A weekend of Fairs and Bees!

Our weekend at the Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival was a successful one! The weather was amazing and the crowds were big! We had a very successful fair!

These were very popular and people bought a lot of kits! Guess what I will be making this summer?!

Our honeybees came in! We hived 3 packages this year. With our strong hive dying just a few weeks ago, we started all of them with drawn comb filled with honey.

That little tab lead to the queen. The can was sugar water that still had some food left.

Each queen cage was checked for the health of the queen. All were well and strong. The corked plug was removed to expose the sugar candy plug and they were inverted and startled over the frames so the bees could tend and feed her.

I did add the remainder of the sugar water can for them to finish.

When I hive, I add another body as not to crush the queen. Some think it is too much room. This has been my proven way to hive for a long time and it works for me. I will revisit them in a couple of days to check on the release of the queens. Fingers crossed for a great season!

The Apiary gets a makeover!

It was long over due! The Apiary needed a makeover. I was looking at some last year pics of my bees and noticed bottom boards with mold and our hives just looking dingy. 

This year I will be switching over to Mediums as I get older and don't have the help. The hive bodies are just getting too heavy for me. I would love to have because Tim will not become a beekeeper! We painted each piece a different color so I can keep track of what is what!

We literally broke the whole Apiary down, painted, cleaned and sorted out old equipment. It was daunting but on this beautiful Sunday we got it done! 

And there it is! Our bees arrive this coming weekend and we are ready. I can't wait to see those wonderful creatures flying again! 

A hard Spring takes it toll...

Sadly our only hive to make it through the winter was lost in March. March is the hardest month for a hive. The winter and spring here in Connecticut has been a very hard and cold one. They seem to have broken cluster and were in many small clusters throughout the hive. I found the queen by herself hanging from the top.

The hive was still loaded with frames of honey like this one. There was still candy on the candy board and pollen patties. It seems the cold must have snapped and they weren't prepared. We have new bees coming next week, but was looking forward to bringing this hive through. They were strong, mite counts were very low and they were nasty as get out! 

It's Kit Mania!

As we approach our first Festivals of the year, we reflected on request from last year and looked over notes we took. One of the most requested items was kits! I have worked on prototypes, instructions and supplies for each one. It then began a production line of kits. The winter in Connecticut has been a long and hard one with many snow days.

My Santa Star ornament is now available in a kit complete with everything you need!

Lambs in white or Grey with Lincoln locks included in the kits! They come with complete instructions and everything to make them, even the felting needles.

We are also working on other designs like this little pig with glass eyes. 

Pardon my absence but...

So pardon my absence, we've been a bit busy around here! While having one of the roughest winters in Connecticut that just won't quit, Tim had a hip replacement sending us behind on farm chores for sure! I did my best and with the help of our son, I stayed on top of as much as I could. Tim's on the mend, back to work and we are catching up slowly and preparing for Spring.

On March 29 we said goodbye to our beloved Zoe who was 15. Taking care of her towards the end was hard and took a lot of time. We will miss that precious face as well as her "princess" personality. It's just not the same around here without her.

However, with all the snow days, time taken off to take care of everyone, I was able to produce some new products that we will have at some upcoming shows! At my last show, kits were the most requested thing! We will have a number of new products to choose from at our booth. Look on the side bar for our upcoming events. I feel like I am back in the saddle and ready to go!