The bees have been busy and so have we. Gerard Van Duinen of La Tabú (The Hague) graciously let us use his Tango music.
Posted in Bee Video, Bee-loving flowers, Bumblebees, Butterflies, Crab spider, Macro bee video, Music video, Warre Hive, Wasps | Tagged African Blue Basil, Bee Speckled dahlia, Bees in squash blossom, Bees on hypericum, Bees on Walker's Low, Bombus vosnesenskii, California Poppy pollination, crab spider, Gazania, Gerard Van Duinen, German Wasp, Greenworks garden cultivator, Honeycomb, La Tabú, Methley Plums, Mignon dahlia, Nepeta, Phacelia, Pole beans, Red Poppy bee, Salvia Nemarosa, Swallowtail butterfly, Verbascum, Vespula Germanica, Warré Bee hive, Winter lettuce | 7 Comments »
Returning from our morning walk, my wife turns to me, “Pat, the field is looking seedy. Should we mow it?” “Yeah, let’s mow it,” I say, wondering if there’s enough gas. Hmmm, I think I’ll try the new EGO battery mower to see if it’ll work on the thicker grass. To my surprise it works well.
July 4th…Independence Day. Mowing thick grass with the EGO cordless electric mower. I’m not producing carbon emissions. I’M INDEPENDENT OF FOSSIL FUEL.
We usually mow the field with the big DR Brush cutter. It’s about 11 hp and uses quite a bit of gas, so I was very impressed that the EGO cordless mower could handle this thicker and taller grass.
Leave some “No Mow Zones” for the bees. Here’s some healsall plants and some yellow Bird’s Foot Trefoil.
I left some tall grass too, for the deer. I know, I know, you’re not supposed to feed the deer, but there are so many juicy temptations in the garden that they feasted on last year. In a way, I am thanking the deer for not jumping the new deer fence into the garden. Maybe it’s more of a distraction, but so far it works. We’ve been picking up the “June drop” apples along with the mountains of ripe plums and scattering them in an area where we can see them eat (outside the garden, of course.)
Time to recharge. I use solar power.
Solar power plug installed 1 January 2013 (into my press room) Before that, I used a long extension cord from the panels through the shop window. 🙂
My wife won’t let me trim the flowers around the solar panels, but if they start casting shadows, there’s gonna be trouble! 🙂
EGO’s 56 volt battery RULES!!!
We fill several wheelbarrow loads. What are we using the grass clippings for, you ask? For mulch in the garden. We are coming into the dry season. We’re on a shallow well, so we try to conserve on water usage. Mulch cuts down on the need for water. I scatter the lawn clippings out in the sun. I’ll turn them tomorrow morning. It only takes a couple of sunny days to dry them out enough. (I’ve learned my lesson. Years ago I used fresh lawn clippings over newly planted potatoes. I couldn’t figure out why no potatoes were growing. Pulling up the mulch, I realized the grass had burned off the sprouts.)
After letting grass clippings dry for a couple of hot days, it’s ready to go.
Mulch in squash, lettuce and bean bed.
Barrels benefit from using mulch.
Poles beans growing nicely with drip watering pvc and lots of mulch.
With the advances in battery technology, it’s exciting to be able to do more and more things without using fossil fuels. If it’s true what most scientists are saying, then our grandchildren are facing a future of mass starvation, cities underwater, and out of control wildfires. With that being a possibility, we are very willing to reduce our carbon emissions as much as possible.
July 4…Our grandchildren.
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Sustainable living, Uncategorized | Tagged EGO cordless mowing, organic gardening, Sustainable living, sustainable mulch | 15 Comments »
Late April, for the first time ever, I start seeing Mason bees in the Meadowfoam.
My sister is a watercolor artist. She gave me her Guidance Mandala because she knows I like bees. I realize Mason bees don’t fly too far from home, but bees need all the help they can get, so I hung it here near the Mason bee nesting blocks.
A closer look at the Guidance Mandala. When Vikki paints a mandala she never knows where it will take her. During one of our weekly phone conversations she was inspired to add a circle of bees.
I set up the nesting blocks on March 6. Then I waited a good three weeks to see any activity. The cocoons had been in the refrigerator since October. You don’t want them emerging too soon because there won’t be enough to eat (or so I have read), but I always hold my breath hoping after five months of ‘chilling,’ they will emerge.
Finally on March 28, I see a bee. This must be a male. Males have long antenna. They usually emerge first because they are laid last in the tubes (being expendable.) Predators will be able to reach them easily. 😦
I see them slowly ‘waking up.’ This could be a female. The antennae look shorter.
May 19…I start to fill pretty smug. 26 tubes filled already…until I come across this post of Rusty Burlew (of Honeybeesuite) in Washington state.
Rusty says one of these cans will fill up in about three days. I count the number of straws to realize there are close to 100 straws in each can. Either there are more Mason bees in her area or they like the straws in cans better. I’m gonna try this method next year. Photo reprinted with permission from Rusty Burlew.
When I first saw this wasp go into a Mason bee nesting tube I was afraid it would start digging into the tubes. I asked Steve, of “In a beekeeper’s Garden” about this. His reply, “Your wasp is or has all the markings of a vespula germanica (german wasp) which lives in all the northern hemisphere, they are a social wasp so live in nests. they are great pest controllers eating caterpillars , insects and the odd bee (usually weak ones ) they won’t break into your bee tubes :)” In the video, I watch the German Wasp patrolling my garden. I watch until the wasp decides I haven’t gotten video permission from her and chases me away. 🙂
I think this is a resting Potter Wasp. I’m not sure what it’s up to. While I was grabbing my camera it poked into the tube and then emerged for it’s camera debut.
Apples, cherries, and blueberries, all benefited from having Mason bees nearby.
Want some plums? It looks like the Mason bees have been busy. My Methley trees are loaded with plums. Here are some recipes from Glory Garden.
It’s late May…I haven’t seen any activity for awhile which probably means the Mason bees are finished pollinating for this year. The cocoons are in a very delicate stage right now. I’ll be storing them in a cool inside room to protect them from yellow jackets. In September or October, I’ll remove the tubes from the blocks to store in the frig until next March. (Maybe I’ll have some new housing by then.)
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee-loving flowers, Gardening, Natural Beekeeping, Videos | Tagged German Wasp, Mason bee nesting blocks, mason bees, natural beekeeping, nature photography, pollinators, Potter wasp, Vespula Germanica, Wild pollinators | 21 Comments »
May 18…This is the entrance. Just today Sue was able to get the path covered with wood shavings. She says, “I feel like this is a secret garden. I can’t wait to show the grand kids.”
The project involved some block work by you know who. (Note to self…never make suggestions to someone about block work unless you’re prepared to do it yourself.)
Sue has added the planters with lobelia, snap dragons from seed, and Clary Sage Salvia (also from seeds this year), hoping to attract some bees. The squash barrels contain butternut, Red Hubbard, and Sugar Pie pumpkin starts. Between the planters and the squash is the Witch Hazel which we bought a couple of years ago, but it didn’t do well in the clay pot we chose for it. We hope it comes back and blooms in winter. It’s next to an Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium).
This is the only ‘before’ photo I could find. I didn’t realize it would become a new garden at the time the deer fence was being put in. I hope I got all the roots out or I’ll be finding them in a few months. 🙂
Here’s an ‘in between’ shot, some weeding done, some still to go.
And another ‘in-between shot), block removed and waiting for sand/clay mixture to be added and tamped down.
Here is the same view as above. Sue has added the planters with lobelia, snap dragons from seed, and Clary Sage Salvia (also from seeds this year) The squash barrels contain butternut, Red Hubbard, and Sugar Pie pumpkin starts. Between the planters and the squash is the Witch Hazel which we bought a couple of years ago, but it did not do well in the clay pot we chose for it. We hope it comes back. It’s next to an Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium).
I asked Sue to sit down for a moment so I could take a photo.
The hugelkulture bed is technically in the new garden too. It’s getting planted with cosmos, marigolds, phacellia, California poppies, and more marigolds.
This is the other end of the hugelkulture bed, looking back towards the tall echium.
Some other garden scenes…
May 22…Potatoes growing well.
May 18…..My wife says it was a mistake to mulch the lettuce. It takes quite a bit of time to remove the straw when you want to eat it. In the background you can see the turnip flowers heavy with growth. This is our turnip seed source. The bees are still working it for now. For the record, these turnips, which were planted directly over crab shells last year, grew all winter.
Because of the new deer fence, I can plant pole beans for the first time in about 25 years. It’ll be fun watching the vine crawl up the bamboo poles.
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee-loving flowers, Gardening, Growing flowers for bees, Videos | Tagged bee-loving flowers, Bombus vosnesenskii, echium, Gardening, organic gardening | 11 Comments »
I love the May garden. Everything is so lush and and green.
May 8…Looking over the garden to the southwest, Sue’s foxgloves (grown from seeds) provide the foreground colors, the volunteer Tower of Jewels (or echium Pininana) to the left, yellow turnip and kale flowers all attract the bees.
The potatoes are up. I just tilled between the rows with the little cultivator below.
For several years, we tried to garden without using fossil fuel. We prided ourselves on the ability to spade the garden and then hoe out the weeds. But now we’re several years older. Last month when we were faced with the task of planting potatoes, my wife says, “Let’s get the old Troy-Bilt tiller out.” Yes, it started on the second pull, but it also is waaaay too big for the raised beds. Reverse doesn’t work on it anymore and plus…it uses fossil fuel!!! Enter the battery-powered Greenworks cultivator. It’s easy to use, works well in the raised beds, and USES NO FOSSIL FUELS!
Peas planted outside…first time in about 25 years (because of the deer fence.) I added a couple of rows of carrots in the middle after I tilled it one more time.
Buckwheat is growing well, tomatoes need cages, peas and carrots, potatoes in far back.
May 2…..Sue plants some corn.
…and a second batch of lettuce.
Just for the fun of it, we bought some giant lobelia (Lobelia fistulosa) for the hummingbirds and bees. A daisy to the left and the Knockout dahlia in the center back. The dahlia has flowers that attract leaf cutter bees (at 1:18) It’s fun to watch the leaf cutters in action.
II had to get creative with the drip water grid for the squash. I’ve been accused of planting the squash too close together in years past. This time, there are only 5 hills here, where I’ve planted 10 or more hills before. The idea is we will get more if we don’t crowd them. I left the turnip flowers for the bees (and for next year’s seeds)
Drip watering gets the water to the customer without wasting any.
Another look at it…I think these are Sugar Pie Pumpkins.
There’s never enough room for squash. We are trying some ‘container squash’ this year. It’ll trail down over the stump grinding experiment.
These squash are up against the fence for a reason. They get the morning and afternoon sun. We might try using the fence to trellis them. The upside…more squash. The downside, I’ve got to water by hand unless I figure out a drip water solution.
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee Video, Bee-loving flowers, Macro bee video, Music video, Natural Beekeeping, Raised beds, Tower of Jewels, Videos | Tagged bee-loving flowers, Bees on echium, bees on Oregon Coast, bees pollinating turnip flowers, bombus melanopygus, Bombus vosnesenskii, echium pininana, Flor Braier, Foxgloves, Greenworks garden cultivator, Lobelia fistulosa, natural beekeeping, organic gardening, Pony Feelings, Wild pollinators, Yellow-faced Bumble Bee | 13 Comments »
This is the main entrance to the garden. It was the toughest area to get fenced, but I knew the deer wouldn’t necessarily follow the ‘honor system.’ With the 4×4 wooden posts and pretty gate, I’m happy with it.
“I HATE FENCES”…that said, I have to say that, so far, I love this deer fence we recently put up. It didn’t start out too well though. The conversation between my wife and I, that is. She says, “Pat, I’m tired of the deer eating everything that isn’t netted. And I’m tired of having to lift up the netting just to get a few leaves of kale or pick salad greens. And last year the deer even ate the leaves off the potato vines. They even ate some tomato stems.” That was true. We can’t net everything. We use the ‘honor system’ for the tomatoes and potatoes, deer are not supposed to eat them. They trimmed the new corn plants too. Yes, I was tired of all the deer damage too, but our efforts to find an acceptable fence line always ended in a huge disagreement. I says, “All right…if you can find a fence line…one that doesn’t go through the middle of the bamboo, doesn’t cut off the bee hives, and doesn’t slice through the main entrance to the garden, you can have it, but it’s going to take me a good month to set it up and I’m going to be upset the whole time because it won’t be straight. (I’m a printer, I like everything straight) Ten minutes later she marches in triumphantly, “I’ve got it,” she says, with a big smile. We walk it out, and yes, it’s there. I have to insist on my gates, though. I get seven of ’em. Gotta have my gates. 🙂 We decide in an effort to keep peace in the family and to get the job done in time for spring planting, it’ll be hired out. “Whew!!!”
The main entrance. The fruit trees are on the inside of the fence. That means all the wire cages can be removed.
The ‘small’ west gate.
The bigger west gate. I’ve got to grind down the stump on the inside of this gate. I’ll rent a stump grinder…that ought to be fun.
A closer look at the stump…two stumps. Piece of cake…
…NOT!!! I spent a long part of the day, grinding the double stump down with this big stump grinder. I think I got through most of it, but had to hurry to get it back within the time limit so I wouldn’t be charged extra.
This is one of my home-made gates. It opens up to the Cody garden. Cody was a special dog to us for 15+ years. He is buried there.
My daughter drew this colored pencil sketch of Cody with his favorite cat, Chuck, in 2001.
We piled up these ‘tomato’ tires in front of the south gate to try to divert the deer around the fence. They are accustomed to walking through here from the side woods. We’re hoping they develop the habit of walking AROUND the fence. Then we can remove the tires.
Another perk to having a deer fence is being able to grow peas outside the greenhouse. This gate leads to the compost area.
So, there are my seven gates. The following video shows how to build a deer fence. You know I have to shoot video of everything that moves in the garden. When the fence boys came, I couldn’t help myself…out came the cameras. I just had to find out how the pros build a tight wire fence without bending the fence posts crooked. I’m proud to say I found out and documented it for others to possibly use.
Posted in Bee-loving flowers, Building a Deer Fence, Gardening | Tagged Building a Deer Fence, Deer fence, Stretching a deer fence, Video of fence stretching | 10 Comments »
April 23…Bee Beard’s new look, complete with peacock feathers. My wife says he looks like he’s yodeling. I say the hat is ‘functional.’ and I’ll get used to it, but no one can call us “mainstream.”
I know this isn’t a lovely hackle like Johnathon Powell’s log hive ‘thatch roof’ covering. but the hive had to be fixed before attracting a swarm and this is swarm season. My wife suggested this stylish lid probably because she knew it would take me a long time to figure out a wooden solution. A ‘long time’ means Pat’s not contributing to the gardening effort.:)
The top of the hive has to vent the air through the quilt box without letting in any rainwater. How did the rainwater get in? See below.
See this crack in the headpiece? I think that’s what did in the hive. When I opened it up, the quilt box was soggy and the sow bugs plentiful.
This is the underneath. That crack can leak all the way through, letting the El Niño rainwater into the top of the hive.
I took the hive apart, cleaned out all the comb, and torched every square inch (and centimeter).
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- I cleaned out the base of the hive too, of old soggy sawdust and little critters like ants and even earthworms. I replaced it with new sawdust and even some mint for the mites.
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- Earthworms? How did they get through the screen mesh on the bottom.
I melted some old comb and stuck it back on the very torched top bars. A muslin cloth will cover the bars, then the quilt box goes on top.
A new quilt box goes in. It fits perfectly…after the third time I reconfigured it. Hey, I’m not a that good of a wood worker, but I try, try again.
This is the key to the whole thing. Let the hive breathe, but don’t let the yellow jackets in. I drilled some holes in the top and screened them over.
The observation window is cleaned up and fitted back in. It’ll be covered with a wooden plug. I like to see the bees comb building progress.
Then the hat goes on. Believe it or not, we had to get just the right one. This one lets the air come through under the hat, but keeps the rain out. My wife says, “Something is still missing.” We find a store that sells peacock feathers.
Perfect!!! Ready for immediate occupancy…
Posted in Hives, Log hives, Natural Beekeeping | Tagged Bee Beard Log Hive, beekeeping, honey bees, Log hive wood carving, natural beekeeping, Verticle log hive | 7 Comments »
April 16…Andrea called to let us know she had a newly formed swarm, hanging about chest high off the yellow plum tree…did we want it? “ABSOLUTELY!”
It was pretty easy to ‘pop’ the bees into the bucket…
…and into a Warré hive. Back to having bees again. Thank you, Andrea Gatov!
I’ve been protecting this echium plant for two years. It has finally paid off with these bluish-red blossoms. Just in time for the bees. I think this is Wild Prettii echium.
The day after we hived Andrea’s swarm, the bees were all over this shapely echium plant.
One of our new guests partakes of the nectar.
Yellow-faced bumblebees like it too.
Turnip flowers collect bees. Is that a ‘hat’ on Bee Beard Log Hive???
April 21…Close-up on turnip flowers.
Posted in Bee to Flower relationship, Bee Video, Bee-loving flowers, Natural Beekeeping, Tower of Jewels, Videos, Warre Hive | Tagged bee-loving flowers, bees on Oregon Coast, honey bees, natural beekeeping, Tower of Jewels, Warre Hive | 11 Comments »
It ain’t purty, but this 40 year-old Troy-bilt rototiller still starts on the second pull. I tilled up a couple of early rows for potatoes. You can see the 4×4’s of the new deer fence in the background.
4-6-16….Two rows of spuds go in.
My wife is very happy about the deer fence. It means she can plant some bee-loving flowers without the deer munching them. She’s planting some trachelium caeruleum in our baby bear bed. Once the fence is totally up, we will remove the cages around the fruit trees and Nine Barks.
4-4-16…..The buckwheat has been planted. Several years ago, it blossomed 3 weeks after I planted it. I’m hoping it’ll repeat, but the main reason I’m planting it is to enhance the soil
I hope I can buy one more year out of this raised bed. At the time, it was the only one we could use for the baby lettuce transplants which are growing well.
Those little hypericum seeds from last year have come up. These are almost a month old. I don’t know what I’m going to do with so many…
Amelia sent a photo of her hypericum. It looks like she might have to give some away too. 🙂
12-20-16….I took a hypericum cutting as an experiment and jammed it in the ground at the far corners.
Hypericum cutting at 3-13-16
4-7-16….Hypericum cutting is taking root.
The hypericum above started off as a cutting. In December, I sliced off the stem and jammed it into the corner of this planter. It looks like it took…but what am I going to do with all this hypericum???
Clary salvia planted in mid February
4-7-16….Clary Sage now.
4-7-16….Wild prettii echium now, was planted outside 11-27-16.
This is a different kind of echium. I’ve been nursing it along for a couple of years. It needs to be protected from freezing temperatures. I think I can see bud starts on it. See the next photo.
This is the same echium as above. The blossoms are a pretty blue color and we spotted bees on it today.
4-4-16….The deer fence has been started. I’m not a great fence fan, but if this keeps the pesky deer out, it will be worth it.”Happy wife, happy life.”
4-7-16….The wire ‘fabric’ is getting stretched and nailed on, starting in the far corner. Lots of gates for Pat, makes slow going for fence builders.
Are these bees going to move into Bee-atrice Log hive, or just tease us into thinking they will?
Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments »
April 9, 2015…The four owners at the Grand Opening. l to r…Jim, Bart, Mark, and Todd.
The bottling truck is here…
Filbert Brown Ale is the first batch to be bottled.
The bottler starts pulsing CO2
Filbert Brown Ale…One of Jim’s first big winners. Jim talks about it on the video.
Crankshaft, IPA…dry hops with Citra and El Dorado and balanced with rye malt.
Crankshaft IPA bottles get labeled
Owners and crew celebrate their first pallet of bottled beer.
This Teenager is Fighting Climate Change by Suing the Government
At about 12 minutes into the video, you can see that Sam Bond’s Brewing played a role by providing a gathering place for the kids fighting climate change.
Posted in Brewing beer, Uncategorized, Videos | Tagged Crankshaft IPA, Filbert Brown Ale, Jason Rickley, Jim Montgomery, Justin Renoud, MBS Bottling Co, Sam Bonds Brewing | 6 Comments »
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 