The bees, the mice, the squirrels, and the goats

One of the primary chores I wanted to get done this weekend was to look into the hives to see if the bees had made any progress on the honey supers. So, after I went to get feed for our animals, I got suited up to have a look. What I saw was a little more encouraging than a week ago. In one hive we have four frames full of honey but some of it has not been capped. Meaning that the honey is still too high in moisture content to seal off. The bees know how much moisture the honey can have in order for it to keep from fermenting. How they know this is beyond me. They know because God taught them to know, but how they determine that the honey is dry enough to seal off for later use is a mystery. When the moisture content is low enough, the honey will keep for years.

That uncapped honey should be ready in a week or so. In the other three hives, there is noticeable progress in the supers. The bees are starting to draw out the comb so the honey can be made and stored. Whether or not they will make enough in the weeks to come to allow us to harvest the honey remains to be seen. At the very least, we will get a couple quarts of honey from the hives. If there is not enough to harvest, I will leave the honey in the hive so the bees can feed on it this winter. Once the harvest time is over the process of treating the hives for mites and getting the bees ready for the colder months that are coming will be the goal of our continued care. Hoping for the hives to survive over the winter and come back strong in the spring.

The mice this year are invading to an extent to we have not seen before. Nothing I have tried to control, to catch, or to dispatch them is working effectively. This morning Victoria was freaked out by a mouse jumping out of her sock drawer as she opened her dresser. We routinely hear them scratching and munching in locations we are not able to clearly identify. When we investigate and get close enough to open a cabinet door or pull out a drawer where we think they might be, we rarely see anything except the mess that is left behind. So, unlike Victoria, we are not often able to see them. We will continue to try to get rid of them, but I am exasperated at the lack of success so far. Mama would rather have a snake in the house than to have mice to deal with, but we have not elected to let a snake loose in our house yet.

Meanwhile, on the outside of the house we are battling the squirrels. Although they are fun animals to watch in their playful antics, I worry when they get too comfortable with the house because it will not be long before they decide to take up residence in the attic. That is always disastrous. So, I routinely set out live traps to catch them. Once caught in those traps the squirrels are dispatched and fed to the coyotes. The few I remove from the property every year do not seem to negatively impact the overall population, so mama and I do not worry about negatively impacting the squirrel’s ecosphere. Yesterday, I caught one in a trap I had intended to reposition. It is set up on the front porch of the house. That is too close for comfort when they are investigating that close and the dogs are not bothered by their presence. That squirrel will no longer bother us, and I will set up the trap for the next curious uninvited visitor.  

Our little goats are growing quickly. They are such fun at this age. The scamper around as quick as a rabbit. Hurling themselves from the barn to the rock pile, shooting up and over the rocks. Taking Mama’s breath away as they frighten her with their antics. Our little injured male is trying to keep up with his sisters but falls behind quickly because of the cast on his leg. He seems to be adjusting well to the limited use of that appendage, but it does put him at a disadvantage. Hopefully, he will be well enough to have the cast removed by the first week of August. Mama is taking him for a follow up appointment Wednesday to see if the leg is mending properly, but the expectation is that the cast will remain for another two weeks at a minimum.

I will be teaching classes on my normal Tuesday and Thursday schedule this week. Next week will be on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Those are busy weeks. Tomorrow’s class is internal, so it will be a lot less formal and hopefully a lot more interactive. It is only a four-hour class – typically. When I present the class to our folks, there tends to be a lot more discussion which can push the class into the afternoon, but that does not happen every time.

We will see how it plays out tomorrow and go with the flow.