Happy Harvest Blog
I WENT TO THE LIBRARY AND CAME HOME WITH A CHICKEN
I went to the library bus and while I was in the parking lot, the manager of the liquor store popped outside and waved me down, asking me to come to the store before I left. What in the world, I wondered, could I be required in the liquor store for? Who knows, though, really. It's a small town. Well. It turned out to be about a chicken. There was a hen that had appeared some days ago and was living in the snowbank and brambles behind the liquor store.
MY FIRST SWARM!
It seemed to go pretty well. I was getting bees into the box. Only thing, they seemed to want to come out of the box. It was like a really slow boil over. I'd dump bees in, they'd flow back over the top of the box. I'd scoop them back in with my hands.
CHICKEN LOVE STORY
Cream Puff is back! To catch up, I sold some chicks, and thought it would be in everybody's best interest for Mom to go with the chicks. So Cream Puff (The Fierce) went along with all her chicks to a new home, and the plan was that once her chicks didn't need her anymore, she would come back to me. Updates filtered back: the same day her sister Perchick, still at home, turned up her beak at her chicks and went on an extended date with Philippe, Cream Puff dropped her chicks, and embarked on a romantic holiday with their rooster, Chris.
PIGS FIRST MOVE
(David Attenborough voice) After the new enclosure has been prepared for these lucky piglets, the fence is parted, allowing access to the abundant unspoiled greenery this species thrives upon. But how long will it take them to discover their new freedom? Their attendant retrieves the food bowls they are familiar with and places them in plain view just beyond the fence opening, filling them with fresh food. The young pigs observe these proceedings with interest but from a distance.
BIRDHOUSE FACTORY
I allowed myself to have a part of a day where I just did something that I just wanted to do, instead of needed to be done (like solar re-wiring, or boundary maintenance). And it was even more glorious than imagined. made three flower boxes, and seven birdhouses, although I didn't get to any decorative ones, just the robust functional ones the birds actually use. They're headed for the garden fence posts, etc. Probably too late for this year's nesters, but who knows. Spring birdhouse maintenance is going to become a day project. I saw a tree swallow!
OPENING THE HIVE
I got my first chance to get into the hive. We´ve had a warm, early spring, so I've been feeding them, and anxious for the right warm day to come, so I can give them the third super. They´ve been unwrapped since the end of April, but this is the first time I´m going to the bottom of the hive, and the inner lid is coming off.
RECYCLING CALENDARS
2017 is a repeat of 2006, which was only ten years ago.Those 2016 calendars you just finished with come back around in 2044.
CHRISTMAS GIFT SACKS
Consider a reusable alternative to gift wrap. These use up scrap fabric, can be gifted back and forth, utilize waste, and frequently are part of the gift, as they might get used year-round to put things other than gifts in
SOLAR OVEN EGGPLANT
Eggplant sliced a 1/2 inch thick, sliced fresh tomatoes, and grated or sliced cheese. Hose down with olive oil and bake until the cheese bubbles.
VEGETABLE CHAINSAW BAR OIL
Every other kind of motor oil has specific protocols for disposal, but bar oil is designed to be lost during saw use. Just vaporized, sprayed out, and dripped on the ground. Lovely.Time to start using vegetable oil instead.
INFLATING AN OFF-GRID GREENHOUSE
How to inflate an off-grid greenhouse with DC power? The short answer: a bilge blower fan on 6v.
MAPLE SAP KOMBUCHA!
I bottled the first batch and it is aMAZing. I'm saying it myself.It first occurred to me when I was reading about syrup reduction and encountered a comment explaining that sometimes a 'mother' can form on top in the bottle of syrup, and this is a distasteful, undesirable thing..... wait, what?Did somebody say 'mother'?
Instagram.
I may not make a blog post every day, but at least I Insta.
Bite size.
