Hello everyone well it has been spring break all week and we had big plans......but you know how they can change in the blink of an eye. We have been cleaning up the limbs still from the March first Northeaster and Dusty had several ticks on him and of course one attached under his arm. Well Tuesday night he developed a "really bad headache" and then a fever......of course being a mom to nine kids and spending most of the years without any health insurance....you just don't run to the doc, you use all the home remedies and old school ways to relieve symptoms and "HEAL" and as nurse I also "know too much" you know the old saying "what you don't know won't hurt you, and what you do will." Well of course I got worried about the tick bite.....so I took him to the doctor on Wednesday and they ran some labs...and really no meds and all the labs came back normal and we would be waiting until Monday or Tuesday for the "tick borne" labs. He has been sick all week and he feels better during the day as long as you keep some children's Motrin in him. He was able to ride his scooter on Monday and Tuesday have bonfires at night and cook hotdogs on the fire, but it can really suck for a child to be on spring and be sick. My poor baby.......but as Dusty told the doctor he wasn't the baby of the family......I looked at him funny "what" then who is Dusty????? He said Ledger!!! LOL. Dusty he is your nephew and our grandson.....then I told him you might not be a baby but you are my baby! So its been a super busy week...well did you expect anything else???? LOL
We had more baby goats born and of course the bottling continues...the high tunnel preps and the greenhouse still full and growing. Still milking......which never stops...and of course we did extract honey late one night.
Saturday is calling for rain and a sleet snow mix......really April and on coastal North Carolina yeah I'm still running heaters in the greenhouse at night but that is always expected. So IDK how this will go for tomorrow but I do plan on being at Smithfield Farmers Market tomorrow from 9-12 noon. So everyone think "NO RAIN" tomorrow morning and maybe it won't rain!
April 7 Smithfield Farmers Market from 9-12 noon
I have decided to attend the Riverview Village Market on the 2nd and 4th Sundays starting this Sunday.....as I told David the manager I was a little worried to attend more than one day a week even though its only two days a month mostly.....sigh I did this before (not Riverview) but attended more than one market a week and I tell you...then you can't be a farmer.....unless you have tons of help and can leave others to do your jobs. So this will be a new experiment for me this year.....as I will try again....yes I do need the money and YES most defiantly I want to do the best job I can.....so we shall see how my new adventure goes. Because to me Sunday is a day of rest or a day you want to just EASE into the day.
Of course I made kombucha again this week and I tell you it took me all day pretty much 10 hours to make the teas and bottle the rest and transfer scobys etc.....its worth it totally as I tell you my husband Bruce really loves it! It is just soooo yummy..... if you want to see my recipe and how I do it go
this time I did grape and pineapple I got way more bottles I just needed to get them put up and out of the way for each batch, the hooch tops are the grape and the flag are the pineapple
This is catnip which has stayed alive all year in the high tunnel and now is flourishing
The radishes are really growing and all the water lines are in and ready to go
Some of the tomatoes growing
the okra
One of the baby goats born this week
Welcome little one
My wildflower seeds came this week for the bees this year I ordered 5lbs which let me tell you is expensive, we had such awesome luck with the wildflowers last year we wanted to plant more for the bees plus its great ground cover and BEAUIFUL plus other pollinators love it too.
These are some of the wildflowers we grew last year
The field was loaded with flowers and you cans see the hive bodies behind the field
Butterflies love them too
of course the bees absolutely love them!!
See all the hove boxes behind the flowers
A friend of ours let us use his homemade extractor and it has helped out so much as we were doing four frames at a time with another borrowed extractor this extractor is automatic and holds ten frames plus you don't have t flip the frames each time!
The uncapping tank
Bruce uncapping the frames to extract the honey note all the hive body boxes in the background each needs to be extracted and full of frames full of honey, I know always too much to do
uncapping the frames of honey
the frame totally uncapped
See the honey draining through the screen
Coming out of the extractor
You can see some of the BEE POST
and
and
This is Milly who now has a new home and look at that SPOILED
Bruce found this adorable turtle in the high tunnel of course I put him or her under the greenhouse for shade and plenty to eat
You see how tiny it is
I will be at both of these events coming up so please note that
Well remember hope for no rain tomorrow......at least not at market time. Enjoy your weekend I am off to replant some more in the greenhouse and paint some more hive body boxes and then make some strawberry jalapeno as per request. Hope to see you this weekend.
Until next week!
Dawn Gallop
