Bees...replacing bottom boards

Its starting to get cold at night so we needed to replace the screened bottom boards.

We started with the smaller hive and while we were at it we took a peek. It doesnt seem strong enough to make it through the winter. It never built up even though we gave it a frame with queen cells earlier in the summer. We are reluctant to merge it with our stronger hive because they are so full and we dont want to bring a disease. We dont really know whats happening to this hive and why it isnt building up. My feeling is to give them a very small space and feed them and if they dont make it then we should let them go. I am committed to helping bees that can survive this climate in this location. These poor gals dont seem to be doing that.

This hive is completely different and seems to be thriving. It will be much harder to lift it while I replace the board. We are cracking it open here with the hive tool.

I tried to move quickly because it was very heavy.

Jenny was ready with the smoker just in case.

this post: all photos by Lori DeSantis

Daily Harvest...cherry tomatoes

 Lori picked all the ripe cherries in the garden and

added the peppers from Bill and Dee for lunch.

Fall forage for bees

Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)

(Also called)Sunchokes,

and goldenrod.

Its a gorgeous day for man and bees.

Daily Harvest...Honey

We harvested a whole super and then gave the frames with wax back to the bees to reuse. I will save some of this honey to feed back to them as well. They seemed to have honey in the brood boxes, a full super and another one started. I was reluctant to take so much but I was overruled by the rest of the family.

Daily Harvest...fall is here

A good carver

A heavy load

Bees and more Honey

These gals have a very full hive.

This honey was from spring, but this season's honey is coming.

Daily Harvest from garden to compost

Pumpkin vine spreading from the garden across the field still flowering.

Baby pumpkins still sprouting.

Turning green.

Turning orange.

Ghost pumpkin ripening.

And from the same garden ghost patties and zukes...

and delicata eaten and ready for the compost.

Daily Harvest...Tony's Honey

Tony showed the kids how to uncap the honey cells.

This is a frame of uncapped honey cells, from Tony's hive.

Jim gave it a try.

After the cells are uncapped and scraped to allow the honey to flow...

The frames are placed into the extractor.

Our extractor is man(or kid)powered.

Raw and unfiltered. But we will strain out the bits of wax.

Daily Harvest...Squash and Rosehips

Blossom End

Blossom End 2

Bird Sleeping

Whats coming this fall

Hopefully pumpkins...

ghost pumpkins...

and butternut squash!

Daily Harvest

Squash squash and more squash

Late summer and always something to do

besides enjoy nature on a Sunday.

At the Farm Stand today...Recipes

Zucchini Latkes

1 large zucchini-halved, then each half quartered(seeds cut out & discarded) and grated

1 onion-chopped

1 or 2 or more cloves of garlic-minced

1 daikon radish(or radish of your choice)-finely chopped

¼ cup(more or less)basil-chopped

9 more or less sage leaves-chopped

1/3 cup of flour-buckwheat, Johny Cake Meal, wheat or flour of your choice

1 egg or just white or yoke(optional-if used add a little more flour. It makes it more like a pancake.)

salt and pepper to your taste

Make thin-ish patties adjusting ingredient levels if needed. Fry in high heat oil of your choice-Sunflower, Grapeseed, Coconut-on medium heat turning when browned. Add a pad of butter to flavor the oil while cooking(optional.)

Tip: Serve with sour cream, butter and salt, or even a little maple syrup.

This Weekend at Ivory Silo Farm Stand-recipe idea for ghost patty pan!

The birth of the White Scalloped Squash

Peering under the large squash leaves, one sees ghost patty pans in various stages of development.

This one is ready to pick!

However, tis the season to become overloaded with fresh produce. Calls to mind my bereavement over the Town Farm giving up the program that gave jobs to teens growing at and selling vegetables from the huge amazing garden they used to have. What a loss to the town as well as a loss of an amazing concept! In past centuries the property was known as the "poor farm" and it provided food and lodging to those in dire circumstances. If only there was a program to replace this.

As you know if you followed this blog in the spring, there were so many strawberries from our friends Jeff and Wendy's garden that they were begging us to take some. Now its blueberries from Geraldine and Tony and Squash from Ivory Silo, etc. Our freezers are all full of fresh berries and still more are coming. I just heard you can freeze grated zucchini. I guess that is my weekend project.

Our nephew and his fiance were telling us about a program she is starting in Aberdeen Washington called Plant a Row. They are encouraging people to plant a row in their gardens for charity. Imagine food banks with fresh produce as well as canned goods! Here I dont think people even need to plant a row. Imagine a program where people take their overage to a place those in need can come get it from. Or even, a program that employed teens to pick and bring the extra produce to the location. Oh happiness!

One!

Four!

Six!

And many more to come...

Now for the rewards of our hard work

Well there is always more to do, but now that we have made a huge mountain of weeds,

and harvested all that was ready or over ready,

and put up or fermented,

and cut and shelled...

...we can enjoy a feast with friends. Chicken bone broth vegetable soup with peas, flat bread with zucchini and caramelized onions, and roasted delicata squash.