Hump Day

So glad the week is almost over. It has been a doosy! Haven't been feeling so hot and work has been a bit stressful. Plus I've been helping The Man write a paper for his class (he's enrolled in a Master's program) and I really don't feel like doing that tonight. So ready for the weekend even though its supposed to rain again. We were going to plant the garden but I think that will have to wait til next week.

The Bees are doing well. Making plenty of comb as they should be. For some reason they are chewing through the wax foundation...we are going to call our mentors and see what they say about it. I hope its nothing serious. I'll be doing my own research in the meantime. Other than that everything is fine with them. We're exspecting a big order of supplies and the pieces for our second hive in the mail soon. We'll be busy putting all that together.

Mabel graduates from college next weekend and I'm trying to think of something to make for her. I know she needs money but I also wanted her to have something to mark the occation. Graduating is a BIG deal. A lot of people take it for granted. I wanted to make her a quilt but I know I don't have enough time for that. I really wish i did. Even that wouldn't be enough though. Hopefully I'll be able to think of something. I'm so proud of her. It will be a great weekend.

I think I'm going to head to bed with my Kindle. I'm reading a really good book. Ya'll have a good one!

Day 2

We went out to check on the bees yesterday afternoon and they were doing very well. So good in fact that they had almost drank a whole quart jar of 2:1 sugar syrup. That's alot in 24 hours! Needless to say I'll be buying a 50lb sack of sugar in the near future.

The Man is really getting into the Bees. I have to tell you all this because he has made fun of me for YEARS!!! And now the tables have turned!

I like bugs. I took an Entomology (the study of insects) class in college and fell in love. I even have my own insect collection which I still add to. So naturally keeping bees was high on my list of things to do. When we bought The Farm I knew it was only a matter of time. The Man, like I said, has made pure fun of me for years...even up to and through the bee keeping class. But the other night after we put the bees in and came back to the house he was so worried about them. he kept saying, "Should we go check on them/" or "Lets go see what they're doing." Its so funny!!! Yesterday when I got home from he work he didn't even hug me! He told me to hurry up and change so we could go check on the bees!! KARMA!!!!!!

Hopefully we'll get out to the hive today...gotta get the package out and the last 5 frames in. If not then tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. I promise this blog won't turn into a bee blog..its just the most exciting thing right now! Ya'll have a great weekend!!

Bee Day!!!

All I can say is WOW...it has been a long day!! The Man and I were driving down the interstate with 12,000 bees in the backseat just buzzing away, the queen safely in her cage, which I has holding. We made it home just in time to get them in the hive before it started raining and got dark. We are offically Bee Keepers!!! I am so excited, as you can see from my picture! The Man looks so cute in his veil! I'll be taking more pictures as the hive progresses so don't worry. It has been a long day so I'm not going to be much longer, just wanted to let you all know that all went well, no one got stung, and the bees are home safe and sound! Ya'll have a good weekend!!

Queen Cage...You can't see her...But she's in there

12,000 Bees...Wish you could feel the heat they put off

T-1 Day

Tomorrow is Bee day and The Farm is stressed to the max! We had to have some last minute supplies rushed to us from North Carolina and UPS has lost the box. I just received a phone call from a sweet woman who is willing to meet us here in town with the box! Thank the Lord for good hearted people! Now we will be fully equipped for the bees tomorrow. We're getting them from a local keeper who has been in the business for 60 plus years. It will be an exciting day. I'll be taking a bunch of pictures and will be posting them tomorrow...hopefully. If not then Friday. Wish us luck!!! I'll talk to you then!!

TGIF

Couldn't be more happy that its Friday!!! It has been a long week. Not much planned for the weekend though. The main highlight is lunch tomorrow with old girlfriends. I will be taking pictures and introducing them all to you. Actually they are my old co-workers from the lab I used to work in. We all became really good friends though. I haven't seen them in a couple of months now and I miss them tremendously. I'm really looking forward to spending a couple of hours catching up.

I'm also doing some major grocery shopping. I like to buy in bulk. Even though it's just The Man and me, I can't stand shopping on a weekly basis. I like to buy as much as possible so I only have to go out every 3 months or so. This way I go to the grocery quickly every couple of weeks for fresh fruit and veggies, which will be changing once our garden gets into full gear. I try my best to stay out of the stores....why....because I don't like people. Sad but true. I can't stand all the people and the noise and the kids running around and the beeping and the intercom. Its enough to drive me crazy. I try to avoid this chaos if at all possible. Unfortunately now my pantry is bare, so while I'm heading up to Nashville to see the girls, I'll be hitting up one of my favorite stores, Aldi. I miss this store so much! I wish we could get one down our way.

I'll also be looking for Mabel's graduation gift. I really don't know what to get her. She graduates from college in May, I'm so proud of her. I've got a couple things in mind but they're lame, even though I know she'll like them. Hopefully I'll come to a decision soon.

The Man and I have decided to make The Farm a legit business. It makes sense. We're having issues coming up with a name for our farm....any suggestions? We've been batting around " B&B Farms" after The Girls, Bella and Bly. Lame, I know!!! But you know how The Man is about his dogs!!! Let me know if you come up with something better...please!

I think I'll stop here. I'll be back tomorrow or Sunday with pictures of my girlfriends. Until then...Ya'll make it a good one!!!

Bees and Blooms

The Farm is in full bloom. Everyday I go out and take pictures of all the new things, its so beautiful. My patio peach is the most gorgeous color!!! The apple trees are finally blooming and my lilac bush is just about there.

Yesterday we met with our beekeeping mentors, The Honeycutts, and got to open up some hives. Talk about exciting!!! They have a beautiful home right in the city that looks like it could be next door to us. They have 7 hives in their apiary and 2 hives on someone else's property up on the Mountain.

We opened up 3 hives and got to look at different stages of brood, the eggs and larva, and we got to see the queens!!! I'm a Queen Bee kinda person!! The bees were already bringing in nectar, a lot of the comb was full of it! Hopefully there will be a good honey crop this year. From what I hear last years wasn't so hot.

We spent 3 hours over there and loved every minute of it. We learned a lot and the Honeycutts inspired us more than they'll ever know. Between their property, gardens, and bees....they're our mentors in many ways now, not just with the bees. We'll be going back there very soon and I'll be taking some pictures so you can see just how wonderful it all really is.

As you can tell I'm very excited about the bees. I was like a kid in a candy store. I couldn't stop smiling, especially when we saw our first queen. I was so excited! We were identifying the different types of bees and the different types of comb. We really learned a lot in just a few hours.

Now I want my bees...NOW!!! But its still a bit early. Last year was a bad year for bees and there is a shortage of them. We're praying that a local beekeeper will be able to provide us with our first package. Poppa and Step-Mommie are going to buy us a second hive which I'm really excited about. Now we'll be able to compare the two. Hopefully we'll be able to find a second package of bees. We might have to take a weekend and go down to Georgia or up to Kentucky to get them, which is cool with me just as long as I get my bees.

I guess I'll stop talking about bees now. I hear the lawnmower which means The Man is bringing it up from the barn for me. He'll be tilling the garden while I mow. Its a bee-utiful day!!! Ya'll have a good one!