On Our Land

Spring                                                             Bee Hiving Moon Well.  Those bees I saw earlier.  That got me excited about a successful overwintering.  They were scavengers.  Robbing the honey left […]

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Practice Safe Orcharding

Mid-Summer                                                                  Waning Garlic Moon Spent yesterday relaxing after an unusually busy week.  I wasn’t home for supper the first four nights.  I like the connectedness and sense of agency I get when the days get busy, but I also appreciate the calm of home.  Not much Latin gets done when life gets frantic.  There have […]

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In the Garden

Beltane                                                                           New  Garlic Moon One of those nights last night, unable to get to sleep, still rolling around awake at 1:00 a.m.  Up a little bleary.  Wrote  few e-mails, then out in the orchard, first.  I’ve had tent caterpillars on two trees.  Each time I have removed the tent and stepped on it or crushed […]

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An Old Cannabis Farm, Right?

Beltane                                                Waxing Last Frost Moon A long, 3 hour, nap, perfect for a gloomy, chill spring afternoon.  Then off to the grocery store.  With Mark here there are items on the list peculiar to him like Raisin Bran, lots of bread, more fish than usual (a good thing) and a greater quantity of fruit. The […]

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Breakthrough!

Spring Waxing Bee Hiving Moon I have made several entries private and will explain that decision on Sunday. Stay tuned. The snow has only a few strongholds left in our front yard though the back and the woods still has plenty. The garden behind our patio has daffodil stems through the earth, a bit yellow […]

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Integrated Pest Management

Lughnasa                                Waxing Back to School Moon It’s been a wet, cool few days.  The Apiguard I picked up last night only works above 60 degrees and 70 is better.  It recommends chemical resistant gloves.  I’m using this on two colonies, the parent and the divide.  I tested the divide and its high, putting the colonies […]

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Photo Time: Late Summer

Lughnasa                                            Waning Artemis Moon Late summer taste treats.  We have red and golden. These are the hives with their maximum honey supers.  We extract honey on Monday. This is just one of several deep cave descents attempted by the Andover Speleological Society, Rigel and Vega founding members. The newly mulched orchard from the perspective of […]

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An Aging Bull Moose

Lughnasa                                    Waning Artemis Moon Easton and Ray, both soon to be seniors at Andover High, worked this morning, moving wood chips, laying them down on the paths Kate and I cleared of weeds yesterday.  Both fit and energetic they kept at it, moving 9 cubic yards of wood chips with a wheel barrow.  That’s minus […]

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Clearing the Paths

Lughnasa                                  Full Artemis Moon Kate and I yanked up the carpet under the mulched paths in our orchard, cleaned it off and re-laid it after putting weed seed germination preventer and round-up on the green vegetation in the paths.  These are the only chemicals, with the exception of cygon on my iris, that I use […]

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A Two-Person Garden

Lughnasa                                    Waning Grandchildren Moon Kate and I have shifted our bedtimes and risings to 6:30.  This allows us to get out to work in the garden when it’s still the cool of the day.  This morning Kate continued to restore the original look and feel to the orchard while I finished up the mulch in […]

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