June 28, 2009
On June 9th we had just trellised the garden peas and Janis was planting Purple Pod Beans and Lima Beans.
Three weeks of rain has brought things to this. The peas have reached the top of their trellisses and the potatoes are waist high. Both are covered with blossoms. The beans are coming along nicely.
Allen
June 28, 2009
It has been evident for a while that one of Matthew’s hives had outgrown their home and were getting ready to swarm. It obviously had a very healthy and aggressive queen. She has been increasing the numbers of bees steadily and there was a great number hanging outside the hive, nearly covering one side. He had another hive that had been diminishing for some time which was an indicator of a weak queen and its numbers had been steadily decreasing. So Matthew thought he would kill two birds with one stone, so to speak and try to combine the two hives. He did this by killing the queen in the weak hive and forcing them to develop new queen cells. After he was sure new queen cells were there he took half the bees from the healthy hive and put them in the weaker hive with the hope that a new, stronger queen would get the hive going again. After doing this the hive seemed to hold it’s own but he did not want to open it up for a while so that it could get reestablished. The strong hive again began to grow and again began to outgrow their home. He suspected they were about to swarm again but had not had a chance to do anything. It was hoped that if they swarmed, they would do so in an accessible spot and Matthew would be around to catch them.
Well, it happened last week. Grandpa called and said that bees had invaded one of his bushes. Matthew grabbed a hive super that had frames already installed and headed next door. He found the swarm had ensconced themselves in the middle of the bush where they were not too accessible. They could not be brushed into the new hive. Dad said to cut down the bush if necessary but Matthew decided that both the bush and the swarm might be saved.
The box with a funnel made of newspaper to catch the bees was placed below the bush.
And Matthew shook the bush with everything he had, dislodging the bees, causing them to fall onto the new hive. I was amazed to see so many of the insects fall.
After watching for a while we observed that many of the bees were rapidly crawling back up into the bush. This indicated that the queen was still within the foliage. We had to get more aggressive to dislodge the queen. Matthew tied a rope to the branch the swarm was wrapped around and I began to jerk the bush violently, shaking more and more bees into the box. After several attempts, the bees on the box seemed to settle down and stopped climbing back up while those remaining the bush began to crawl down to the box. This was the sign Matthew was looking for that indicated the queen had fallen to the box too.
The box was then moved away from the bush to settle down for a while before Matthew carried the new hive back to the garden area and set up on a new base. Now a week later the old and new hives are doing well and both seem very busy.
Matthew checked the older weak hive where he killed the old queen and he found a new immature queen and several cells with eggs in them. It seems that this hive too will be reestablished. I think that this whole experience was handled well as one hive was turned into three. I wish we could get that kind of return on other investments!
Postscript
There was a funny situation that developed while these events were unfolding that I don’t think Matthew will mind me sharing. Once while he was shaking the bush I noticed that he had dislodged a number of bees, and instead of falling into the box, they landed on his boot. This was while the queen was still in the bush and I noticed some of the bees quickly crawling back up. Only this time they were not climbing up the trunk of the bush, they were crawling up under his pant leg.
I brought this to Matthew’s attention, but I needn’t have bothered because a few seconds after I spoke, his expression told me he knew where they were headed. I was amazed as Mathew calmly (although with wide eyes and an apprehensive grin!) pulled the material away from his leg to allow a passage, undid his belt, opened up his pants while bees flew from his waist band. He did this while gently brushing the other bees from his lower leg.
My stomach was tied in knots, but Matthew kept his cool and did not get stung once. Now there’s a Bee Man, wouldn’t you agree?
You can read about another Bee Adventure by Matthew here. Check out this very hilarious bee story by Herrick Kimball entitled “You Can Feel The Energy”.
Allen
June 19, 2009
Especially for you fathers this Father’s Day.
These are some thoughts I wrote down after a fatal house fire a few years ago. The points are still valid and I thought I would share them today.
April 13, 2005
Today, with several of my firefighting brethren, I attended the funeral of two very small boys who died in a fire at their home last Tuesday. Their mother who was also overcome with smoke fell from the second story window and survived, although she spent several days in the hospital. Many people were in attendance at this funeral for many different reasons. Some were family… some were friends of the family… some were the horror stricken parents of children in the neighborhood who were acquaintances of the boys… some were community members who had simply heard about this calamity and cared. And then, there were seven firefighters who came to pay their respects because they were thrust into the midst of this tragedy, not knowing any of the victims – that is until 10 am last Tuesday. I watched as these firefighters wept for these two little boys, whom they frantically searched for in that blacked-out home. Men who found the lifeless little bodies and cradled them in their arms as they carried them down a ladder – hopefully to be revived – praying they would be OK. These men attended the funeral today because they stared into the eyes of a terrified mother outside her home as they brought these boys out, and they understood… perhaps more than any other what was in her broken heart that morning. I was overcome myself as this trembling, young mother clung to my uniform, unable to let go as she wept for the loss of her precious boys, Isaiah (8 mos.) and Michael (2 ½ yrs.).
I have thought on this incident all day today, and I know that each of these firefighters gave their all to save those boys. They laddered that home and unhesitatingly crawled through that window, into that smoke filled second story without a hose and without hesitation because they knew there was not time to think of their own safety. They gave their all! Would they have done more if they could have? You bet they would have!
This funeral has given me cause to reflect on what I am willing to give up, not only for some stranger, a child or old person in the event of a fire, but specifically for my own wife and children. Am I willing to die for them? I unhesitatingly say “Yes!” O, but that’s easy to say, isn’t it guys! Talk is cheap! But what about when there is no fire, no emergency? What about during everyday life? Are we willing to die for them then?
· Am I willing to die to myself and my agenda to ensure my wife gets the support and help she needs in schooling our boys? Who’se got time for that……. what about the plumbing and the wiring I’m trying to finish? I haven’t even finished the sheetrocking the basement! I can’t keep up as it is!
· Am I willing to die to myself when my sons want me to spend time with them – just because – on their interests? …….But I need to work on other projects, don’t they realize how busy I am?
· Am I willing to die to myself when my wife just needs to talk and I can’t really relate with what is bothering her? …….. I have problems of my own I’m trying to deal with ….. what about me?
· Am I willing to die to myself and give up my own comfort to ensure theirs? ….. Give me a break, my arthritis is acting up, my knees hurt – I can’t do that without hurting for days! Do we really need that done now?
· Am I willing to die to myself and make the time to study God’s word to find out what being a husband and father is all about? …… Lord knows I have enough to do already! Besides, I want to read a book or the paper and relax – not study the bible!
· Am I willing to die to myself when God shows me truths from his word concerning such things as holy living ….. or compromise? ……… Can you spell persecution, isolation? Do you know what people will say?
· Am I willing to die to myself for my family? ……. I have so much else to do….. so much I want!
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away.
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin!
James 4:14 & 17
Brothers, it is sometime much easier to rush into a burning home and give of myself, perhaps my very life to total strangers during an emergency than it is to give of myself and my time to my precious wife and boys. This should not be so!!! God forgive me for my selfishness!! We do not know what tomorrow holds for us. We do not know if we will get another chance to hold our family in our arms an tell them just how much they mean to us, that we appreciate our wives for all they do, that we are proud of our sons for the men they are becoming!
Dads, are you willing?
Give up your life!
Don’t waste another day!
Sincerely,
Allen
June 17, 2009
It is always an exciting day when the first new produce is harvested from the garden each year. We again get to eat fresh vegetables and we no longer have to rely on what has been put up against the winter. In the row shown below, Janis has been growing around 40 varieties of lettuces and greens. Keeping the row thinned has provided lunch for several weeks. In the case of salad greens it doesn’t take a very long row to keep you constantly supplied. It does take diligent thinning and succession planting. This short 25′ row supplies a bountiful harvest for us, my parents, plus our 50 broiler chickens.
Here she is, just before lunch, doing the “shopping”. 
Janis has been getting our lunch fare from this early garden for a few weeks now
Add to that some fresh herbs like cilantro or dill, carrots, boiled eggs from our layers, and baked chicken from our homegrown broilers, cheese, olive oil, a little fruit and lunch has become an event!
Allen
June 16, 2009
Here are just a few pictures of the blooming springtime flowers around the place. Now many guys might not write a post about flowers, but there is a reason.
As a rule, men tend to see things a little differently than do the ladies. Wouldn’t you ladies agree? Well, I’m no different. Before I met Janis, I had only one color and style of shirt, one style of pants, and if I ever went out to eat back then it was for a basic burger or a hamburger pizza. Always the same thing. I guess you could say I was predictable! (some might say “BORING!”) Marrying Janis opened up a whole new world for me and for thirty (30) years it has been her influence that has brought color and beauty into my life. One of the ways she does this is by planting flowers. There are always sweet fragrances wafting through the air and a sense pleasing spot in which to sit and enjoy the surroundings. Color and beauty…. I thought I’d share what’s blooming at this time of year. Keep in mind that I don’t even know all the names of the flowers, I leave the details to Janis. I just get to enjoy! Hope you do too.
Allen
June 13, 2009
I’ve heard the expression – “Get your goat” but it never brought to mind a picture like this. This gives new meaning to the term – Market Fresh!
June 13, 2009
Not everything on our homestead is as we would like it to be. We are not financially able to go “all out” in very many areas (actually none that I can think of!). Consequently….. we make do! We as a family have to live with reality….. and so do all the animals. And that includes the broilers.
Our journey into the world of raising broiler chickens has been ever changing and growing for the last ten years or so. We started small our first year with a very tentative step by raising only 12 birds. Enough for only one bird per month during that 1st year but enough to get our feet wet and boost our confidence. Of course each year we learned more and got braver, increasing the number of birds each year until last year we ordered three batches of 50. For many of those years we had them professionally processed, but have since been doing our own. You can read about that venture in Tyler’s post Raising Chickens for Meat. We have also learned much about what it takes to successfully raise a healthy bird and believe me when I tell you “We’ve made a lot of mistakes too”. In the beginning we fed only prepared poultry feed which contained far too much of everything the chickens didn’t need. The result was extremely fatty birds. Losses were higher as well. We tried to free range them with our layer hens, but Cornish Cross Chickens have long ago had any real survival instincts hybridized out of them and they would hardly range for even one mouthful, let alone subsist on their efforts. They had a whole orchard to range in but would not leave the empty feeders. Their only thoughts are – What time is breakfast? or When is dinner? In an attempt to raise healthier birds we read books on the subject, including Pastured Poultry Profits by Joel Salatin and Chicken Tractor by Lee and Foreman.
One year we tried the Salatin style chicken tractor. We experienced several problems with this style of tractor that were site specific to our property. The design was good but the situation was all wrong. Problems included the following….
It couldn’t be run in our alfalfa or pasture because of the irrigation corrugates. These were deep enough that the birds as well predators could crawl under the wire. Not a good situation where there are any type of predator!
Because of the preceding, we decided to try running them on our lawn. They did make use of some grass, but mostly just for pooping on. Even after moving the tractor twice each day we got tired of the mess and the smell around the house real quick.
The chickens were undoubtedly healthier, but they didn’t eat near the amount of grass that we thought they should.
We’ve tried several methods, but in the end, we do what works for us with what we have.
So how do we get “Grass-Fed Chickens” without putting them on pasture? Instead of taking the chickens to the grass, we bring the grass to the chickens. This is where it comes in handy to have sons with a lawn mowing business. They have the means to harvest all the grass we can use. However this will work for anyone with some grass. A person might need to mow a little each day rather than once a week in order to provide the chickens with fresh grass.
In order to pull this off you have to start when the chicks are only a couple weeks old by adding a little cut grass to their feeders so that they get used to seeing it, associating it with food and developing a taste for it. If you wait until they are older, they would starve before eating the grass.
As the weeks go on the feeders get packed with more and more grass.
If my memory serves me well, I seem to recall that Joel Salatin says his pastured poultry get only about 30 – 35% of their food from grass. By feeding the way we do I believe ours are getting at least 50% and more likely 65% by the time they are six or seven weeks old. We add a good sized handful of brewers yeast to the prepared feed which gives the chickens a big boost in B Complex vitamins and is a rich source of minerals. We buy this in the bulk foods section of the grocery store. We also supplement their diet with all sorts of excess garden produce and scraps. Our birds grow very well, have very little fat on them and have excellent flavor. Another plus in raising them this way is that we do not loose any to heart attacks if they have to go a few extra weeks before we get around to butchering, as Cornish Cross are prone to do. As a rule we like to keep them around 12 weeks which provides us with an average dressed bird that weighs 4-5 pounds. Now, as I said, nothing is perfect here and I would like to have them in a larger run area and I wish we had organic feed available, but we make do with what we have.
As the chickens get older, I like to increase the grass ration rather than the processed feed. It cuts costs and the birds really benefit. They eat the grass with as much gusto as they do the processed food.
We are all familiar with the saying – “You are what you eat”.
I like what Mary Jane Butters‘ has to say on the subject –
“You are more than just what you eat; you’re comprised of all the stuff that went into your food as it grew. In the case of meat, you eat what the animal ate, for better or worse.”
It’s not a perfect system, but it works for us and it is a great way for someone with a small homestead to raise healthier birds.
Allen
June 7, 2009
Janis and I got away together last Saturday and took a drive to the mountains. It is springtime and up there that means “high water”. The rivers are beautiful. See a little of the trip in the following slideshow.
Allen
June 7, 2009
Of Goats and Green
Allen
