I had planned on doing a variety of tasks yesterday but found myself spending a large part of it on homeschooling. J has dug into Code Combat and is plugging along. We are trying to cover the main topics for the various levels he has been doing and I will likely buy a license for the 3 months. He is enjoying it and it is a pretty cool ui/ux with a lot going on on each screen. He spent most of the day doing school work, which was a bit out of the norm for him. Even in the afternoon he was still sitting at his desk working on a packet.
I got out and got a slim 30 squash picked but I had more than enough for this morning's delivery. I need to have enough for Tuesday now but should have no problem getting enough.
By the shed I found this cool insect. It had a broken wing so was unable to fly. It tried its darnedest to but just couldn't get off the ground. It was pretty mellow while I held it. I have looked in my guides but can't find what it is. I set it on the fir tree nearby so it was off the ground.
Got the boys their lunch then got to picking beans. I got through the Red Swan and Provider rows and a bit of the Roc d'Or and Compass rows which got me just under 10 pounds. I have to spend most of today picking beans since they are getting big fast and I can't have them getting too meaty.
I finally got myself into the hives to pull my flow frames. I am 2 weeks late on it but it is not too bad since there was only a very small amount of honey in 2 frames. I pull the flow frames from the 2 big hives and replaced with clean normal frames. I then popped off the top supers and then put on my formic acid strips then put a super on then put a pollen patty on it, then set the top super on so they have room to fill more frames. The smallest hive has a very full super and have just barely started on the upper. I put the formic acid strips in and a pollen patty then put the empty super back on top. In the evening one of the bigger hives had a ton of the bees massed at the entrance but it could have just been the potency of the strips. They are very effervescent and made my sinus twinge when I open the packages. I also dusted the top bars with superdfm powder.
My big goal this year is to get my hives to survive through winter. I am following the directions from where I got my nucs and since they are local I am figuring it is the best method to keep them alive.
Backed the truck up and loaded up all the OSB and drove it up to the shed. I unloaded it all and leaned it against the back wall. I am going to have enough that I am going to do the back wall inside and out with it. I have to get the strapping and insulation in first though.
As I drove the truck back to park it I stopped and loaded up a pair of 12 foot pallets and then dropped them where the wood had been. The area is my hay spot and now I can use the big pallets for the bales. With the pallet covers I am going to have nice and dry hay no matter the weather.
Today I have to spend picking. Luckily the temps are not horrible as there is a definite Fall feel in the mornings. I may go get a load of hay today as well.
Fleming Family Farm
FLEMING FAMILY FARM, LLC
Sustainable & Organic Methods | Heirloom Produce
All images are original works of Fleming Family Farm unless otherwise notated and credited.
If you find this post useful or entertaining, your support is greatly appreciated by upvoting, following, and sharing!
