fall weather and stuff

today is a day that exemplifies the fall season, and really gets me in the mood for Bach, Mozart, Grieg and other composers.  We have most everything ready for winter at home, plastic on the windows, a tank of lp etc.  Planted garlic on Friday afternoon, was a splendid day for it, it's all about timing.  Need to get it in the ground before it gets too cold, plus I dont want it to come up too much before winter, either.  Trying it different this year, planting single rows, not in 4 ft. wide beds.  I want to see if it is easier to manage this way.  Hope that it works out!  The bees have been fed and medicated and are ready for winter, I hope.  It is so cool being a beekeeper, I find it exhilerating working with them throughout spring and summer and fall.  The only real pest problem I've noted was a skunk that came up to the front of one of the hives, and scratched to irritate them,and when the guard bees came out, ate them.  Oh well, I turned it into a good skunk, and the bees are happier now.  Good day :)

Bach: Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227 (Mvt. I, II, III)

Oct

Wow, keeping on the theme of the nice fall thus far, last weekend, I felt so good I hooked up the plow and plowed up the garden for next year.  I haven't felt this good in a while. It was so nice to feel the wind on my face, the noise of the tractor running wide open, feeling the dirt roll over the moldboards, ,and the smells of the soil, oh how good it is!!!  The only problem was an oil leak that got on my clothes boots and tractor.  Oh well the fragrant smell of motor oil will leave eventually, so until then I just live with it.  smels are so powereful at reminding us things.  Every year about this time, I catch a wiff of diesel smoke on cold autumn day and I get transported back in time, to when I was a tank commander, riding in Korea.  There too, the smells are so powerful, conveying times of youth, well younger days anyhow.  /suffices to say i really enjoy this time of year and the more I deal with it the less bad it becomes.  Enjoy the day!

october sun

I just love this indian summer that we are now having.  The weather has been just wonderful for being and working outside in.  The bees are still busy finding whatever pollen or nectar, (mostly if not all done by now) and getting their hives ready for the upcoming winter.  Supplemental feeding and medications, organic and natural of course, will begin next week.  Have a new product we are using called Apigard for varroa mites and tracheal mites.  This is natural and seems to work well so far.  Getting the rabbitry ready for the cold weather,  too.  Winter time breeding and young raising is always a challenge. This year should do better.  Talked about getting some beef cattle next spring now that the sheep are gone.  We'll see how this goes.  Good day.