It's amazing how fast things speed up in late spring/early summer. Seems like just yesterday I was writing about Harry James going off to his new home and now Luna and Ginny are just about 5 months old.
Needless to say, this is the busy season at the farm. Its been hot so that means hay season. First cut from our primary fields is already on wagons and in the barn and we'll be moving on to some of the other fields in the next week or so. (These are the days I'm a little happy I have a Monday-Friday job and can only really be recruited for hay help on the weekends.)
The garden is going in but we're having a heck of a time with the lack of rain so we've been replanting the things that cook. Also with the price of lumber we couldn't really justify adding to the raised beds so that will have to wait until next year.
Otherwise, the barn cats are realizing that Dad = food and if they hear his voice they're actually making themselves visible.
And they are definitely making a difference in the rodent population in the barns which is fabulous.
The bees on the other hand, are having something of a rough year. Hive 1 looks awesome. Hive 4 looks good. Hives 2&3... not so much. In order to keep them from collapsing, I combined the hives into Hive 2 spot. Then I traveled up to the wonderful Humble Hives up in Woodsville. A lovely 3 hour round trip and I came back with a frame of brood.
When I checked yesterday they had made a queen cell so hopefully they get their act together and become a functional colony!
Tonight will bring a big adventure for Hive 2 that they don't even know about yet.
Curious?
Check back in a week or so for an update.
