Re-Seeding the Back Horse Pasture

On Saturday morning I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and re-seeded the back/main horse pasture with a special blend of grasses and clovers made especially for horses.  This is a view of the pasture in question.  All in all it is about 1.1 acres that I re-seeded.  Fall is a very good time to plant grass seed as it will remain dormant all winter and wait for sprint to come.

My tractor that I got stuck in the mud several times getting back there.  It's really a large riding lawn mower, looks kind of small in the picture doesn't it???  Seems much bigger in person.  Anyway, someday I will have a real farm tractor.

Use for Reclaimed Barn Board Wood

My Dad and I have been working on a project, one of many, but this one in particular involves taking reclaimed "barn board" wood from our property and cladding the ceiling of our guest room in it.  Technically it didn't come from a barn but rather a fence and it has been weathered and sun bleached for God only knows how many years.  We dried it out, wire brushed it to get the moss and lichens off and cut each to length.  Each piece is ~ 10' 3" long and 6.5" wide.  It is taking a total of 22 boards to complete the room and right now we are waiting for the other half to dry in the barn.  It makes the room look very cozy.  Slightly rustic yet the room itself will have a clean, bright look to it to keep it from looking too "cabin-y."  My wife, Sarah, and I will eventually use this as our nursery when the times comes to have a baby.

We are also in the process of remodeling the kitchen and are currently picking out new countertops.  Photos to follow.

Here is a link to the finished ceiling: http://czarofthewoodsfarm.blogspot.com/2010/11/update-reclaimed-barn-board-on-ceiling.html

Turtle Enclosure Progress

Many of you will remember that next summer we are rescuing some Box Turtles.  Here is my previous post on the topic and the photos of the raw site:

http://czarofthewoodsfarm.blogspot.com/2010/10/future-box-turtle-habitat-location.html 

Below are some photos of the progress we have made so far.

One of the best parts of the 144 sq ft enclosure is the fact that part of our huge willow tree fell (years ago) and now several "baby", albeit 20 ft babies willow trees are growing from it.  The large portion that fell down you can see below and I have incorporated it into the enclosure, in essence it runs right through it along the back part of the enclosure.  It will give the turtles a place to go under, explore and hide.

 Here you can see that I have all the corner and fence posts in.  The enclosure will have a 12 inch high solid wall around the bottom and see through fencing up from there and some type of light netting on top to keep raccoons, etc. out.  A week after I put these in I then buried (in pouring rain) 4" X 16" stone blocks around the perimeter to keep the turtles from digging out.  I got most of what I wanted to get done for now, until next spring that is.  Took advantage of the ground still being soft before it freezes.

This is a view from the back of the enclosure facing out.  Notice the willow tree parallel to the ground.  It runs right through the enclosure and eventually the fencing will, somehow, allow it to pass through it while still being secure.  The photo doesn't do it justice in that it is much bigger in person.

And lastly here is a turtle's eye view of a hiding place under the willow tree.  The eastern box turtle is a land dwelling turtle (that like to take an occasional soak) so this type of habitat is perfect.

First Snow of the Year or Short Winter

This week the temps were in the mid 60's and some of our indoor cats (clockwise from lower left: Ruby, Clementine, Kate and Luna) relaxed in the warm sun.

Czar enjoyed the warm sun but more importantly the fact that he didn't have to wear a blanket!

What a difference a week makes!  Last week it was in the low 20's in the morning and mid 30's during the day.  Clementine playfully bats at the big snowflakes outside the window during our first snow of the year last week.

And the horses were eating breakfast as the snow came down-it didn't last long.  They actually seemed to enjoy it.

Fall at Czar of the Woods Farm

Fall, especially October, is one of my favorite times of year.  This year October was a bit of a wash out as it rained more than it didn't.  November has been pretty great.  Bone cold at times but also unseasonably warm.  We grew our own pumpkins this year and the chickens got to celebrate fall by eating some.  Our chickens eat very well: steady grain supplemented with fruits, veggies and plant material...and sometimes pasta!  

Our Buff Orpington is really enjoying the pumpkin treat!

The horses however weren't so sure what to do with it.  And yes, your favorite pig Morgan has been getting plenty of pumpkins as well.  She knows exactly what to do with them.

This is a view of our property looking South.

Fall has some of the best clouds and light of all the seasons...

You will probably have to click on this photo to enlarge it in order to see the "V" formation of Canada Geese as they head south for the winter.

Fall = Harvest Moon + Fireplace

What better way to spend a cozy night at home than with a roaring fire.  However, having a family of animals that lives in the barn requires periodic trips, no matter the time of day, to check on their well being.  The colder it gets the more hay the horses need to help keep them warm (in horses digesting guts = warmer horses) so regardless of how much I would rather bunker down with Sarah and the cats on the couch duty calls.  In the cold the walk to the barn can be less than pleasant, especially if it's dark.  Add snow, yea, I'd much rather stay on the couch.  Once you get there however the barn is a cozy refuge with a soundtrack of munching horses nickering with the excitement of fresh hay, a snoring pig, Bad Blake chit chatting with me and drowsy chickens.  (sidenote: You should see the amazing work that our "resident contractor," aka my dad, has done in the barn.  STUNNING!)
Where am I headed with this?  On this particular night it appears that we have a harvest (full) moon.  Its beauty stopped me dead in my tracks (go get camera-then resume being stopped!).  It is so bright out tonight as a result and the clouds are whipping past it.  Not a bad reason to be away from the fire briefly.

and I couldn't resist taking some photos of night-time leaves: 

How a Queen Bee Becomes a Queen Bee...

Many of you have been asking how a queen bee becomes a queen bee.  Rather than re-invent the wheel, this is a very good article that will explain it to you.  In light of taking my two hives, that used to be one, became two and are now back together again as one, this article should help shed some light on the (re)queening process.  Each hive had its own queen now they must decide if one of those queens will be THE queen or the hive will choose an entirely different new queen.  I find it so very interesting that the hive picks the queen and does so by feeding her what is called "royal jelly."
Enjoy!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_bee

Bee Update: Two Became One, again. Period (part 2)

For those of you that are new to the blog or did not get to read the previous bee hive update here is the link: http://czarofthewoodsfarm.blogspot.com/2010/09/bee-update-and-then-there-were-two.html

The short version is that a portion of what I will call hive A swarmed and we made a second hive, Hive B, out of the swarm, so I now have 2 hives.  I have decided to recombine them because Hive B has not utilized all of its frames so they may not have enough to survive on through the winter.  (editors note: for those of you that read the first edition of this post, as of yesterday I was going to keep the 2 hives separate but for some reason my gut kept telling me to combine them-that seemed to be what was best for the bees at this point.  So today I did just that.)

The bees have been busy as summer turned to fall.  The crop of golden rod that we get each September into October is heaven on earth for bees.  The use the pollen from the golden rod to make a lot of nectar and in turn honey.  If our hive hadn't split in two we might be getting honey this year but as it stands we will not.  I will let the bees use whatever they have made to get them through the long cold winter as they will feed on it throughout.
Take a look closely at the yellow "beads" on the legs of the bees as they come in for a landing.  That is the pollen that they get from the golden rod and bring back to the hive.  Pretty incredible animals!  I took these photos a few weeks ago when the weather was still relatively warm and the golden rod was still in bloom.  As it gets colder and rainier we are seeing less of the bees as they too bunker down.

The following photos of me in my bee jacket are courtesy of my dad, Jerry, who took them today while I was working on Hive A.

Removing the cover...

Prying the top "super" off.  The bees glue each hive component together with stuff called propylus which is thick, hard and ultra sticky.  Stradavarious used to use it on his violins. 

Here I have already removed the super, which the bees did not use at all.  The frames that I used were made of plastic foundation and the bees resisted it.  The bottom section is called the brood box where all the baby bees are made as is honey etc.  The super is for honey only and baby bees are not made there.  Kind of bummed that they did not use it but as long as brood box is full they will be set for winter.   Next spring I will put the super back on and coat the plastic foundation in bees wax to encourage them to use it. 

First I moved Hive B over to Hive A and put it on top of A.  I put a "feeder" on the hive in place of the super and I am about to pour a sugar solution in the feeder to feed the bees heavily to get them ready for winter.  Since there are most likely 2 queens, 1 per original hive, they will have to work it out as the tow hives once again merge into one.  I wonder if old friends will recognize each other?



You can see how thick the sugar solution is: 2 parts sugar to 1 part water.

That is your truly (the small white thing in the center)...

Here is a cluster of bees hanging on to the queen excluder that I removed from the hive.  The excluder is no longer needed when the super is not being used.  The excluder is used to keep the queen from entering the super so that she remains in the brood box only.  The spaces between are only large enough for the other bees to get through.  The queen is too big to do so.

So two, that were one and became two, are now one again.  We'll see how it goes.  Some of the bees from Hive B that were not in the hive when I moved it to the Hive A location were confused when they could not find home.  I have placed a temporary box where their home was in hopes of gathering them to move them as well.  I put some of the components from their original hive there so that they recognize the smell.

Our Horses Welcome Fall

Ember and Czar have been loving the cooler weather having a run in the pasture last week.

It's hard to keep a white horse clean!  Sounds like a country song.  It's actually impossible.  I gave Czar a bath last weekend and he immeditately rolled in the mud!

No we did not get a camel!  Czar is always very curious about the camera.

The horses love the morning around here as much as I do.

This photo of Ember was taken by my dad, Jerry, today as he and I worked on the fences.  I have been planning a new pasture fence that I will either put in this fall or next spring.  Either way the pasture in back will soon be closed to the horses as it is taking a beating with the ground being soft.  A good portion of it was closed off to the horses all summer in order to give it a chance to re-establish itself.  The horses have been more than patient and I can't wait to let them out in the 'new pasture' next spring.

Autumn's Here!

This is one of my favorite views on the property.  I am standing at the northeast corner looking to the southwest.  Stunning!

Fall sunrise...

"Endless rain, endless rain" = endless MUD!  We don't typically get this much rain in the fall.  The mud has been worse than it was this past spring. 

ps: for more pleasant photos and musings on fall please visit my mom's blog here: http://carolekancardesignstudio.blogspot.com/