This past wednesday, 20th of April, I finally installed beehives and 3 nucleus colonies! It was a total cluster for the week. The bee yard wasn't finished in time due to my busy work schedule and the rising costs of, well, everything. When I put the bee hives up and started transfering frames over to each colony is was dark. I ran over some extra frames and didn't realize what happened until the next day. Despite wearing a bee suit and gloves I still got stung a few times. Not fun, but I am not allergic to bee venom. I know they felt threatened being moved and jostled and blown around. I had been on the road for over 12 hours by the time I got home just after 11pm. Nothing went right. It was as if Murphy, himself was sitting there making everything go wrong that possibly could. I survived and am thankful I didn't have a wreck driving through Dallas and Ft. Worth to get out to the ranch!
Since the bee yard is not enclosed or protected, my biggest concern for my 3 new colonies are hogs, possums, skunks and rodents getting into the hives. Keeping unwanted people out is always trickier. This up coming weekend my dad and I will be finishing up 10 strands of barb wire around the hives. I plan on expanding the number of hives to a total of 10 next year and we have plenty of room in the yard for more in the future, without expanding the yard itself. I need to make up a batch of syrup to feed the bees for the next few weeks as the little colonies grow. Some flowers are in bloom, but the majority that cover my land has yet to come up. Snow on the Prairie is what covers over 17 acres; Euphorbia Marginata is the scientific name. There are a bunch of different cone flowers that have yet to bloom and the little mini sunflowers (I call them that because that's what they look like) are starting to bud.
Hog activity is everywhere. The game cameras picked up a new family of them. A solid black boar and an all white sow. Five piglets follow them around and they look like dalmations! White with black spots. They are cute! And I bet tasty as well...
I'll post more from the Bramble Bee Ranch when I am out there!
Somebody left this on my widshield. Anyone know what this is or means? I recognise a few of the smaller symbols, like the octogram in the middle and the double fish symbol the encircles the whole thing.
I wanted to share a little about my dog, Antoine (we call him Andy most of the time). Pictures are worth a thousand words, so it has been said. He is a big softy, loving and not exactly a lap dog. It doesn't stop him from laying on you though. I think he is a Catahoula or Louisiana Cattle Dog. His eyes, coat and demeanor are typical of the breed. His left eye is marbled, the top half is brown and bottom half is blue (like his right eye). He loves to chase anything small and furry. He's never caught a squirrel or bunny and frankly, I doubt he knows what to do with one if he ever caught one.
Every so often I take him with me in the Jeep to the ranch and let him explore while I work or just relax in nature. All he does is mark every few feet and stick his nose into everything out there! I have had to pull a few cactus needles out of his nose and paws because he found a new smell. I wish I had video of the time my wife and I let him chase some wild turkeys. That was funny! Also ...
