So our website was migrated a week ago and I have been busy learning new website software. We were migrated from SiteStudio (no longer supported) to WordPress and although it has been a very long learning curve, it is great and I am looking forward to learning all its bells and whistles! So many new options to choose from is overwhelming so we are very slowly chipping away at getting our site back together. You will see many changes over the next several months for sure. Wish me luck!!
Dead Outs =(
We have been so successful with out bees so finding several of our hives dead really upset us. We surmise that their mite population was too great even though we treated in late September with MAQs – Mite Away Quick Strips. We are thinking that we treated too late in the year?
- Very small population of bees
- Tons of capped honey
- Plus we had a sugar cake on top
- No signs of disease
We ended up loosing 80% of our hives =(
Round Bale Feeder
For years I have fed the goats hay in the pasture using a wheelbarrow and small 4′ hay feeder. We purchased a Premier Big Bale Feeder for our doe pasture and loved it so much, we also bought one for the buck pasture! This has saved me so much time and the goats waste VERY little. I highly recommend these.
UPDATE: We made a cover using a cut cattle panel covered with re-purposed vinyl (store signs).
Accredited Tuberculosis-Free herd
We have been doing whole-herd testing for several years so have reached out to the state for certification. Yay! Effective November 2017, we are now NC Accredited Tuberculosis-Free.
United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
National Tuberculosis Eradication Program
National Brucellosis Eradication Program
Making Soap!
How fun!! I made several different batches of soap successfully! Some cold process, some hot process. I prefer the cold process because there are less steps although you do have to let the soap cure for a few weeks before using it. This will make sure the lye has saponified. I used goat milk in some and lard in some and used different Essential Oils for frangrance. Dallas likes the Cedarwood oil, I prefer the Lemongrass or TeaTree oils.
The plastic container was destroyed in order to get the soap out. Lining it first with wax paper works MUCH better. =)
