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