Ahh October, my favorite time of the year! I love the colors changing, the warm days and cool nights, when you can finally break out that favorite sweater. The animals seem to be enjoying the cooler weather as well and have more of a pep in their step. The last cut of hay is done and the winter garden is doing fairly well. I just hope I get peas before the first frost.
We got the hives ready for winter last weekend and found that we had lost two more and one was weak and needed to be combined with another to make it through winter. We are back down to five hives and just can't seem to make forward progress growing our numbers. I dread the impact of winter on the remaining hives. We got a meager harvest of about 10 frames of honey or around 35 pounds. Most beekeepers harvest after the spring nectar flow and again if the fall nectar flow is very productive. We harvest just prior to closing for winter to ensure we don't take too much and to protect against lean summers.
This is the time of year were things finally slow down a bit and we can shift our attention to the long list of projects we have been wanting to get started on, which have taken a backseat to the daily chores and immediate must dos. We are looking at fencing our next pasture and possibly getting a few calves in the spring so we can offer grass fed, grass finished beef that people have been asking for.
We hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather!
We got the hives ready for winter last weekend and found that we had lost two more and one was weak and needed to be combined with another to make it through winter. We are back down to five hives and just can't seem to make forward progress growing our numbers. I dread the impact of winter on the remaining hives. We got a meager harvest of about 10 frames of honey or around 35 pounds. Most beekeepers harvest after the spring nectar flow and again if the fall nectar flow is very productive. We harvest just prior to closing for winter to ensure we don't take too much and to protect against lean summers.
This is the time of year were things finally slow down a bit and we can shift our attention to the long list of projects we have been wanting to get started on, which have taken a backseat to the daily chores and immediate must dos. We are looking at fencing our next pasture and possibly getting a few calves in the spring so we can offer grass fed, grass finished beef that people have been asking for.
We hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather!
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