New Dahlias in the Sweetgrass Pet Cemetery
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The Bees are Out of the Barn!
Resident expert bee keeper Jeff Clark came by the ranch last Thursday and took a gander at our latest "situation" -- a swarm of honey bees had entered the north wall of the barn through a hole, one used to route an electric cord out to the horse paddock's electric fence charger.
Sensing our panic, Jeff spent a good deal of time helping us understand the immense value of Honey Bees and their present decline due to mites and pesticides. At the end of our visit, my husband and I agreed to nix bug spray in favor of a more natural solution.
Jeff recommended Bee Gone or Bee Dun, commenting that he couldn't recall which one smelled like vomit. Lovely. Friday morning, I drove to Ruhl Bee Supply in Gladstone and purchased a bottle of Bee Dun, an aromatic blend of essential oils used to flush bees out of hives during the honey harvest. Thankfully, Bee Dun exudes a potent almond scent.
Saturday evening, as we were making our first application of Bee Dun to the barn wall, the temperature dipped. Funny thing about bees -- they're not real active when it's cold. This fundamental bee-ism translated into everything taking a whole lot longer than it should have.
For the past four mornings, I've religiously drizzled Bee Dun into the wall and watched as thirty to fifty bees leave the hive. Most of those same bees have been have been clustered on the barn's outer north wall for several days now.
I'm glad we found a natural, non-toxic way to evict our unwelcome guests. I wish them well and I hope they'll find a good home.
Sensing our panic, Jeff spent a good deal of time helping us understand the immense value of Honey Bees and their present decline due to mites and pesticides. At the end of our visit, my husband and I agreed to nix bug spray in favor of a more natural solution.
Jeff recommended Bee Gone or Bee Dun, commenting that he couldn't recall which one smelled like vomit. Lovely. Friday morning, I drove to Ruhl Bee Supply in Gladstone and purchased a bottle of Bee Dun, an aromatic blend of essential oils used to flush bees out of hives during the honey harvest. Thankfully, Bee Dun exudes a potent almond scent.
Saturday evening, as we were making our first application of Bee Dun to the barn wall, the temperature dipped. Funny thing about bees -- they're not real active when it's cold. This fundamental bee-ism translated into everything taking a whole lot longer than it should have.
For the past four mornings, I've religiously drizzled Bee Dun into the wall and watched as thirty to fifty bees leave the hive. Most of those same bees have been have been clustered on the barn's outer north wall for several days now.
Today, it finally warmed up and there were a lot of bees on the side of the barn. According to Jeff, the swarm will continue to cluster on an exterior wall until the scout bees have identified another home.
I'm glad we found a natural, non-toxic way to evict our unwelcome guests. I wish them well and I hope they'll find a good home.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
A Cold Day for a Snake
It was a cold day for a snake with the temperature barely reaching the
mid-forties. Our resident slitherer, the small snake who lives in the rock wall
by the ranch house, spent much of its day curled up on a south-facing stone.
With loads of rain and high intermittant winds, there wasn't a whole lot of sun
to soak up. Try telling that to a snake.
I managed to snap about four photos before this guy -- or gal -- flipped itself onto the ground and slithered into a storm drain. Interestingly, the snake used its tail to hang down into the drain, suspending the rest of its body above the water. Talk about athletic!
The chilly weather also grounded the honey bees who took lodging in the barn's north wall last Thursday. Despite the copious amounts of Bee Dun -- an herbal solution that makes bees leave the hive so a bee keeper can harvest honey -- I've injected into the wall, the bulk of the colony is still there. Fifty or so bees did leave the interior wall and are clustered outside. To my eye, they seem to be shivering -- probably my imagination.
Most insects take flight between fifty and fifty-five degrees, making the cool weather a blessing when it comes to the bovine warts we've been battling on one of our Black Angus heifers, Libbey. Flies and other biting insects are a primary vector for bovine wart virus, a virus that has been implicated in about seventy percent of equine sarcoids. So, having the insect population grounded has been a huge blessing. Best of all, Libbey's warts seem to be disappearing. YAHOO!
Can you identify the resident
Sweetgrass Ranch snake? If so, please comment!
I managed to snap about four photos before this guy -- or gal -- flipped itself onto the ground and slithered into a storm drain. Interestingly, the snake used its tail to hang down into the drain, suspending the rest of its body above the water. Talk about athletic!
The chilly weather also grounded the honey bees who took lodging in the barn's north wall last Thursday. Despite the copious amounts of Bee Dun -- an herbal solution that makes bees leave the hive so a bee keeper can harvest honey -- I've injected into the wall, the bulk of the colony is still there. Fifty or so bees did leave the interior wall and are clustered outside. To my eye, they seem to be shivering -- probably my imagination.
Most insects take flight between fifty and fifty-five degrees, making the cool weather a blessing when it comes to the bovine warts we've been battling on one of our Black Angus heifers, Libbey. Flies and other biting insects are a primary vector for bovine wart virus, a virus that has been implicated in about seventy percent of equine sarcoids. So, having the insect population grounded has been a huge blessing. Best of all, Libbey's warts seem to be disappearing. YAHOO!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Will Bee Dun Help Us "Bee" Done? Sure Hope So!
When the temperature began to drop this evening, we used one of our
horse stethoscopes to listen to the honey bees that have taken up residence
in the barn's north wall.
Locating the hive was easy. My husband Don drilled several holes into the interior wall of the barn's storage room, just below the bees, and I injected a good volume of Bee Dun, a blend of essential oils used to clear bees from a hive when it's time to harvest honey. The drill holes are smaller than bees, but I covered each hole with duct tape anyway.
As of this writing, about thirty bees have left the barn and are clustered outside near their original entry point. We'll hit the holes hard with more Bee Dun in the morning and hope our unwelcome friends decide that their new digs aren't working out.
A local bee keeper is on call. If we can get the hive to exit and collect on the exterior of the barn, the entire lot will soon be on their way to a new hive near Gaston. Sure hope so!
Will keep you posted.
Locating the hive was easy. My husband Don drilled several holes into the interior wall of the barn's storage room, just below the bees, and I injected a good volume of Bee Dun, a blend of essential oils used to clear bees from a hive when it's time to harvest honey. The drill holes are smaller than bees, but I covered each hole with duct tape anyway.
As of this writing, about thirty bees have left the barn and are clustered outside near their original entry point. We'll hit the holes hard with more Bee Dun in the morning and hope our unwelcome friends decide that their new digs aren't working out.
A local bee keeper is on call. If we can get the hive to exit and collect on the exterior of the barn, the entire lot will soon be on their way to a new hive near Gaston. Sure hope so!
Will keep you posted.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Bees in the Barn!
A swarm of honey bees blew in on a cool wind late this afternoon. The scout
bees arrived earlier in the day and swifty identified an openning on the north
face of our barn, the spot where the electric fence charger cord snakes through
the wall and into the supply room, as the entrance to their dandy new home.
For those of you who have never witnessed bees swarming, it's a miraculous sight -- one that scares you more than a bit if you've got a lick of sense.
My neighbor, Donna, is a bee keeper so I turned to her for help. Donna enlisted the expertise of one of our local bee experts, a nice fellow named Jeff. In short order, those two helped quell my concerns and I was well on my way to understanding that honey bees are becoming endangered. Between nasty bee mites and the cummulative effects of pesticides, honey bees have actually disappeared in some locales.
Thankfully, that's not the case here in Oregon. It seems we have the opposite problem, with hives swarming more than normal.
Jeff asked us some questions and once he understood our desires and beliefs, he gently set about educating us. Tomorrow, I'll drive to Ruhl Bee Supply in Gladstone, where I'll purchase a product called Bee Quick. Apparently, Bee Quick is very odiferous stuff, nasty enough to make the bees want to find a new home.
Before applying Bee Quick, I'll coordinate with Donna and Jeff. They're going to try to identify a bee keeper who would like to cultivate the swarm living in my barn.
Life is a grand adventure and you never know what's going to blow in on a cold wind!
For those of you who have never witnessed bees swarming, it's a miraculous sight -- one that scares you more than a bit if you've got a lick of sense.
My neighbor, Donna, is a bee keeper so I turned to her for help. Donna enlisted the expertise of one of our local bee experts, a nice fellow named Jeff. In short order, those two helped quell my concerns and I was well on my way to understanding that honey bees are becoming endangered. Between nasty bee mites and the cummulative effects of pesticides, honey bees have actually disappeared in some locales.
Thankfully, that's not the case here in Oregon. It seems we have the opposite problem, with hives swarming more than normal.
Jeff asked us some questions and once he understood our desires and beliefs, he gently set about educating us. Tomorrow, I'll drive to Ruhl Bee Supply in Gladstone, where I'll purchase a product called Bee Quick. Apparently, Bee Quick is very odiferous stuff, nasty enough to make the bees want to find a new home.
Before applying Bee Quick, I'll coordinate with Donna and Jeff. They're going to try to identify a bee keeper who would like to cultivate the swarm living in my barn.
Life is a grand adventure and you never know what's going to blow in on a cold wind!
Clover Days
Our local landscape is ablaze with clover fields and lots of them. I'm not
sure if the farmers are growing the stuff as a hay crop, for use as green
manure, to boost honey production, or to fix nitrogen in the soil. It could be
one or a combination of any of these reasons.
What I do know is that the fields initially bloom with an intense reddish hue and within a day or two have shift to the most lovely magenta. Here in Northwestern Oregon, our clover days are truly a visual feast.
Here's a photo of one of the nearby clover fields, one I snapped on the way to the post office earlier today.
What I do know is that the fields initially bloom with an intense reddish hue and within a day or two have shift to the most lovely magenta. Here in Northwestern Oregon, our clover days are truly a visual feast.
Here's a photo of one of the nearby clover fields, one I snapped on the way to the post office earlier today.
Red Clover
by Dora Read Goodale
Crimson clover I discover
By the garden gate,
And the bees about her hover,
But the robins wait.
Sing, robins, sing,
Sing a roundelay,--
'Tis the latest flower of Spring
Coming with the May!
By the garden gate,
And the bees about her hover,
But the robins wait.
Sing, robins, sing,
Sing a roundelay,--
'Tis the latest flower of Spring
Coming with the May!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Wise Words From a Sage Woman: You Are the Filter For All External Experience
The White Feather Farm blog is one of my favorite stops and today's post is a
worthwhile read:
http://whitefeatherfarm.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/new-sights-the-miracle-of-this-day/#comments.
It seems that while away on vacation in Mexico this past week, WFF blogger and spiritual advisor, Mary Muncil, learned that she is "the filter for all external experience." Wise words from a sage woman.
All too often, when faced with a new or particularly scary challenge, I forget to turn my filter on. Instead of being proactive, I'm reactive. This is never a good thing.
The recent case of bovine warts affecting our heifer, Libbey, is a good example. Since seventy-percent of all equine sarcoids contain bovine wart virus, I was terrified to learn that the other cattle and horses were at risk.
Two weeks into this latest challenge, I've finally gathered enough information to ask some thoughtful questions. This afternoon, I chose to enlist the help of Dr. Megan Jurasek, a veterinarian I trust. Here's what I learned:
Mary was right. Each of us is the filter for all our external experiences. Bovine warts no longer scare me -- it's just a viral infection, one I'll need to outmaneuver.
Do you have your filter on?
http://whitefeatherfarm.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/new-sights-the-miracle-of-this-day/#comments.
It seems that while away on vacation in Mexico this past week, WFF blogger and spiritual advisor, Mary Muncil, learned that she is "the filter for all external experience." Wise words from a sage woman.
All too often, when faced with a new or particularly scary challenge, I forget to turn my filter on. Instead of being proactive, I'm reactive. This is never a good thing.
The recent case of bovine warts affecting our heifer, Libbey, is a good example. Since seventy-percent of all equine sarcoids contain bovine wart virus, I was terrified to learn that the other cattle and horses were at risk.
Two weeks into this latest challenge, I've finally gathered enough information to ask some thoughtful questions. This afternoon, I chose to enlist the help of Dr. Megan Jurasek, a veterinarian I trust. Here's what I learned:
- No studies have been conducted to assess the risk posed to horses when an active case of bovine warts is in close proximity. This is largely due to the range of livestock management practices, widely varying pest or vector populations, and individual control measures for flies and other biting insects. Horses living in proximity to cattle may or may not develop sarcoids, while those living without cattle can and do. Having an active case of bovine wart virus on site logically increases risk.
- Libbey should completely resolve in six weeks. As of this writing, we're two weeks into managing her warts and they do appear to be drying and dropping away. If Libbey does not resolve in six weeks, we'll need to cull her from the herd.
- Bovine wart virus does not survive well in the environment. It requires a host, meaning our outbreak likely came from a neighboring animal.
- Vaccinating our other cattle should help mount an immune system response that will protect them against bovine warts.
Mary was right. Each of us is the filter for all our external experiences. Bovine warts no longer scare me -- it's just a viral infection, one I'll need to outmaneuver.
Do you have your filter on?
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