them to get water. The bees do need something to land on while drinking, so we will probably add some more plants like lily pads to make sure they stay safe while getting drinks.

I'm really happy with how it turned out and I think it makes such a nice addition to our yard. I love sitting on the porch swing listening to the water flow in the pond. It's so calming and soothing. Eventually we may get some fish for the pond as well; I'd love to see some colorful koi fish swimming around in there!

~Tammy

Feathered Friend Friday: Broody Guinea

Welcome to our series "Feathered Friend Friday." Every Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.   

We recently found a nest of guinea eggs in our garden, and I was excited because I love to cook with guinea eggs. Our guineas free range, so their eggs boast yolks that are bright orange with a rich, buttery taste. Guineas will not return to a nest if their eggs have all been removed, so I left a few and marked them so I could just take the freshly laid eggs at the end of each day.

We had been doing this for a week or so, when one day David noticed a guinea sitting on the eggs late in the day. It seems like we usually have at least one broody guinea each season, so I figured this was the case with our garden guinea.

My suspicions were confirmed when she was still on the nest the next morning and all through the day. She has been sitting for a few days now and hisses when I come near, so she is definitely trying to hatch out some keets. There are probably only about six or seven eggs under her, so luckily we won't have too many more guineas running around (our current count is somewhere near 30 and that's just about enough for us!).

She's in a pretty well covered spot in one of our garden beds, so I think she is safe there. I really didn't want to let any guinea hens hatch out more keets this year, but David said we should just let her do her thing and not intervene at all. Last time we rounded the keets up and took care of them until they were grown, but this time we will just let mama do her job and leave the rest up to nature.

So here in a few weeks we may have some little keets running around following behind their mama! Of course I will be ready, camera in hand, to capture all the insane cuteness.

PS - Go here to see our adorable batch of keets that hatched last fall.

~Tammy

Shared with The Backyard Farming Connection Hop 

Pollen-Bound Hive?

Upon an inspection of the beehive a few weeks ago, we noticed there was very little brood and we couldn't find the queen. We were really worried that we may have killed her somehow (every first time beekeeper's worst nightmare). David was making arrangements to buy a new queen ASAP so our hive wouldn't be too affected by her absence, but before we jumped the gun we contacted a few experts for their opinions (thanks for all your help, Natalie!).  We decided first of all to conduct a very thorough search of each frame to make absolutely certain that we did not have a queen before buying a replacement.

And what do you know, we found her!

We were so relieved once we spotted the queen, but still worried about the lack of brood. During the summer when they are foraging nonstop, worker bees only tend to live about six weeks. They basically work themselves to death. If the queen hasn't laid any new eggs in a while, the hive population could drop drastically in a short period of time. So this led us to do more research on why our queen would not be laying up to her full potential, and we reached the conclusion that she may be pollen bound. Many of the frames were so packed with pollen (and also honey, but not as much as pollen) that it seemed the queen had nowhere to lay her eggs. David figured we should switch around some of the frames, moving some that were still somewhat empty over by where the queen was hanging out. By giving her some frames with space to lay eggs, we hoped she would ramp up production.

While I was at work yesterday, David opened the hive to take a quick peek and noticed a lot more brood. Success! We caught the problem fairly early on and were able to solve it with a little research and following our instincts. So far there has been such a steep learning curve to this whole beekeeping adventure (which I fully expected) but I'm glad we are learning so much about them. After all, if everything went perfectly, we wouldn't learn much, right? At least that's what I keep telling myself!

~Tammy

Pioneer Women Outing: Lavender Farm

Each month a group of women in my family and some of our friends get together to do different activities, many of them focusing on old skills that have been lost like food preservation or soap making. We call ourselves the pioneer women and this past weekend our group took a little field trip to a lavender farm near St. Louis. It was such a great time!

When we arrived, the owner of the farm gave a very thorough and interesting talk on lavender and all its beneficial uses. I really had no idea that lavender was so great for medicinal purposes! I've always heard about the cosmetic uses, but actually it sounds like it is a wonderful all-natural cure for just about anything that ails you. It can help wounds heal faster, alleviate symptoms from allergies or sinus issues, and can also act as a sleep aid.

Dried lavender can also be used in cooking, and after the talk we had our lunch which featured some of the lavender grown there on the farm. With my veggie wrap I had a wonderful spinach strawberry salad with a balsamic vinaigrette infused with lavender. To drink I had lavender lemonade, and for dessert it was a chocolate brownie with dried lavender. Everything was so delicious!

After lunch I was ready to go pick some lavender for myself. They have several different varieties growing at the farm, and I was sure to harvest my lavender from the variety used for culinary purposes. If you use a different type of lavender, it can be very overpowering and slightly bitter in your food.

I was so thrilled to see bees everywhere! They actually have two beehives at the farm but they were all sold out of honey. I wish I could have tasted some - I bet it is heavenly!

After I had collected my lavender bundle, I spent a little time walking around the property and taking in the beautiful scenery. There were several small ponds and a cute old barn making up the landscape.

To end the time at the farm, we headed up to the gift shop where they sell all sorts of wonderful products created with their lavender. I purchased some lavender essential oil (made from steam distillation) so I could try making a few of my own cosmetic items at home.

It's always fun to spend time with my pioneer women. The lavender farm was the perfect destination for our outing for the month of July!

~Tammy

Shared with Tuesday Muse, Eco Kids Tuesday, Barn Charm