Midsummers Night

Madeline and I carved the Ghost Pumpkins from last fall finally, for the mid summers night party. NO ROT!

She is quite the young artist and very focused. We could then enjoy the evening.

And the coals burned late into the evening creating their own universe to accompany the conversation.

A Midsummers Night Conversation Between Two Old Friends

Pollinators: Midsummer Flowers

Honeybee on Echinacea

Bumblebee in Echinacea

Co-pollinators

Blackeyed Susan

Honey Harvest

Uncapping...

It starts dripping on the way to the extractor.

The day was warm so it runs and filters easily.

And as the bees started to find our operation, they started to clean up the sticky mess and reclaim what was left-both honey and wax.

This little bumble bee got a treat out of it too, as well as a few wasps and ants.

Ivory Silo Farm Stand

Open Saturday 10-4 and Sunday 11-3! Farmer philosophy, flowers, herbs, greens! with more coming every weekend.

Herbs and Flowers on Ivory Silo Farm

Buckwheat and Oats

We walked down to take a look at the bee hives passing a field resting in cover crops.

Sunchokes

 

After seeing the activity at the hive entrances(its no wonder with all the forage) we couldnt ignore the Sun on the Jeruselum Artichokes and Kiwi poles visible behind.

Yarrow

Bill and Dee 's crops and plants look so healthy.

Snapdragons and more

Snapdragons

These flowers were being sold at the farm stand this weekend.

White Clover

This clover reseeds itself and creates a sweet setting for the farm stand as well as more forage. This is where I saw the most bees.

St. Johnswort

Blooming during the longest days of summer for our nerves.

Nasturtium

And my Nasturtium and Mint in wait of our lunch salad.

Checking in with Bees...Does the Split have a queen?

Yes it does, but she is not in the picture. She wasnt laying yet at the time of this photo but we saw her. I wonder if the last time I went in on May 25th, she was out on a mating flight because I couldnt find her and the queen cells were already empty. On May 14th, Tony and I split his hive by taking 3 frames of brood and honey with queen cells. This photo is a detail of a larger photo Ed took of most of a whole frame of bees. He was trying to get a picture of the queen. He missed her, but this section showed the bees buzy storing and/or capping their honey. This was the weekend of June 4th.
The next weekend I was available was June 18th. I not only saw her, but I saw her laying eggs with her attendants following her. I was by myself so I did not get a picture and I did not want to disturb her. This weekend we looked in but did not disturb the hive to pull out any frames because it was obvious they were building up by their numbers and activity-six weeks from the split.

Tools

Farmer with Scythe

This tool is not easy to use the first time, but I was going into the hives and didnt want to disturb the bees with the mower. Ed was much better at it since he used it as a boy.

Tools for Hay

Soon the hay beyond the hay rake will be picked up for cows. For now its part of our landscape to enjoy!

Holiday Weekend chores-Weed the herb and flower garden...

Lupine looking fantastic in yesterdays fog.

We also planted some new baby plants. This little kitchen garden is perfect for cutting some parsley to freshen a homemade soup after its cooked, or adding herbs to sauces or meats. Its rocky well drained soil that the Mediterranean plants love. Plants that are coming back are Lavender, Sage, Thyme, Oregano, Echinacea, and annuals already planted are Basil, Parsley, Cilantro, and Fennel. After we weeded we added Chamomile, Sweet Annie, Black Eyed Susan, Cosmos, and Alyssum. The herbs are in this corner garden and some flowers are also with more on the other side of the bench and stone wall. The tree is a Redbud and it flowered this year for the first time.

Holiday Weekend chores-boats

At the boatyard we checked on the boat to see if it was dry in the rain and did some cleaning. This clover was blooming with raindrops nearby.

A foggy day it had become, so we walked to the water to check it out.

Checking in with Bees

The hive entrance...

a closer looked showed them coming and going, some with pollen.

Inside they were busy working and full. I came back with an honey super to give them more space.

And inside the split they were happy and busy but Queenless. Hopefully its too soon to worry about that.

May on Ivory Silo Farm

Just Before the Big Bang

Wood

End of the Day

Plant Sale This and Next Weekend at Ivory Silo Farm!

Plant Sale at Ivory Silo Farm is happening today and next weekend. Check out the Ivory Silo Project Facebook page for more information.

Herbs, Flowers, and Veggies from Bill's own seed and trusted sources!

Daily Harvest: Asparagus Mushrooms and Rhubarb!

Reaching like trees

We weeded the asparagus and let the guests pick it right before dinner.

So fresh and delicious. Grilled?

We also harvested Shiitake Mushrooms again.

And we bought fiddlehead ferns because we can only get them for a short time and the ones on the farm are NOT edible.

We also picked Rhubarb and Rhubarb Flowers for dessert and to decorate our table.
Paired with Strawberries frozen last year-since its too early for this years crop. It did get a top crust and was super delicious. The rhubarb was soaked for 15 minutes in sugar instead of boiled.

Spring Dessert: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Spring Dinner: Grilled asparagus, sauteed fiddlehead ferns, and beef with Shiitake mushroom sauce.

Working with hard working Bees

Honey Bee Forager

We see them out and about everywhere now,

as well as working at the hive entrance where I try to glean as much information as I can about whats happening inside the hive. This is Tony's hive and he goes inside the hive to see how his bees are doing.

5 Boxes full of bees. He wanted to do a split today so I suited up with him. We went into every box and examined every frame. We were looking for the queen, queen cells, drone cells, eggs, larvae, and examining the laying pattern.
In the middle with bees swarming all around me I realized that my hood was half way unzipped. I very slowly and carefully closed it, but soon after sensed a bee inside with me. I walked away from the hive slowly. When all the bees buzzing around my veil left I knew I was right. There was one mad bee still buzzing because she was trapped. Miraculously I was able to unzip and take off the hood without her stinging me. I felt very Lucky.
There were plenty of drone and queen cells in this hive. Tony chose 3 frames to take out. One with brood and queen cells, one with brood and honey, and one with honey. We put them in a new hive box with a few frames with cells and empty frames.

I fed them later some of last falls honey. They were inside hopefully cozy hopefully having what they need to hatch a new queen and start a new hive. I am not convinced this small split will prevent Tony's bees from swarming, but we shall see.