Honey!

We pulled honey last weekend...
Aaron getting the smoker going

The middle hive pulled apart.  We had a huge swarm a few months ago we were unable to catch, and then cold rain came for about a week, so we lost them all.  It had to have come from this hive, because there were hardly any bees left, and even though there had been quite a bit of honey earlier in the year, it was mostly gone too.  We pulled this hive apart and left the few bees to absorb into the neighboring hives.

Aaron with our honey!

We added in Apiguard to treat for varroa mites, you can see the little boxes we put in the middle to make room for it.  

Honey taking over our kitchen.

This is always a sticky mess!

Aaron, extracting.

Honey!  We got just under 7 gallons this year.

Aaron did get stung on the last hive.  He always has a huge reaction, but this was his smallest one actually.  We always take a preventative loratadine, and he took another one right away with this sting. I've only had 3 stings in 3+ years, which I think is pretty good.

They all look the same, but we separated out 3 kinds of honey this year.  5 gallons of one, 3/4 gallon, and half of another.

I have to switch out the medicine in a week, remove it for the winter, and then they will be tucked away and I get a break from beekeeping for a few months.

First Night

This is what happens when you kick over a full gallon of paint.

Sometimes it lands on things you wish it hadn't.

But the door is up - it has a handle on the inside (still waiting for the right one on the outside), a lock on the outside and one of those things that goes on the underside to prevent drafts (I think that's what it's for anyway).

I decided to paint the nest boxes blue - which is how the paint got spilled.

Aaron screened in the two end windows so the babies could have some ventilation tonight.  Both sides opened, but he screwed the other half shut, and fastened the framed screen for full security.

I don't have wood shavings down, because we are still working in there, but I did want to get them in tonight.  Chickens like routine.  Going to bed in a new place breaks their routine, and it was a stressful hour or so getting them settled.  Especially so with the heat.  Lots of panting going on.

Let us out of here! I had the unscreened window open to cool it down.  Once they realized it was an escape to outside, it had to be closed.

I set them on the roost several times before they finally stayed put.  The cochins especially did not want to go on the roost.  One of them continually threw their body at the now closed window trying to get out.

Can't we just sleep in our old coop?

I'm hoping they will do better tomorrow night, now that they know where home is.  Once they get it down, I can move the other girls out of the garage.  We'll add another roost, so the underdogs can get away from the bullies.

The Door

Oh this door.  It's been difficult from the beginning.  We wanted it to open on the other side, so we had to chisel in spots for the hinges.
Once that was done, we screwed in the hinges and hung the door.  But it wouldn't shut all the way.  After taking it off 5 or 6 times and making adjustments we (Aaron) finally got it to close properly.

Aaron likened this whole situation to getting off a bit on a quilt and then having it get worse and worse.  The concrete pad is sloped for water run off, the frame of the coop was slightly off because of this.  The door jamb is even more off, and so on and so forth.  The door is not straight at all, but it will work, and we keep reminding ourselves this is JUST a chicken coop.  

During the fun.

There it is in all its glory at 10:00 pm.  It still needs many things to make it a functional, locking door, but I think we can get the babies in tomorrow night.  I'll give them a night or two to get the hang of it before I mix in the older girls.  

Coop

I finished painting the door today and we got the nest boxes and the roof finished - yay!

We're trying to get everyone moved in before this crazy hot weather hits.  My poor cochins are panting at 80, they are going to be hurting at 100 :(

Bend

I took a quick trip to Bend to visit Megan, Jason and Wren.  I just realized Megan and I didn't take any pictures together unfortunately.

Lunch with Wren

Quilt exhibit at the High Desert Museum

New clothes for Wren!

Lunch at the Sno Cap.

Shopping at the Stitchin' Post

Pretty views on the drive home.

I had a great time, I can't wait to see you guys again!

Birthday Dinner

I have a couple of catch up posts from the months when we were frantically getting as much done in the new house before we had to move.

We had my birthday dinner at my favorite place to eat ever - Gathering Together Farms in Philomath.  We have had the most delicious, high quality, reasonably priced meals here.  I can't remember the names of all of these things, but the photos speak for themselves.

Salmon with pearl couscous and pesto

Flat iron steak (so tender you can cut with a fork) with smashed potatoes, zucchini and I think that is aioli on top.

So good!  I can't wait to have another birthday...luckily we took my mom her for birthday and she loved it, so at least two meals here a year :)

Devils Lake

I'm back!  We went camping for the first time in almost two years this weekend - what?!?  Crazy because we used to go so much, but the wedding took over our summer last year.  We headed to the beach and stayed at Devils Lake State Park.  Maybe we were just unlucky, but that campground was super loud and I don't know that I'd be jumping to go back.  But it was right next to Devils Lake which gave us a place to try out my new (to me) kayak!  We had beautiful weather and had a blast.  My kayak is the white one, Aaron has had his blue kayak for a few years, but was waiting for me to get one so we could go together.  I wish I had pictures of the little canal we went through.  It was gorgeous with water lilies blooming and huge grass carp swimming around.

We stayed our second night just outside Pacific City at Whalen Island campground.  Close camp sites again, but it began to rain just as we were going to sleep so it kept things quiet on the home front.  We woke up dry and rested and headed home in time for Father's Day.
I've been working on some crafty projects that I hope to share soon!

Summer!

How can summer be so hectic and so lazy at the same time?
Here's what we've been up to:

Eating from the garden


Liesel's wedding in Idaho


Building a photo booth


Processing 50 pounds of apricots. What? It was a good deal!


I picked 30 pounds of the most beautiful Bing cherries I've ever seen. I've been eating, jamming, canning and freezing them.


Beets!


I love them.


I also picked enough pie cherries for 3 pies. I pitted them, added the rest of the ingredients and froze them in pie pans lined with saran wrap. Into freezer bags and they are ready to go. Helpful hint: When you find gorgeous pie cherries on the side of the road and you can't resist, be prepared for worms. Soak the cherries whole in cold water for an hour and most of them will make their way out and can be rinsed way.

The garden today:


It's loving this heat, finally. Although if we could keep it around 80 for the wedding, that would be great!