Did a split with the hive we have at home, and set the split up as a nucleus at Neil and Denise's at Glen Huon - we'll see how the new hive goes.
The bees are laying up honey and raising brood at a great rate.
Opened the top-bar hive and it is over 80% full of brood and honey. I cleaned out the cross combed bars and am about to bottle our first few kgs of honey for the season. Not much, but there's something exciting about the first small harvest of the season.
I'll check the other hives and check on the progress of the split later in the week.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Monday, October 14, 2019
October update
This week we turned off two sheep: a ewe and a wether. For less than $400 (purchase price, supplementary feed and the cost of slaughter and butchering) we now have over 50kg of prime organic lamb in the freezer plus enough bones to do the dogs for the next few weeks and enough trimmings for sausages.
Sue has been in and out of hospital in Ipswich, while visiting Leah, and she has found she has kidney stones. She has also found out that opioids are good gear when you are in serious pain.
The bees are working overtime, and it is possible to smell the honey from 20 metres away from the hives. The 4 remaining colonies are all very strong so we might get a split or two this season as well as a good supply of honey.
I managed to get a good report from the oncologist last week, so that's a blessing.
On the down side: the batteries have died so we are relying on running fridge and freezer in daylight hours with the generator for backup on heavily overcast days. We're looking at replacement batteries and have found a good source at a good price, but will still have to wait until early next year to get them. There is enough residual power in the current bank at the end of the day to run the internet and our LED lights during the evening. Fortunately, the footy season is over, so the lack of evening TV is not problem.
The batteries died the week before the Grand Final (Rugby League) but I was still able to watch it live online. Unfortunately, the Canberra Raiders lost - but only just.
We're giving eggs away at present, and selling some to friends, as we're getting more than we can use.
We have spinach and lettuce planted and potatoes are up in the old potato patch. We just need to keep the wallabies and possums away from them.
We have temporary fencing around half of the orchard but wallaby wire is very expensive, so the rest will have to wait.
Sue has been in and out of hospital in Ipswich, while visiting Leah, and she has found she has kidney stones. She has also found out that opioids are good gear when you are in serious pain.
The bees are working overtime, and it is possible to smell the honey from 20 metres away from the hives. The 4 remaining colonies are all very strong so we might get a split or two this season as well as a good supply of honey.
I managed to get a good report from the oncologist last week, so that's a blessing.
On the down side: the batteries have died so we are relying on running fridge and freezer in daylight hours with the generator for backup on heavily overcast days. We're looking at replacement batteries and have found a good source at a good price, but will still have to wait until early next year to get them. There is enough residual power in the current bank at the end of the day to run the internet and our LED lights during the evening. Fortunately, the footy season is over, so the lack of evening TV is not problem.
The batteries died the week before the Grand Final (Rugby League) but I was still able to watch it live online. Unfortunately, the Canberra Raiders lost - but only just.
We're giving eggs away at present, and selling some to friends, as we're getting more than we can use.
We have spinach and lettuce planted and potatoes are up in the old potato patch. We just need to keep the wallabies and possums away from them.
We have temporary fencing around half of the orchard but wallaby wire is very expensive, so the rest will have to wait.
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