June 1st, 2009

Chive in Full Bloom...The chives bloomed early and fast this year. I love the fuchsia center. Below...Flowers Galore.
Blossoms Catching Light...Bright!
Globe Onion in Bloom...Honey Bees LOVE onion blossoms!
Cherry Trees Doing Their BROWN ACT...What is up with these trees? Beautiful blooms result in impressive fruit-set, only to be followed by a bizarre brown-out-shrivel-up-and-drop-off act. What gives? Pears. Now there is a reliable fruit for this micro-climate.
The Bees New Hive Stand. New bees too. I am behind in my bee tales. Both hives from last year were a total loss bee-wise. They simply dwindled. Was it CCD, queens short of sperm or what? Both had abundant stores at the time of their demise and I am still at a loss as to the reason. I am looking at using SOLID BOTTOM BOARDS through the next winter, maybe switching over to russians. What you see here are my three packages ordered and installed mid- april. More Italians and one Carniolian (they are from Russian descent). They were installed on the wonderful drawn comb and honey/pollen stores from my previous hives. Overall they are building up fine and in the case of two of them the brood nest is full of eggs/larvae and capped brood. The middle hive has gone through a supersedure, where they replace their queen. This can happen for many different reasons. Learn more bee facts/fancy here! I inspected Wednesday and found 5 queen cells, two of which were so translucent and ready, I swear, I could see the queen through the cap! Some bee-keepers might do a hive split at his point, putting a frame with queen cells and bees, and a frame or two of foundation, into a small nuc. This is to insure that if the remaining queens fail to breed and start laying, they will have a back up. I am down with a bum knee, and am really trying to simplify things. So I am letting nature take its course. If they fail, I will combine them with one of my other hives. So what is happening in there now you may ask??? A lot. By Saturday, at least one queen had hatched and we got to hear her distinctive PIPING. This is a high pitched "peeping" sound made only by virgin queens, and it is a battle cry of sorts. We heard her loud and shrill. And we also heard a muffled version, a bit less distinctly. It was the unhatched queens communicating THROUGH the cell to their rival! Typically, the first queen to hatch will systematically kill the unhatched queens. If more than one is able to hatch, they normally will fight to the death with the workers urging them on! The virgin queen continues her piping noises and eventually (within a week) decides to take her first mating flight. The queen then flies to a Drone Congregation Area where the males bees tend to hang out, about 30' up a tree. These are not drones from her own neighborhood though. Nature wants diversity I guess, so, providing the day is sunny and warm, and after an orientation flight or two (to get the location of her hive learned) the queen will travel up to a mile and 1/2 away to mate with up to 10 different drones (...the sex organ of the drone is ripped out during the act, ending his life. ) THEN she has to find her way home again! (which way IS north??) She may be gone several hours. She may go out several days in a row. Once mated, providing she safely finds her way home, she will begin laying eggs and do that task entirely for the course of her relatively long life of 3 years, never to leave the hive again, unless they swarm. So we wait. We curse the cool weather and the clouds, and we listen attentively to the piping from inside the hive. We anticipate her departure and pray for her safe return, and we look forward to the sight of those first precious eggs. If she fails to mate within a week, she would become a drone laying queen. We really need some high pressure weather, and soon!
Blackberry, Looking Innocent and Beautiful. Who knew what destruction it can bring to your landscaping!
Almonds. Great year for almonds.
I have been on a bit of a blogger holiday. I am sad to report that we are already WAY behind in terms of pics and videos around here at the Humboldt-Homestead Blogspot. I have way more flora/fauna pics and too much AWESOME video from our spring field trip to the radical Wild Cat Park (just checked their site btw; they have two new baby African Servals!! too cute! That place was OUR FAVORITE of all touristy things to do in Oregon. Great scene.) Anyway, i probably won't be getting around to that until DECEMBER at the rate i am going!! Bum knee is healing so fast, but not fast enough. Why is that? Blessed with a blessing and still whining. hmmmmm. Going back into the garden to listen some more. I think i mighta missed a message.

Nearly Two Weeks ...& Counting...

Sometimes Lost Kitties Come Home...sometimes they don't. We are hoping for a miracle like last year! Pretty weird couple weeks overall. Lost cat, Dog with Lyme and I crashed bikejoring messing up my knee for real. Sigh. Summer -relentless in coming- has urged the poppies, irises and clover into bloom, grapes are setting like mad and warm temperatures have driven the weeds skyward. Some (of the weeds...) are over 5' tall!! Sadly, computer time is not conducive to my rehab. More later.

Spring Happens Fast at 85*

Apple Blossoms...White and Unblemished; No Rain. Below, Fiji Apple set.
CrabApple Blossoms...Nectarine...and Cherry...Cherry Blossoms Angelic..Grapes Skyward Bound...Notice how FURY the Pinot Noir Grape is...Below many Plums Plumping...The Newly Set Plum Fruit Against the Great Eel River Valley...Plenty-A-Plums.Strawberries, Already!! Below, Trillium... Spring Flowers: Tulips, Lilac, Iris, Daffodil, Clover, and Anemone, all In a Hurry in our Recent Heat Wave...
Cool, Weird, Cave Formations. Oregon Caves: Worth the Visit.This bizarre mineral flowing deposit glowed in the dark...Below, Dripping Ancient History...
Tourist Stop # 1 Trees of Mystery. Very Cool Redwood Chainsaw Carvings. I love the pup! This park also features a Very HIGH Sky Ride. Scary.
Roots...and Gourds. Gourds? Yes, still holding strong ; paying tribute to Fall of 2008 ...so long ago.... I have taken a serious blogger break and am OK with being back. I have lots more great orchard shots, and random photos/impressions from our Oregon Field Trip to share soon. THIS post is for Brian, who I know appreciates what happens here. xxoo Jj

New Mushing Video

My main love..what can I say. I am of the belief that all dogs love to run and yes, even a little mini pin X dachshund like Tyke, can mush! Albeit a bit slower than the rest, Tyke proves himself to be a trooper to the end. Gotta love his swimming stylee...

Mid March Come and Gone

Welcome Rain comes to the Eel River Valley. Below, first of many Pear Blossoms drenched in blessed rain.
Almond Blossoms. Below, Pond on FULL.
Yellow Shiro PLum. I love this tree. It's mid-season, pest-free and bears fruit like crazy.
The bees got in a few good days of work this week before the appreciated rains of the weekend. Full Bee Report later.
Distant Vistas still covered in snow.
Crocus. Below, LOTS of Busy Bee Shots.
Wow. I've been suffering from a bit of computer PTSD; feeling only an aversion to interacting digitally since the loss of my winter photog efforts, coupled with some putative measures and weird glitches on YouTube that rendered a number of my videos trash. I have a computer love hate relationship right now, but I am trying to jump back in (with a deeper appreciation for the value of backing up - EVERYTHING!!) I have made meager efforts at replenishing my photos. Dry weather this week made for some great bee shots, and with the rain of the weekend there are more moist shots on deck. For now, I must report on my weaker bee hive, that finally met its end this week. At my last inspection I suspected that it had indeed gone queen-less (again) but waited until the weather warmed to again open it, inspect, and act if need be. So this week I opened it up on a warm afternoon and there were barely any bees inside the hive. Cells with numerous eggs in each confirmed my suspicions that there were laying workers. I disassembled the hive and shook what bees there were onto the grass about 10 feet from the other hive. Any non laying workers would seek refuge there (they will be welcomed, as they will come laden with nectar, pollen, or honey from having gorged themselves when I smoked them) The LAYING workers, being unable to fly, would remain in the grass. Really, barely any bees to speak of - no loss. The hive still had at least 30 pounds of honey in two deep boxes, with oodles of beautifully drawn out comb. I sorted it all out, filled 2 nucs and one deep in readiness for packages I have arriving next month. I sealed each one in a giant trash bag. I will check them once a week until I use them. There was only slight evidence of wax moth which I removed, so hopefully they will be fine. My strong hive will benefit from the (few) extra workers and in need be, the honey stores, should they run low during any extended rains this spring. My strong hive had a good cluster of bees, I saw the queen (she was balled -sign of stress during rehab of hives -best to ignore) a small but nicely patterned brood nest, lots of pollen, and a pretty full super of honey above. The lower deep which was FULL of bee bread, had moisture issues - at least 4 frames were moldy the rest yucky and wet. So I removed the whole mess, and reduced the hive to one deep and a super. They should do really well. They have a clean, tight space with lots of open cells for egg laying. Central open cells are surrounded by pollen, and honey - in that order- from the inside out in all directions. I am happy about this hive and not mourning the loss of my other hive. They put in great effort and I will benefit from it. The packages that I install into their wonderfully drawn comb with stores of honey in place, will be poised for an impressive build up. I understand now the need to have (way) more than one or two hives. You need other hives to absorb the stores of any failed hives and you need the stores of stronger hives to help supplement the growth of weaker ones. Onward.

Quickie Early March Post

Nectarine Blooms...Below Early Morning View of Snow Dusted Mt Lassik.Playful Clouds Precede the Rain...Below, Massive Plum Bloom. Alas, all weekend, and all this coming week they will do it in the rain and cold, leaving little hope of any visits from valuable pollinators.
Busy Bee... Trying to beat the recent spring storms...Below, Miniature Narcissus and a Lone Daffodil.

The weather has been blustery, rainy, and cold. I have made small headway on the pruning and am generally tidying up in preparation for spring. The days are noticeably longer and we are looking forward to another beautiful and inspiring spring. The recent rains have lessoned water concerns somewhat and with yet another week of the wet stuff in the forecast we are feeling truly blessed. I am riding with the dogs in the mud and rain, a lot. We are loving it. Updates from our dog sled racing escapades HERE. On a sad note, one of my beehives has gone queen-less in the last month, same one I was forced to re-queen in June. They have NO brood and what appears to be multiple eggs in some cells. This is a clear sign of laying workers, which can only result from lack of a good queen. What just two months ago was a respectable, feisty and normal looking hive, has been reduced to a anemic little cluster of bees that should really just be combined with my good hive and forgotten about. But I am hesitant, and waiting for warmer days. Sigh. Full report to come.

HUMDOG adoption fair tomorrow

Looking for that perfect farm dog? Humdog adoption fair & show sunday REDWOOD ACRES SUNDAY!

If you are looking for that wonderful working dog for your farm or garden, Come this weekend to Redwood Acres, Both the arts and crafts building AND the main hall will be filled with lovables looking for quality homes and all things dog. SUNDAY 11 TO 4PM AT REDWOOD ACRES!!!!

Are you looking for your best dog? Do you want to tell your story about your new pal? If you want a wonderful working dog or family pet, you MUST check out the Humdog event this Sunday at Redwood Acres! This is not a small event by any means! Two buildings full or wiggling fun! Lots of activities and special animals from every corner of Humboldt County! There will be fun treats, collars, leashes, toys, clothes and food for your pets, tons of rescue groups and dogs wanting a loving home, and much much more! PLEASE come if you can activities will be in the Franchisi Hall and the Arts and Crafts building. 11 to 4PM this Sunday! We who are participating look forward to seeing you there!!!!!

Found on Craigslist and reposted here. See you there?

Dogs Rock

Mid February Post -

Mid Winter Web...and Impressive Pre-Storm Sunrise...

Coastal Beauty...

Plum and Almond Blooming ....

We have been blessed with abundant moisture in the form of rain and snow. I was away for the bulk of this last storm which dumped over 6" of snow and is still lingering here and in higher elevations. After our warm dry January the Almonds and Plums are attempting to bloom in temps of 30* with days of swirling snow, cold and wind. Sigh. Below, Store Bought Springtime.

What's NORMAL anymore?

Plum and Forsythia Normally Signal the Arrival of Spring...

Valley Fog Drifting Over Bear Butte...I love early morning.

On the home front I have been resisting the mundane, and am having for all the world what appears to be a mid-life crisis. Dog sled racing, dog driving in any form, and training the dogs, or myself for said activity, is pretty much all I am willingly to do, willingly. The rest? I raise a cry like you've never heard. Actually, I did manage to prune ALL the grapes, and have started on the smaller trees with only minimal whimpering. I did a giant Santa Rosa Plum tree yesterday, that took over an hour... Looks good, but really - must it have SO many branches? FACTOID: we NEED to prune fruit trees because they have been essentially "domesticated" and are freaks that grow too many branches, so they have to be managed!!! If you don't like to prune much, try planting European Plums ( prune plums) not the Japanese plums (Santa Rosa and sweet freestone varieties.) European plums and virtually all pears require very minimum pruning. They are pruned for shape, and to eliminate crossed and broken branches only. Mulberries and Raspberries are also low maintenance/easy on the pruning. Apples and all Japanese Plums are the worst. Peaches, nectarines and apricots (if you can get them to grow) all fall somewhere in the middle. The weather has been very dry and unseasonably warm for all of January. Finally this weekend we have a semblance of a storm that has dropped just under 2" in my yard. It is raining again now...there were rumors of possible snow tonight. Still, in the back of my mind I am planning the "desert mode" revisions that may need to be made to my orchard. Basically, my plan would be to chain saw anything that has failed to produce and mulch the remaining trees generously. I see cherries, figs and a couple other weak and spindly specimens that should have been removed long ago, all falling. I would like to go with established trees, and only re-plant that which has proven itself up here: Golden Delicious and other late apples, the late plums and for sure pears, and maybe more almonds. All the grapes will be spared as they do pretty well under drought conditions. I am mulching everything in preparation for possibly NO irrigation this summer. Watch, come March, I'll be reporting on a flood...we'll see.

A New Day

Still Riding the Inaugural High....I wish this administration the best of luck in sorting out the chaos within our government. Nuff said... See my MUSHING BLOG for the best of my adventures in this new year.

44 Blueberries...One for each president, with one for Obama right in the middle. More soon.....real soon.