Aside from some residual hacking I believe my family is finally well! And with the weather being nice and birthday extravaganza about to begin, it could not come at a better time.
Here's some random smiles of last week.....
First some farm news.
~I'm still not exactly sure what happened to my bees. I took some frames to bee class and everyone pretty much ruled out parasites and disease. That was a relief. And because every beekeeper has a different opinion, I got some different answers as to what it could've been. I think I've decided it was queen failure. There wasn't much brood, indicating that my queen could've died. And it being so late in the year they didn't have time to rear a new one.
That said, I still don't feel entirely comfortable reusing that wax....just in case. So my plan is to cut it out and save it for the summer when I can melt it in my DIY solar wax melter (I can't wait to try this!!) and to replace the wax. I've never built my own frames or replaced foundation so this will be a first for me too. LOVE beekeeping!!!
OH! And how could I forget? I also learned how to split a hive last week. So next month when it is warmer I'm planning on splitting my strong hive into two hives. EXCITED!!!
Do you remember this guy? He's the kitten Lane found that was hit by a car. She found him on the day we were leaving for the STATE GAME and brought him home and nursed him back to health. He's made a full recovery and since I couldn't talk anybody into taking him has made himself quite at home. He's really the sweetest little thing and I'm loving his cuteness.
Insert intermission of the farm news to bring you this...speaking of STATE CHAMPS my shirt finally came in!
(Farm news continues....)
We are still enjoying our pickles from last year. In all the afternoons of canning I learned...
1. pick when they are small
2. don't use dill or cayenne
3. half gallon jars are where it's at
4. my family can finish a 1/2 gallon jar in 10 minutes
Now we are discussing just what to plant next month and what is worth the space and what isn't. My neighbor came and tilled up our spot and it looks so brown and fresh and ready.
~The chickens have continued to lay well through the winter though we still have to buy eggs from the feed store. I'm hoping to get 25 chicks from 4H next month.
The end of farm news.
~Last week I tried making yogurt in the crockpot. There are lots of recipes floating around and everyone claims it to be so easy.
Well it's not. I wasted a whole gallon of milk and the last of my greek yogurt. GRrrrrrr.....
BUT I did make it in my yogurt maker after that and I forgot how easy and perfect it is. I'm eating a lot of yogurt these days.
~I continued with the 4 weeks challenge and got some things cleaned up. But with birthday fun around the corner, it'll still seem messy until it's over. Oh so worth it!
~I'll leave you with our menu for next week.....
Sat - Pizza
Sun - Burgers and fries, oreo cake (Lane's birthday )
Mon - frozen pizza and strawberry cake (Josh's birthday)
Tues - roasted chicken, broccoli, salad
Wed - Burrito Bowls
Thurs - Baked potato and chicken casserole
Friday - roasted veggie enchiladas
Today I'm having some kiddos do some freezer cooking for me.
Carrot cake and cocoa muffins. We will pull these out next week on the days when we don't have time to make snacks.
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