Thankful for Time with the Family

We spent our time this past week getting ready for the Thanksgiving Holiday, and then shot right into getting ready for Christmas.  Both Daughter Number 1 and Daughter Number 2 spent the extended weekend back at home.  The time together was priceless.  It was the first time Daughter Number 2 had been out to the Compound in a year, and there were many changes.  Besides seeing the Hooligans, and all their craziness, spending some quiet time on the new deck was a needed respite.

The Moose got a different truck, so now Miss Izzy is blocked from the front, and is getting lazy in her old age.  So lazy in fact, she is resting her head as she stands on the back seat.



I received my Top Bar Bee Hive, and it looks fantastic.  Great craftsmanship.  I hope to get my bees ordered this week or the next.  I'll try to get photos for you, as we begin setting it up.

Our strawberry plants have started to blossom.  I'm hoping for a good return on the investment this year.

The Hooligans are in for a surprise this week, we'll have our lowest temperatures this year.  Down in the lower 40's at night and not getting out of the upper 60's, for a few days.

Finally, the water level in the canal seems to be subsiding.  Folks north of us, yes north, as the St. Johns River flows south to north, are still dealing with some flooding. 

We'll be back to normal next weekend, laying out another load of mulch.  Unless of course, the Moose comes up with another project or two...

Have a good week!

Back to Eden Central Florida - 3

We spent this past Saturday working on the mulch for the garden.  We finished offloading our 3rd trailer load, adding where it seemed it needed more.  We also took a look at the mulch previously laid down on October 29th, and to our surprise, it is already turning.  In this photo you can see how it is turning black, and breaking down.  What you can't see is how moist the mulch and soil are underneath.  This area received about 2 inches of water, the day it was installed, and very little if nothing since.

The other area planted a week later, is also showing signs of turning, however it is not as far along.  It has received little if anything for rain.

Other observations:  weed pulling has never been easier.  We only had a handful of weeds, and they came up really easy.   We had a lot of mushrooms growing in random locations throughout the garden.  I believe this is a good sign, as they will not grow if they don't have a moist, composted area.  They did shrivel up when the sun came out.

On another note.  We are getting the other areas of our garden ready for mulch.  We picked up our 4th trailer load, so we're ready for next weekend.  We had to remove the black vinyl material we had laid out, to help keep weeds down.  We found some unwanted guests living under the vinyl, and Miss Izzy had a blast eliminating 6 small rats.  She's a terrier mix, and loves hunting those disgusting, vile creatures.  She's sleeping off yesterday's fun, today.  Boy did she have a blast!  She has waited her whole life for a day like Saturday....

The Hooligans are doing great.  No more missing or broken eggs, so that's a positive.  Have a great week everyone!  Happy Thanksgiving!

The Start of Something Sweet

I ordered most of my backyard bee supplies this week;  Top Bar Hive, tools and suit.  I look forward to them coming in.  I've ordered items from:

http://www.backyardhive.com/

http://www.birdsnthebeez.com/

I'm getting nothing in return from them, nor is this an endorsement at this time.  Once the items I've ordered are in, and I can review for quality, I'll let you know.  I will say,  both have followed up within 24 hours to let me know they have received and are working to fill my orders.  So far, so good.

I have yet to order my bees, and a honey extractor.  Although, I think I can probably handle doing the extracting on my own, since I'm only working with one hive at this point.  Bees should be ordered within the next week or so, and delivered next spring.  Plenty of time to get everything set up, books re-read, and how-to videos re-watched.  I'm looking forward to it.

I find myself watching the honey bees busily gathering pollen from my roses, and the wild flowers in the area.  I know the bee in the below picture is not a honey bee.  But would you have really noticed?  Call me crazy, but I notice these types of things now.