But Mom!!!

"But Mom, he started it" is the look I got from Norman after coming to Winchester's aid after he was being picked on by Norman! I tried very hard to be stern and tell him under no circumstances is it nice to pick on his brother with a straight face!

It's usually Norman who gets picked on by Teddy or Awan so he can't understand why he is in trouble here!

He even moved closer to me as if to say "but mom, no fair"!!! Did I approach this situation with a straight face, of course not! These guys are hysterical and cause me great joy with their antics!

Making soil is easy!

A few months ago we built a new compost bin out of simple pallets. It was free wood and is a great sustainable way to make your own compost and soil! We used 4 pallets, joined them together and the front was lowered to be able to get in and turn the compost. It really is easy, making the commitment to put your kitchen scraps in the compost and not in the garbage, that's future soil you're throwing away!

With all the rabbit poop, hay, food scraps and what have you, it's filling up quickly!

In our old compost that we are now utilizing, we saw an experiment about putting a pair of jeans in the compost to see how fast the worms will eat them. I came across this waist band and noticed the worms had eaten the rest! 

This is the soil from our older compost! Just amazing black gold! I have repotted many pots, replenished my garden beds and every flower got some when it was planted. So much money was saved and it was so easy!

A Queen Experiment

As I was strolling through my Facebook feed, I noticed my friend Susan had posted that she found this Queen in her bee yard surrounded by about 10 workers. It's suspected as a cast off swarm but it could very well be a mated Queen. Our Hive 4 has been struggling. I noticed they had lost their Queen, I made an attempt to add two frames of eggs and brood but to no avail, they are just a dumb bunch of girls in there! 

I quickly answered my friend that I was looking for a queen and she said I could have her! She offered to rush her over and she did. I gave her a couple of drops of honey which she promptly devoured. She looks healthy, her abdomen is swollen, so she may have just mated.

My friend plugged the hole with a marshmallow so I taped the end and placed a rubber band over it to keep her in there for a few days. In no time the workers came up to see what was going on. This one is cleaning up some of the leftover honey.

Soon many of the bees where coming up to investigate and I am sure they are detecting her pheromones as well.

As I watched, more arrived! We will leave her in the queen cage for a few days. At this point if we were to introduce her, they would kill her. I will revisit in a day or so to see if they are tending to her, fingers crossed!

Marking 10 years of shearing

It was up and at 'em early this morning, shearing at 8:00 a.m. meant we had to get set up, harness up the boys and be prepared. Shearing can go quick if you are organized and ready. The boys and girls knew something was up! The looks on their faces tells you they have been here before! Could it be time for haircuts already?

Autumn watched and made sure no one got out of hand.

Our 2 Angora goats relaxed and let it happen. They got manicures too! We counld't do it without these two guys from Twist of Fate, Rick (left) and Jeremiah (right). They have been our shearers for the past 10 years, always a superior job well done!

The boys did well but of course, but we had a screamer! You would figure after 10 years of  shearing they'd be use to it, but no! So that's a wrap! Now on to getting some fleeces processed and spun!

Chick graduation day

Our first patch of chicks have graduated to the outdoor starter coop! Autumn is checking out her new chargers that she will watch over. 

The girls took to their new home, scratched and pecked around. These breeds are Golden Laced Wyandottes, a single Buff Orphingto and Americanas.

This chick is a Blue Americana. A dream chicken for us.

Another Americana with Blue tints, just beautiful. It`s great to have them as chicks but when they grow so fast, its great to get them out. We have other new breeds that will be heading out soon too!

In search of the Queen

Since acquiring our bees a few weeks ago, Hive #4 has been struggling. During routine inspections I noted that the Queen was just walking around, no eggs,  no baby bees and the bees didn't seem to be interested in attending to her. To save the hive, which would have perished without a Queen, I borrowed a frame from each of the stronger hives. The frames had eggs and bee larvae. This was done in hope that they would grab a few and create a Queen. If you look at the above picture (which is upside down) that is a queen cell that is capped. Note the little white worm looking things in the cells, those are baby bees under 10 days old.

On this frame there are a couple queen cells and more baby bees!

If you look in the 2 larger cells visible on this frame, especially the one on the left, in there is a baby Queen! So there is  hope for this hive after all! Fingers crossed that they are successful in rearing a Queen!

Solving Life's problems one step at a time

I was in a local department store and I saw it, the beacon, a ray of hope, the solution to one of my biggest issues, sweating in my bee suit. Last year I bought a vented bee suit and that helped but the veil still can be so hot. But then I found this mini fan! 

Today for the first time, I anchored it on a part of the bee suit and it fit perfect! 

I them turned it on, and oh my! I went to work in the bee yard and didn't sweat once! I was in pure heaven! Who knew? A simple $3.00 mini fan could solve one of my biggest issues with keeping my bees!

And while I was toiling away in the bee yard, Tim here was enjoying himself a cocktail! Well I guess we are both happy!

Failure to Thrive

Failure to thrive in chicks can have many under lying causes. The issue can range from nutrition, proper heat, parasite issues, bacterial issues, or a lack of proper organ development. These 2 chicks were the same exact age. The larger one grew, was healthy and thrived. She began to develop feathers. These two chicks were over 2 weeks old here. The smaller one struggled and did not thrive. I had made a decision to cull the smaller one but she passed within an hour of this picture. This is the sad reality of raising chickens. 

The Flock, ever expanding...

This year and probably our final year, we are adding new breeds to the flock. 

We added some of my dream breeds to the flock and I can't wait to see them grow!

These Golden Wyandottes are just the cutest! 

I made them dig for this Blue Americana! I'm just in love! We also added Buff Orpingtons, Cuckoo Marans, Speckled Sussex, Laced Wyandottes, Welsummers, Olive Easter Eggers, Blue Andalusian and my favorite, Lavender Orpingtons! 

This year we also invested in this chick warmer. It's safe and adjustable. A friend recommended it to me and I just love it. As the chicks grow, it grows with them. I love the dome on it, they can't sit on it and poop all over it!

With 30 new little peeps on board, our brooder is full. My grandfather would be proud, WE are using his old stainless steel tub. It has come into good use.

Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival 2019

The Connecticut Sheep and Wool Fest is behind us now and we'd like to thank all those who shopped and supported us!  We had an amazingly great day even with the cold and windy weather ripping through the barns!

Thanks to Naomi who not only let me borrow this amazing shabby chic shutter but also gave me a ride to the Festival. Between her and Tim they got me there and back! 

Our sign hung proud...

Of course I had to feed my fleece addiction! This beautiful Corriedale fleece was ear marked for the Historical Society but a nice friend graciously donated the exact same fleece for the Society so it's all mine!

A neighbor booth had these beautiful pin keeps! I just wished they had one in a raccoon! I didn't get a chance to look around much but what I saw, the other vendors had some very nice things!

Maple syrup sold by our neighbor! Of course Tim had a chat with him.

One of the best pieces of news I heard was that the Festival is moving next year! The Festival will be closer to home and we are excited! 

The things you'll find!

Today I was cleaning out the hives to get them ready for the bees who will be arriving over the next couple of days. I opened the first hive and found this beautiful wolf spider just sitting there. She was moved over to an empty box and hopefully she will move on.

The next hive, when I opened it I thought I saw something poke it's head up but I thought I was seeing things. I pulled some frames out and found this nest. If you look close, it is made with alpaca fiber! The alpacas are a good distance away from the hives so this mama mouse has been working over time making the perfect nest.

When I pulled the box off, a mouse ran under the hive with 2 of her babies attached to her. She left these two behind! I quickly covered it back up and left the area. You can see the milk in their bellies so they were recently fed.

I left the entrance open slightly like she had it. I did check back a couple of hours later, she had returned the other 2 back to the nest thank goodness! I left her a couple pieces of kibble and will allow her to use the hive until she is done raising her babies!

Signs of Spring!

Signs of Spring are everywhere! We are so busy getting ready for Spring! The crocus are up!

These gorgeous daffodils are up and open. I did not plant these, they popped up on the hill a few years ago. Whatever type they are, they are gorgeous!

The Elderberry bushes we planted last year are budding and we are excited to see if we get berries this year!

It wouldn't be Spring without chicks! These girls arrived today, so sweet and tiny! They are Golden Laced Wyandottes. We are so excited to add these to our flock! These girls were early arrivals, with more chicks coming in a couple of weeks. We will be adding another new breed then as well. 

Can you stand the cuteness? OMG they are so cute! The sound of peeping from the dining room keeps drawing me to go stare at them. Welcome Spring and the busy season to prepare! 

We seem to have an under acheiver!

It's seems we have an under achiever or did this chicken forget something?! Small eggs like this happen in the process of the chicken laying. Some terms for these small eggs are called "Fart eggs' "dwarf eggs" or "fairy eggs".

This happens when the chicken doesn't have a yolk for the egg to develop around. They can range in size to even smaller than the one pictured. We don't see this often but it is funny when you are collecting eggs and one is there.

Too pink?

Is there such a thing as too pink? You bet it is! I was trying to go for a subtle pink, soft and baby like but got this! Did I read my notes on the bottle? That would be no! So I have dyed 7 ounces of alpaca fiber the very color I didn't want. However, there is truly no such thing as a dyeing mistake because you can always use it for something. 

Happy April everyone! April is such a busy time here on the farm! Baby chicks, honeybees and baby bunnies are all on the way! So stay tuned for some adorable cuteness overload! This year we are introducing some new breeds of chickens to our flock! Enjoy the warm weather and get outside! Winter is over and new life is everywhere!