Weekly Update: 5.25.24
What has a man fromĀ all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?
Ecclesiastes 2:22, ESV
Early in the day, the sun animates the world, it's light bending to the viridescent earth. It wakes us all, diffused through the tent canvas, beckoning us to our various tasks and toils. By mid-afternoon, the once cheery rays turn hot, burning our skin and driving us all into the shade. Thankfully, much of our work can now be done under the shade of a tin roof. Even so, this week found us under the sun more than normal, as we worked on our garden, tended our bees, and prepared our swimming pool site.
Our bees were our biggest project this week, as we moved them into their new hives. We started on Saturday night. The first move went smoothly, as we simply transferred the populated Langstroth hive frames from the swarm trap into the hive. Our other swarm was not so simple. We had intended to give those bees a few new frames and leave them in their trap for another week. When we opened the lid, though, we destroyed a massive comb they had built from the lid down. Unsure of what to do, we scraped the leftover bits of comb off the lid so we could add the frames, then put the lid back on. (We later tasted some of the honey in the bit of comb we had to remove. It tasted sweet and floral, and felt like a small miracle.)
Since there was so much broken comb in the bottom of the trap, we became concerned about robbing -- other bees or bugs invading the swarm. After getting some advice from beekeeping friends, we decided to go ahead and move the bees into their hive. This required a Sunday afternoon mad-dash to finish up one of the hives we were building. Jeremiah, Dad, Erin, and I worked all evening, and we moved the bees just after dark.
Now that both swarms are installed in their hives, we need to clear an area for our apiary. Once we have a location set up, we will move both hives to their permanent location.
When we weren't building hives and moving bees, we made a lot of progress in our garden this week. Our dad -- with the help of Levi, Jeremiah, and Grace -- put up our four-foot woven wire fencing. This weekend, we plan to add a couple rows of barbed wire around the top, to deter deer from trying to jump in. Our garden area is very large -- more than 6,000 square feet. We don't plan on using all of it this year. We have even discussed cross fencing it and using part of it for an animal pen at first.
Jeremiah also helped the kids paint their tree fort. He helped them build it a couple weeks ago, using scrap lumber left over from various bunkhouse projects. It's no wonder the kids call him the "funcle" (for fun-uncle). The fort turned out beautifully -- so much so, I wish it was my tree fort. I told the kids, they may find me up there reading one of these hot afternoons. We ordered the paint from Walmart, where it was on sale -- and the colors couldn't have been more perfect.
With the rising temperatures this week, we decided to order another above-ground pool. Since our last one didn't last more than a season, this year we opted for a smaller, less expensive option. We spent several hours clearing the old pool site of gravel, where we had been washing our laundry. Bonnie-Jean set up a new laundry pad where we used to have a smaller pool for the kids. This year, they will be swimming in the big pool, since it is not quite so deep as the one last year. We had planned to set up our pool yesterday, but a storm caused us to postpone until (hopefully) this afternoon.
We also switched out all of our winter bedding, packing up our down duvets. We unpacked the lightweight coverlets we saved from last year, and we ordered a few new ones. After a couple very-warm nights, we are planning to hook up our air conditioner again in the next couple weeks.
In the bunkhouse, Arwen's kittens are growing bigger every day. The kids are in love. They spend every moment they are allowed petting and playing with the kittens. Dolly loves them, too, and enjoys napping near the pen. We don't let her play with them, though -- as we aren't quite sure why she loves them so much.
It was a busy week under the sun. We spent more time than usual outside, which was a really nice change. Most nights, I've finished the day reading -- about beekeeping or raising chickens the natural way. Everywhere we look, there is so much to learn and do. If we think about the results, it can get almost overwhelming, as there is so much that takes so long to accomplish. But the the process itself is good. Each day is full of time together, wholesome work, and shared meals. As I wake to another sun-kissed morning, I can't help thinking -- there is nothing better than this.
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God.
Ecclesiastes 2:24, ESV
