Happy Harvest Blog

14/05/2016 14/05/2016

The bees are thriving

H.W. has been watching them every day, and reporting that the bees HATE the "door" (the entrance limiting stick). We've been having warm days, and the inbound flights start bottlenecking at the entrance mid-morning. Then he pulls out the stick and "the bees BOIL out!". It takes a few minutes to rebalance, like traffic after an accident is cleared. Then the bees come shooting in and out like a time lapse video of La Guardia at 16x

Pollen baskets!

Today I had my face quite close watching a sodden bee (who could at first only wave one antenna to let me know she lived), pull herself back inside when a small black flying insect landed on the bee porch for a rest- just a little gnat.

Instagram.

I may not make a blog post every day, but at least I Insta.
Bite size.

#HeatWave. It’s this kind of day. The #pigs are just going to sleep in the #wallow today.

#BlackBerkshires #pasturepigsarehappypigs #PasturedPigs #electricfence

Moved the #pigs deeper into the woods, including some dense balsam fir. I didn’t expect them to be excited about it, but that is one deeply asleep and well shaded pig in the densest of the firs.
#blackberkshire #pasturedpigs #pasturedpigsareha

The two mamas co-mothering nine chicks are just amazing. So adorable; I’ve never seen this before. The #chicks are so quiet, I almost never hear peeping, they’re so well cared for.

#MamaHen #FreeRangeChickens #DailyChicken #chickensofins

You know it’s hot when the chickens are hiding in the pine tree at nine in the morning.
#FreeRangeChickens #DailyChicken #ChickensOfInstagram #Heatwave #Shade #perchingbird

First plucking of chamomile flowers. Finally got some plants established, and lots of wild #chamomile as well, but those aren’t flowered yet. Later my bees will benefit from this.

#Herbs #Harvest #honeybees

The five. Cream puff’s five spring #chicks are all independent now, they’re always together and a little chick posse. The roosters are showing! They are the ones standing here. Already guardians.

#DailyChicken #ChickensOfInstagram #freer

I don’t know if I’d be into having my boyfriend stand over me like this when I was in the bath, but hey, chickens be different. Cleopatra having a dust bath while Shanti the rooster watches over her. Very, very closely.

#DailyChicken #Ch

It’s so hot!! I got these guys out of the hoop house in the nick of time, but even out in the breeze the beating sun is unbearable. I stretched a huge tarp as a sunshade today and it’s much nicer. I crawled under to test and it is cooler.

Coop move! Silkies are all “what?” over the grass. It’s so hot. Haaaawt.
#dailychicken #chickensofinstagram #chickentractor

Close. So close.
#DailyChicken #ChickenBedtime #FreeRange #Chicks #ChickenCoop #ChickensOfInstagram

Find the #Pig. Just a black pig having a lie down after breakfast and becoming invisible.

#PasturedPigs #BlackBerkshires #ElectricFence

The youngest chick on the go is at large in the big chicken world with mama (clearly no biological relation)

#DailyChicken #ChickensOfInstagram #Silkies #motherhentouring

Pine tree date! These two, perching in the pine tree.

#dailychicken #chickensofinstagram #freerangechickens #heritagechickenscanada

I love the tiny pearls of dew that decorate the edges of leaves in the morning

#windowbox

Mulch party! I laid down paper feed sacks with leaves and chips and wood on top, so that drew a crowd. They would scratch in it, and then look at the paper beneath like they were disappointed. That’s not what they usually get for scratching lea

It’s perching hour! The chickens like to cluster up after breakfast for a roost and a preen.
#dailychicken #ChickensOfInstagram #freerangechickensarehappychickens

These are both very sensitive hens so I didn’t move them out of the nest boxes when they went broody(same day) and all the other hens are livid, outraged, furious. “I’ve been laying eggs in THAT box for YEARS!” Daily indignant

Here come the chicks! Five little chicks of Cream Puff’s, and they’ve made the journey down the trail to the house, still a little uncomfortable to be so far from the familiar, but Mom’s coaching them.
#mamahen #dailychicken #chick

Drama in the hencoop today. Cheeks was pissed that the nest box was STILL occupied and there was much complaining. Hens have been laying in the corners of the coop. #adaptation

#dailychicken #layinghens #ameracuana #chickencoop #chickensofinstagram

Just chillin’ together under the coop... a little more alert now that I’m taking a picture.
#dailychicken #chickensofinstagram #freerangechickens

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