Modern Homesteader

I feel as if I am suffering from an incurable bout of spring fever. The promise of longer days teasing me with signs of warm weather have the receptive neurons firing in my brain, telling me it’s time to come out of winter hibernation. Early mornings (coffee in hand) watching the sun rise, exploring unknown parts of the forest, naps in the hammock, long days out in the garden watching my honey bees, I’m ready for it. I decided to remedy the situation over the weekend by bringing home a car full of flower bulbs and tubers. However, the excitement of some new color in the garden quickly faded as I came to realize all the extra work I just volunteered myself for.

In another turn of events, earlier in the year, I was initially told, “no more chickens.” So naturally, I came home with five freshly hatched chicks I found at Hot Springs Lumber and Feed on my way home. I somehow stumbled upon a white ameraucana while at the feed store. Ameraucanas in general, are not a rare breed, but I’m excited about this little one. I’m hoping for some pink eggs from her, instead of the green eggs the breed will normally lay. Night one of bringing home chicks has always been stressful for me. I think I checked on them every three hours that initial night. Luckily all five seem to be happy and healthy and I’m grateful for that.

Between planning the layout for this year’s gardens and raising the new babes, I’ve also started assembling the new bee hives. If you buy all the components of a hive and assemble it yourself, it’s significantly cheaper than buying a hive that is already built for you. Of course, the price increase of lumber this year made the end total quite painful. Nonetheless, I truly believe every beekeeper should know what it takes to assemble a hive on their own.

Any gaps left open on my part will be filled with propolis (bee glue) on the bee’s part. The bees will collect resin from different botanical sources, then mix that with their own saliva and beeswax. The resinous mixture is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the hive. Any space larger than one-quarter inch will be filled with propolis. I could join every forum and read every book, but the bees will always know better than me.

Miriah Kardelis is a modern homesteader who is always looking for new ideas. Reach her at [email protected].