Bee Diary: August, 2011

Lughnasa                                                                   Waning Honey Extraction Moon Checked the honey supers this morning.  On the two package colonies that I do not intend to overwinter, we have approximately four full honey supers.  That is, we have for harvest the amount of honey they would have needed for the winter, close to 200 pounds.  Figure that 40 pounds […]

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And Yet More Planting

Beltane                                                           Waxing Last Frost Moon Cherokee Trail of Tears.  Hutterite.  Soup beans and green beans.  Vidalia onions from sets grown in Georgia.  Purple passion and white asparagus.  Three varieties of tomatoes.  Golden beets.  Pretty much the last of this year’s non-succession planting.  Mark’s been a big help, letting Kate and I focus on the things […]

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Nix Still Comes Down…Geesh

Imbolc                                                       Waning Bridgit Moon This has been a nix two-day event.  The Woolly’s, for the first time I recall, canceled.  Too little parking around Charlie Haislet’s condo. The days events scattered around me, I never quite got traction, feel a little down.  Nothing bad, just wheels spinning.  Don’t like it. The snow-blower, which needs a […]

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Harvest

Fall                                      New (Harvest) Moon Second round of apiguard in the parent and the divide.  The top box on the package colony has gotten heavier, but I plan to feed them some more as I will do to the parent once the apiguard comes off in two weeks.  Sometime in early November I’ll get out the […]

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Extra Work Raises Grade

Lughnasa                                 Waxing Artemis Moon Up early and out in the garden.  This is the way I like it, working in the garden before and during sunrise, a coolness, some damp lingering from the night, stillness carrying only the softest of sounds, the earth friable and eager, weeds willing to come up and the garden’s purpose […]

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Another Northern Summer Day

Summer                             Full Strawberry Moon The full strawberry moon, evocative.  Our strawberries have wound down  for this season, but we enjoyed them while they ripened.  I had blueberries on cereal this morning, blueberries from our patch.  Finished the  planting for a third harvest:  beans, spinach, swiss chard, beets:  golden and detroit red and carrots. Kate has […]

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Catching Up

Summer’s Eve                                  Waxing Strawberry Moon More weeding along the fenceline.  It feels like I’ve beaten back both the weeds and revealed the now minimal amount of repair still required to bring the vegetable garden area back to where it began last fall.  I planted another round of beans, doing so at weekly intervals.  Took some […]

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Harvest and Preservation

Lughnasa                      Waning Harvest Moon It changed.  The game.  After half-time most of the time, I expected to see showed up.  How about that 64 yard run by Peterson?  Wow.  Still, it concerned me that we didn’t get more pressure on Brady Quinn.  I’m looking forward to the analysis. Kate has made grape juice, a lot, […]

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Pictures

Summer                       Waxing Summer Moon From top to bottom: Western half of orchard + three oaks Cathedral at Seed Savers Exchange Southern half of our vegetable garden Lilies, Bees and Beans Carrots Vega the Wonder Dog Vega (right) and Rigel (left)

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Laying Food By

78  bar rises 29.99  4mph N dew-point 56  sunrise 6:03 sunset 8:34  Lughnasa Waxing Crescent of the Corn Moon “The rest of the beans will dry on the plants!” Kate said yesterday, her brow perspiring from work over a hot pressure canner.  Yes, the beans produce and produce and produce.  Canned green beans now stock […]

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