Playing catch up

We'll never be ahead of the weeds here. Especially since our tractor has been out of commission for the entire spring.  We can only scythe so much.  

The thistles and nettles are getting out of control.  It's just like past years I suppose, when I'm doing a little bit of everything but not really feeling like I'm making strides in one area.  Potting up plants or getting them in the ground is more of a priority now, especially when they are getting root bound or leggy.  We weren't supposed to try so many plants this year.....The garden is full of so much food right now we can't possible eat it ourselves.  Maybe at some point I'll get a farm stand up, but right now I'm working on getting my dye plants in the ground and taking care of the animals.

The bees have had some set backs and triumphs, and I've already managed to strain my back again which makes me less enthused to work with them.  But I still have some rearranging to do and to finish the bee yard landscaping.  Out of two queens that I introduced only one took, so I will have to break down the queenless hive and combine it with the new divide. I could have tried to requeen again, but after some illnesses and the short life span of bees the numbers have dwindled so much that I wouldn't be confident that there would be enough nurse bees to take care of larvae if they accepted the new queen.  Queens are $30 each so that also factors in.

UPDATE: Since I wrote the above, I opened hive 2 and was ready to break it down but found larvae and capped brood!! So we will see if the new queen continues to lay and if the population increases as it should.

The giant hive 1, parent of the divide still has a very bad varroa mite infestation.  So I have some research to do and decisions to make.

Huge hedge of comfrey.  Shading the soil around the nut trees. Garden giant mushrooms grow up underneath it.  G scythed it all down to lay as mulch, and the plants will be this size again in a month.

Oakley has space issues.  Winston was getting reshod, and Oakley always feels the need to be right there in the way.  While I went off to do some gardening my farrier made a dangerous mistake.  He let Winston walk out into the paddock after clipping Oakley to the crossties, rather than putting Winston in his stall.  Oakley freaked out at being left and ripped his halter. The mistake he made was forgetting that Oakley isn't just like any other horse.  I need to find out whether the emergency release on the crosstie failed to give way.  

Too much food! The other night G made dinner using 13 types of plants from our garden! 

Copper and little Poppy

Something has been digging...this wire wasn't attached to the frame with U nails, so it will have to be done.  G was just trying to do a quick deterrent job, but whatever predator it was was motivated enough. The birds are never left in the outdoor run overnight for exactly that reason. 

Super Wookie hen, five years old and still larger than life.

Guineas hunting pondside for damsel and dragonflies. After multiple reseedings of clover mixes the pond edge is very lush.

Gotta run. I can hear the weeds growing while I sit here.