Marla Spivak: Why bees are dissappearing

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The hives have arrived!

I am the proud owner of two new beehives! "Super" excited to be adding these helpful insects to the farm this spring. This will be a fun learning activity because my only real experience with bees was picking up two packages last spring and watching them be installed (and those bees flew away within weeks after installation-- oops).

This year my bee business partner and I are armed with more knowledge so hopefully the new bees will be successful. I will try and share my knowledge as this new journey begins.

The countdown is on!

Sassy received her third bath treatment on Sunday. We only have five more to go. She was a very good girl (no claws were unleashed), but she's caught on that when she gets in the bathroom, it's bath time.

Temporary House Cat

Yep, that's Sassy... in the house! Poor kitty has contracted ring worm (which isn't actually a worm, it's a fungus that gets on the animal's skin. But it's still gross). I don't know where she got it from in the dead of winter, but she's missing a huge patch of fur on her back from where she has been scratching the itch.

What's the remedy for this icky condition? Bi-weekly dips in a lime/sulfer solution.

Her first treatment was Saturday and it went pretty well. She wasn't perfect (no cat likes to be soaking wet), but she didn't try to claw my eyes out or kill me. Since it was 10 degrees outside, she got to hang out in the cat carrier by the heater for a few hours until she dried off.

Why confine her? I don't know how well behaved she would be in the house (I like my furniture without claw marks) and she was stinky after being doused in lime/sulfer solution.

In addition to treating the cat, I also wash and sanitize the old fleece bathrobe she uses for a bed after her bath (thank goodness the washer has a sanitize feature).

Treatment #2 is scheduled for tonight. After that, only 6 more dips to go!

On a more serious note

Author and blogger John Katz has been writing a series of articles about the New York City carriage horses and the new mayor's attempts to rid the city of these beasts. While the animal rights activists scream "animal cruelty" at these animals' drivers, Katz offers a much different perspective on the history and purpose of working horses.

You can read one of the latest posts here: http://www.bedlamfarm.com/2014/02/27/central-park-carriage-ride-parable-the-real-lives-of-real-animals/.

Good for a Laugh

I've been horrible about posting lately. The weather is so cold and it's hard to snap photos with gloves on your hands. All the animals seem to be surviving in the cold, but a couple of the chickens have a little frostbite on their combs.

According to a friends' morning Facebook post, there is some warmer weather coming in about two weeks.

But, today the high is forecasted to be in the single digits, with wind chills well below 0. I've seen this cartoon before, but figured it was worth posting so we can be reminded that there are bright and cheerful things despite the winter dreariness. 

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Farm Logs

One of the neighbors was telling me about a new application that helps farmers manage their fields. I honestly brushed it off because he uses it to track 100+ acres of corn and soy beans. My entire farm consists of 9.5 acres of which 2/3 of that is a hayfield.

But earlier this week I was bored and decided to check out the FarmLogs. I have to say it has some nifty features even for a small very small hobby farmer like me:

• It lists exact rain fall amounts for your fields (not the rain fall amounts at the airport that's 10 miles away)
• You can trace outlines of your fields/pastures and get their exact acreage
• It tracks your crops (if you grow crops)
• It has an area for equipment so you can input your tractor information, implements, and maintenance records

 The best thing is the basic level is free!

I was really excited to finally know exactly how big each of the fields is:

Hay field-6.1 acres
East Pasture-0.8 acres
West Pasture-1.0 acres
Arena-0.8 acres

Quite Possibly the Cutest Commercial Ever

Alright, folks! Here we go again and just in time for the Super Bowl-- it's another heartwarming commercial from the Budweiser Clydesdales.


Charlie's gonna need a puppy someday, right? Right?

So Much Snow!

I moved to Michigan about 4 1/2 years ago. I arrived at the beginning of summer, where I discovered how nice it is to live somewhere where it doesn't get scorching hot and you can actually enjoy the season outside. The first three winters here were relatively mild-- not so cold that you couldn't enjoy the great outdoors. And then came the winter of 2013-14 with its polar vortexes, frigid temperatures, and SNOW. We have never seen this much snow in a Michigan winter before, which makes plowing the driveway with the Little Mean Green Machine quite challenging for a novice tractor driver.

In all honestly, if I had experienced a winter like this one when I first moved to Michigan, I probably would have packed my bags and headed South. But, the last three "mild" winters helped prepare me for the current weather.

Last Friday we had a winter storm blow through with high winds and a fair bit of snow. I awoke Saturday morning to find the farm taken over by snow drifts...

There are actual stairs leading up to the driveway under the snow... It took me awhile to dig myself out so it was safer to walk back and forth to the barn.

The snow drifted halfway up the sides of the barn.

Fortunately the snow was really light so the tractor had no problem backing out. (And yes, that's a picture of the tractor in the foreground! Maybe one day I'll post a picture of the whole thing...)

Charlie didn't have any problems getting around in the snow. Especially if moving meant getting more hay to eat.

Rest in Peace, Kobe

It is with heavy hearts that we had to say good bye to one of our dearest friends on Sunday. Kobe is no longer with us. He was running, collapsed, took a couple of breaths and passed on. His best human friend was by his side. If he had to go, he went out the best way possible.

Here are a few a lot of pictures of Kobe. He didn't get as much coverage as some of the other critters on this blog, but he didn't mind letting them take the spotlight. He was one of the best dogs ever.

Kobe came to us from a farm in South Carolina. His mom was a Golden Retriever and his dad was an Alaskan Malamute. He was such a good dog-- he came to us at 7 weeks already housebroken, and the only thing he ever chewed was a cookbook (okay, cookbooks)... and a newspaper... and there was that time he grabbed my corn muffin off the table (but he dropped it right away!).

While in his lighter days when he only weighed about 40 lbs, he used to drag us around the neighborhood on walks. (We finally  got a Gentle Leader which worked wonders). He only barked when necessary and got along well with everyone. He was a champ during our two-day drive from Georgia to Michigan, and LOVED living in the cooler weather, pouncing through the snow, and running through the hayfield.

We miss you, Kobe!

The day after we brought Kobe to our home in South Carolina.

 

 

Long legs and big paws

He LOVED to run!

Kobe wasn't too sure about his new dog bed, but after a couple of weeks it became is #1 hangout in the house.

Flossing? Or rope bone destruction?

Out for a walk at Cowpens National Battlefield in South Carolina.

Hiking at Kings Mountain in North Carolina.

When we moved to Michigan, his inner Malamute shined through as evidenced by his love to run and roll in the snow.

Out on farm patrol.

My favorite picture!

Rogue Chicken

One of the chickens has gone rogue. She's been out of the coop for almost a month and refuses to go back in. I've managed to capture her and return her to the flock twice, but she always leaves the coop with the intention never to return.

In the meantime, she scavenges the barn looking for any spilled feed, and cleans up any oats the horses don't eat. She gets her water from the cat's bowl and roosts in the stall right next to the coop.

Rogue chicken's roost.

She's laying eggs (probably about 3-4 a week), but it took me a while to find her nesting spot in the hay bales.
 

Rogue's egg-laying hay bale. As you can see by the darker brown egg, she's wasn't the only chicken laying outside of the nest boxes.

My fear is that the other chickens will follow her example and not go into the coop at night. The coop itself is very secure, while the rest of the barn is not. And, we have had our share of possum encounters.

Rogue may be destined for the stew pot sooner rather than later.

Frozen Egg

Q. Ever wonder what happens to an egg when the mercury dips below freezing? (Okay, probably not. I never did until I started keeping chickens).

A. The inside of the egg will expand, and can crack the egg. If it freezes enough, the white of the egg can ooze out of the egg.

The cracked eggs make their way into the garbage can. It's seems like a waste, but I don't want to take any chances if the shell has been cracked.

Surviving the Polar Vortex

I'm happy to report that everyone survived Day 1 of the 2014 Polar Vortex, and our prospects look good for Day 2. The horses eagerly came out of their shed to get their morning ration of hay, Sassy meowed incessantly until she was fed, and the chickens hopped off their roost and started their day with water and Flock Raiser, and had laid two eggs before I left for work this morning.

This photo was taken last week. It's too cold for humans or dogs to be roaming around the open fields with a wind chill below -20 degrees.

Honestly, getting the outdoor chores finished has not been pleasant. The cold cuts through five layers of clothing, two layers of socks and insulated boots, and chills you to the core. Wearing my trusty gator from Duluth Trading has really helped keep my face out of the weather, but for the first time in my life I felt my eyelids get cold (or maybe it was my eyeballs, too). I had NO IDEA that your eyelids could feel cold.

Outdoor excursions have been limited to no more than 30 minutes. Fortunately most of the chores require moving around, which keeps the warm blood pumping.

Jenna at Cold Antler Farm has a really great blog post today about staying warm, and how our society is used to on-demand, instant comfort. She offers a nice perspective on being "cold" and working for warmth at http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/2014/01/warm.html.

Snowy Ponies

Charlie and Jubi show off their winter blankets.

We are in the midst of a winter storm, and the coldest weather I have ever experienced with wind chills below -20 degrees!. The horses will stay outside (they do have access to a shelter to get out of the wind), and I'm sure Jubilee has weathered storms like this before. The chickens are snug in the coop and Sassy is huddled in her box in the barn. And Kobe is enjoying the good life indoors!