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Beekeeping ( A second try)

I guess the frequency and the shortness of my posts can say a little bit about how life has been going lately. Even when I do have the time I do not have the concentration or the energy.

So, as I was saying before...Summer is here.

Over the last year or so many beekeepers have been losing their bees. The causes and symptoms are unknown or disputed. They are referring to it as Colony Collapse Disorder.

In my recent internship for the Stratford Ecological Center, I was able to try my hand at some beginner beekeeping. Aware that this phenomenon has been taking place, I wasn't expecting anything too spectacular. Last year Stratford lost their bees to a more well known diseased called Foul Brood. So when we ordered new bees (twice because the first batch died out in the cold snap of March), I was able to set them up in their hive. This was a challenge, getting into some beekeeping equipment, trying to practice my fine motor skills in leather gloves to my elbows, and a large brimmed netted hat. After shaking (yes, actual shaking) the bees from their travel container which consisted of no more than a few pieces of meshed stapled to a wooden frame, we inserted the queen and her worker bees into the hive. The queen comes encased in a box with a candy like substance that the bees eat through to get her out. After feeding them sugar water, because not many flowers and pollen were not out yet, we went to disassemble a hive from last year.

Much to our surprise there were bees living in it! It was a decent sized wild swarm that had taken residence in the empty hive. While other beekeepers were losing their hives, we were catching new ones!

It was a lucky time to see them, because we were able to witness a rare occasion of a rainbow in the comb consisting of honey, brood (or eggs) and pollen.

After that day we got busy on the farm and did not get out to see them much. My boss would check on them from time to time, but I did not suit up again. Then last week (when I originally started to write this post) something exciting happened. Another wild swarm made its way into the machine shed and into some unused hives were were storing in the loft. This gave us a chance to suit up again!

This time however, I was wearing shorts and a tank top. With the two beesuits alread in use, I put on a hat and a pair of gloves. Not wanting to let a beekeeping opportunity pass me by, I thought I would take the chance. We moved the hive outside and let the swarm settle in. This gave us the opportunity to check on the other hives.

The original swarm that moved in during early spring was now thriving and outgrowing their hive. Bees were all over the outside of the box and clinging to the grass outside of the entrance. The insides were full of honey, pollen, brood, and pupa. It was beautiful!

While I was standing outside of the hive and two other people were opening it up, I was able to just stand in the sun, bees swarming around me, in shorts and a tank top completely comfortable. I did not get stung, I was not afraid, in reality I was at peace with the bees.

Anyways, I just found this all fascinating, I hope you did too.

The Farm Bill

I haven't said anything about the Farm Bill which is up for renegotiation this year because I don't really know much about it. However, I do understand its importance for the small farmer and poor rural communities. This NY Times article is just a short summary of something that the Bush administration might be doing right. Take a moment to read it.

Some information about eggs.

MK says that she is educated every time she reads my blog, so here it is.

The eggs that Stratford sells are brown. As a rule white chickens lay white eggs and brown(ish) chickens lay brown eggs. Now there are many varieties of chickens and it might be hard to tell what color egg a chicken would lay if you saw it walking down the road. For instance we have some white chickens at Stratford, but they lay brown eggs. This is because they are part of a brown breed that has a recessive gene and are white. To tell what color egg a chicken will lay one just needs to look at their ears. The color of a chickens earlobe will closely resemble the color of the outer shell of the egg they lay.

When brown chickens are forming their eggs, the brown pigment is not secreted or applied till the final layers of the shell are formed. It has been compared to that of an ink jet coloring the egg. Which means the brown color can be removed by soaking it in vinegar which dissolves the outer layer of the shell (Chicken Breeds and the Color of their Eggs).

Why are most eggs we buy in a grocery store white? (Excuse me while I step up on my soap box) White chickens are easier to raise in cages and therefore are more cost effective and convenient for the commercial chicken farmer. The chickens that lay brown eggs are larger and eat more, but I would rather be able to see my egg producers roaming healthily across the chicken yard, then have the convenience of cages. I believe that there is also a difference in taste, because free range chickens have access to a healthier and more natural diet of bugs and other things than those who are raised in cages.

However, brown eggs are not healthier than white eggs. I searched many sites on this subject and it's pretty clear that there is not a difference. However, perhaps the way the chickens are raised to produce brown eggs is healthier for the environment. I also came across and blurb that suggested brown eggs promote genetic diversity. Brown chickens are in the minority because of the ease of raising white chickens, by raising the demand for brown eggs, we are protecting the diversity of brown chickens.

Did you know some chickens even lay green or blue eggs? Pretty crazy stuff!!

As always I'll leave you with a brief article to do some reading of your own. Which Came First--Brown Eggs or the White.

Also check out the Egg Nutrition Center for nutritional information about the incredible egg. The delicious, nutritious, affordable fast food.

Almost too tired

But I knew I needed to write tonight because so much has happened in the last week, and you need to know about it. I worked a 6 day work week, followed by my first gig talking about climate change in a church. Needless to say I am exhausted, plus I am suffering from allergies or a cold, which has left me sore throated and light headed. But, I don't think I could possibly be happier about the way things are going.

For starters I am quite certain that my internship ROCKS and I would not want to be any place else right now. I have learned so much in the last 2 weeks. After spending my entire life being creeped out by snakes, I finally touched one on Thursday. It wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't say I enjoyed it. However, seeing that it is an exciting learning opportunity for the kids, I decided to bite the bullet and reach into the cage and pick it up. His name is Sundance, he's a red rat snake, and is about three and a half feet long. I like him, as much as I can like a snake and I hope he never decides to bite me.

I am excited because I will get to learn how to keep bees as part of my internship. The hives have died out at Stratford but we will be getting new ones on April 1st. I am excited and will obviously post more when the time comes.

We had our Maple Sugar Festival over the weekend and probably saw close to a thousand people including children. The weather was wet in the morning, but was warm and the sun came out. I spent the day reading stories and talking about Sundance. Ryan spent the day in the kitchen making sausage in pancakes. It was fun, and I hope to be around to do it again next year.

Hopefully this week I will be learning more about the barn animals. I learned about barn chores, and collected my first eggs on Tuesday. I also brought home my first dozen eggs and they are yummy. It's amazing how strong some of the smaller eggs are, I had to really bang on them to get the shells to crack.

As far as the church gig goes, I believe that it went ok. It is hard to read a crowd, especially on full of people that I do not know. They seemed to respond to some things better than others, and what I was really trying to do was facilitate a conversation and that seemed to happen. It was a good experience and I will be able to build on my notes for the future. So, if you read this, and you are interested in hearing me speak let me know, I would love to come to your church, youth group, or Sunday school class.

I am going to write a little informational blog about eggs, since MK says she gets educated every time she reads my blog.

I want to be a farmer.

That is all.....

Maple Syrup

I love my internship, I'm only 4 days into it but I'm pretty sure I will always feel this way. Mostly because I get to spend so much of my day outside. Even now as I sit at my computer shivering because I haven't warmed up yet I feel grateful for so much exposure to the wonders of Creation.

My first task that I undertook this week was hauling maple sap from the trees to the sugar shack. I made several trips with a bucket in each hand loaded with about 20 pounds of sap. I enjoyed the chance to exercise and to learn about the practice of maple sugaring. That was Monday.

Today I was able to taste the fruits of my labor after the first batch of syrup was poured. And it was DELICIOUS!! My boss Christa likes to tell the kids how we talk nicely to the trees when we are drilling them and how sometimes we like to thank them for what they produce. Today was one of those days when thanking was in order.

I wanted to post some information about sugaring, but really didn't feel comfortable with writing the information myself. So if you are interested you can check out The Sugaring Story.

At Stratford they use mostly traditional methods for sugaring, including "quiet" drilling, which means the use of a hand drill. The sugarbush is larger than ever this year, consisting of about 150 taps.

Take some time to read about Stratford Ecological Center, as it is a really neat place. The website needs updating, but they are working on it.