Bees are the Buzz on Richmond Boulevard

We met a friend/mentor at last month's county beekeepers meeting: Bee Jeff. We are so grateful to have this expert guidance as we start our hive. Our hive is ready and waiting in a patch of sun that lies on the border of our garden. We know so much about how to care for a hive naturally and without chemicals because of a two-hour lecture we recently went to. Yet we have no idea what it will be like once we have the buzz in our own garden!

On Sunday we visited Jeff's house, where he has four thriving hives (two in his yard and two on his roof!) We learned about how to reduce veromites, collect pollen, and catch a swarm. We got our first up-close-and-personal experience with a hive. We opened one and got to see all the drowsy action on a cold morning. If it's below 65 degrees, you shouldn't open the hive too much. They always keep their hives at 95 degrees all year round to keep the brood nest and queen happy.

The coolest part is that Jeff has collected lots of swarms in the past and the second swarm he captures this spring might be ours! Exciting and terrifying...

Merging the Flocks

Now has come the time to introduce the Araucana chicks to the resident Longhorn chickens: Emmy Lou, Hawking, and Jessie Rosalee (Wildcat Tennessee). They have grown too big for their cage and they squawk so loudly now that we have to put them outside when we watch a movie.

So last weekend, we put their cage next to the adult's coop. And that yielded only a few curious chicken big-eyed-jelly-neck moves (you know what I mean) and a few quick pecks. Apparently, young chicks don't know the social etiquette of avoiding eye contact with superiors, so they learn the rule pretty quickly.

Yesterday, we put them all in a large dog kennel out in the yard - neutral territory - for several hours. The chicks cheeped the whole time, clustered in the corner while the big mamas took violent dust baths that sent dirt spewing everywhere. Later that evening, when the babies were in their own cage and inside, they practiced their own dirt bath moves, which was a totally new behavior for them. Modeling is powerful!



Today is the big day! Now the babies are in their own cage within the coop. They are going to be let out in a few hours. I made a nesting box that they will likely sleep in tonight unless they are kicked out. Cross your fingers...

It's Hive Time!

So being off of school for a week definitely lends itself easily to starting new projects! Like this one: bee keeping.

My grandfather, Otto Braunohler, was a bee keeper in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. He had a little shed for honey extraction/packaging, gifting jars of honey to friends and family at Christmas. It is in my blood.

With Chris's birthday fast approaching, I decided it would be the perfect gift for him. Plus, this would mean that when it came time to smoke out the bees and collect their honey, Chris could don the white suit and bee hat while I stood a safe distance away and took photos (for the blog, of course!)


So I purchased all the bee hive equipment one needs, according to "The Backyard Beekeeper" and a very expert woman named Jenn, who works at Biofuel Oasis. I bought two boxes, or supers, of wax frames for the bees to inhabit. I got a queen excluder, which is a nifty metal screen that allows all smaller bees, and not the queen, through its slats. That way, she can't leave the hive with the rest of the colony following her. That would be what is called a swarm of bees - bees on the lookout for a new home. And that is ONE way (the most exciting one) to acquire a colony of our own. Last week, I put our name on a 'swarm list,' and if we get a call that a homeless community of bees is found, we get to say "Yes, we'll take them!" There is a whole chapter about how to actually go and tap the swarm off of a branch into your bee box, but I am thinking that we'll have a more experienced apiarist do that.


One cool thing happened last week as I was unloading our bee boxes and carrying them up to the house: I ran into Enoch, a friendly neighbor I'd never met. He has apricot and lemon trees and proposed a trade: Honey in exchange for fruit! It is one of our first true signs of being a producing urban farm (Chris always points out that I use this term too loosely). We'll have a surplus that we can provide to members of our community!

P.S. The chicks are thriving! Souffle, Streetlight, and Blow-Blow all got a thorough butt cleaning this evening and settled down for a cozy time. Here we are reading a chicken magazine that decidedly has too much information about backyard chickens. Basil definitely is curious!

Total Sucker for Chicks!

So today I was at BioFuel Oasis, my new favorite urban farm gear store, with Nikko. We were on different errand, but couldn't help but notice about 60 fluffy day-old chicks for sale. $5 each - how can one resist? At first I thought, "let's get two," even though we only really have room in our coop for one more adult. Then I thought, "well, two would keep each other company." Then further reasoning somehow brought me to figure "three would be best because if one dies or turns out to be a rooster, then we still have two." So Nikko happily chose three chicks (Breed: Aracuana; Read: blue-tinted eggs!)

On the way home, Nikko came up with three names: Blow-Blow, Streetlamp, and Truck. I told him we would use Blow-Blow, but that we'd have to let Chris name the others since they would be his early birthday present.

So when Chris came home, I led him to a covered cage. They gave themselves away with the peeping, and a huge smile spread across Chris's face. Happy birthday, sweetie! I hope you like this gift I got for us.

Homesteading in Oaktown

You may know this already, but Chris and I are busy farming here near downtown Oakland. After reading Novella Carpenter's blog last week, we deem our garden project "city farming." Doesn't that sound way more grand?

We have three chickens who have the rotating names: Emmy Lou, Jessie Rosalee Wildcat Tennessee, and Hawking. They started off needing a lot of care (heat lamp, personal indoor bedroom, daily butt cleaning) but now are pretty self-sufficient little creatures who each give us an egg daily (except on Saturdays because of Shabbat - seriously, that's the only reason we can think of). Our generous neighbor, Lor, has taken to giving the chickens amaranth, dandelion greens, and other choicest bits from her kitchen. Rachael, across the street, brings them apple cores and old bread. They are just loved, and they give us eggs to show their many thanks.

So our ears perked up at the thought of getting a turkey as our next project. Our own turkey for Thanksgiving 2010 - how neat would that be? Chris got online and found some really cool heritage breeds, but the minimum requirement for all orders is 15, simply so they huddle and stay warm during shipment. We really just want one, but they are social animals, so we'd have to get two. Somehow.

And then we read on and learned that turkeys can get a nasty disease from chicken poop called "Blackhead." This will happen especially if they live in the same smallish pen. Don't you just find that sometimes too much information can drive you away from your original great idea? We'll have to wait for more space or create another pen alongside the woodpile...Hmmmmm.

Our Wedding Certificate is Framed!

Dear friends and family,

Our gorgeous document is now framed and hanging in our living room. We are so touched by seeing all of your names there, representing your loving support. Notice, too, the amazing photograph taken by Caroline Coolidge, which sits on the piano. Somehow, she captured us right after the ceremony near the youngest flower girl inspecting petals in the grass.

We love you all,
C & C

Thanks to everyone for coming and sharing the amazing weekend with us! We loved seeing all of your faces in the orchard, smiling on us and sending us joyful warmth. It was such a magical day for both of us.

We have been enjoying the past month traveling to British Columbia, the San Juan Islands (WA), and Nantucket Island (MA). We've been basking in the summer's glow and adventuring together as giddy newlyweds. This week we head back to Oaklandia to resume our full homelife of teaching, friends, and animal husbandry. Please stay in touch and visit us anytime.

Pro photos can be seen (and purchased) on Sylvia's website. Just login as: hanson09 and password: 2009. Enjoy!

Love, C & C