It's a cool and misty day today, and we hope to get some rain out of it before this front is over. The oats are all in and just waiting for some moisture to get started growing. One of the prettiest things I can think of is a field all green and growing.
We planted some peas in the garden, and I put in two short rows of red potatoes. That should ensure that we get some fresh vegatables as soon as possible, even though the weather is a little uncertain for many other plants quite yet.
We have also been waiting for the fields to be finished so the tractor can come and disc the garden. Since they were finished up yesterday, we should be next on the schedule.
We checked the hives again this month, and were faced with a very sad thing. Hive A, which we had needed to feed some sugar to in February, was dead. The loss of a hive is a minor tragedy in itsself, but I had little idea of what exactly had caused it. Today I did some research on the computer and found out here that they had most probably starved. (I feel so awful! I should have made more candy in Feb. or checked on them in March!)
I will definitely know better next time.
I'm so sorry, bees!
But the other two are really doing great, so I hope to get my third hive back yet this spring. Perseverance is essential in any new endeavor, and while I cringe at my mistakes, I will use them as fuel for future sucesses. Hurry up flowers, hurry up balmy days... we have a hive to make!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Margin for Human Error
Well, this waiting dragging on and on was getting to my nerves. So yesterday Abigail and I got out the breeding book and re-calculated all the due dates, just to make sure we had them correct.
And we didn't. In a big way! Argentina was off by almost two weeks... which would make sense because that's how much overdue we had her figured. Turns out she was actually due on the 24th. So giving her the usual delay time of somewhere about five days, puts her babies arriving within the next few days. She is looking like she's getting ready to have them, put it is always impossible to tell exactly when a doe will kid. They like surprises!
And Ave is due on the 28th, which is a move of a week from where we previously had her figured, and she looks like she could keep the appointment pretty close.
So those two should be starting off the milking season this upcoming week, and there's no telling who will go first. Then we can let Elma go dry until she kids next month.
We are only milking Elma once a day lately, in the mornings, and she is filling up our half gallon jar for house milk. Seeing as this is the very tail end of her lactation I am pretty pleased with her performance. In previous years she has usually been one of the earlier kidders, and Tigiris is our 'old reliable' that keeps us in milk until the other does freshen and then takes her quick turn at being dry.
But this year Tigir is in the 'first battalion', and Elma is our last doe to kid. So she got the honor of keeping us in milk, and has done pretty well at it.
Tigiris is due the week after next, sharing a day with Egypt, Elma's '08 daughter. She is a leggy young doe, and we are looking forward to how her udder freshens out. She is also completely black, so we may have a black line in the making.
Of course we are hoping for doelings. And especially from Tigiris, she has had a heavy leaning toward bucks all her life. But she really looks like she must have multiples in there again this time, (she is huge!) so the chances of at least one doe are good, and if we're lucky she might have several.
Oh, the agony of expectation that always accompanies the start of kidding season!
And we didn't. In a big way! Argentina was off by almost two weeks... which would make sense because that's how much overdue we had her figured. Turns out she was actually due on the 24th. So giving her the usual delay time of somewhere about five days, puts her babies arriving within the next few days. She is looking like she's getting ready to have them, put it is always impossible to tell exactly when a doe will kid. They like surprises!
And Ave is due on the 28th, which is a move of a week from where we previously had her figured, and she looks like she could keep the appointment pretty close.
So those two should be starting off the milking season this upcoming week, and there's no telling who will go first. Then we can let Elma go dry until she kids next month.
We are only milking Elma once a day lately, in the mornings, and she is filling up our half gallon jar for house milk. Seeing as this is the very tail end of her lactation I am pretty pleased with her performance. In previous years she has usually been one of the earlier kidders, and Tigiris is our 'old reliable' that keeps us in milk until the other does freshen and then takes her quick turn at being dry.
But this year Tigir is in the 'first battalion', and Elma is our last doe to kid. So she got the honor of keeping us in milk, and has done pretty well at it.
Tigiris is due the week after next, sharing a day with Egypt, Elma's '08 daughter. She is a leggy young doe, and we are looking forward to how her udder freshens out. She is also completely black, so we may have a black line in the making.
Of course we are hoping for doelings. And especially from Tigiris, she has had a heavy leaning toward bucks all her life. But she really looks like she must have multiples in there again this time, (she is huge!) so the chances of at least one doe are good, and if we're lucky she might have several.
Oh, the agony of expectation that always accompanies the start of kidding season!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Scales and Pails; (in which we get the one, and not the other)
Well, we're getting the tail end of a storm it looks like, a drop in temperatures and no drop in wind! But it isn't as bad as they were calling for, and is now expected to be in the 50's somewhere. I don't know if it's supposed to last a while or not, I guess I'll find out!
I ordered a Pelouze Dairy scale from Hoegger's yesterday. Our old one was pretty worn out it seemed. (Had a nice talk with a very nice lady there, from GA. She said they'd had bad weather, it froze the previous night. I had to laugh. Makes me feel not so guilty for our own weather compared to South Dakota.)
I wanted to order the scale from Caprine Supply, because I really super-like their 8 qt. milk pail and have been wanting to have a second one for years. But we order so very rarely... so I loved the idea of the perfect excuse; we were going to be paying shipping on the scale anyway!
But... they didn't have it! (They had other scales, but not the Pelouze, which accurately measures to .10 lb. )
How could they! Ruin my beautiful plan, to get a beautiful milk pail. Now I am back to where I started... just wishing.
Oh, well.
Now that things have pretty much settled down from the move, we are going to try to get the does milk production recorded, in-house style. I had thought of trying DHI, but we don't have much for a dairy community around here locally, and finding a tester is bound to be like a needle in a haystack. (And not knowing if the needle's actually there!)
So we are going to go with barn records, which will not allow us into the Top Ten, but I don't really expect to be going there anyway. We just feed regular alfalfa and grain... and if it turns out we have a whopper in the barn, we can always go official next year.
Anyway, so now I am actually hoping that Argentina will not kid until the shiny new scale arrives. If she is contrary and kids out anyway, I guess we'll just measure until it gets here.
And hey! What'd'ya know? Very First comments!
Thanks, guys!
Hey Vanessa! Thanks for stopping by, I love to here from neighbors! Which town are you by? And thanks for the compliment, I can't wait for the grass to really green things up, and the leaves to come out on the trees. I guess that translates into 'summer'? Well, late spring.
And Livelife100percent, thanks to you too! Not quite picture perfect... you'd be surprised some days! Still, you're absolutely right, and I am very grateful for the opportunities that I have before me.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
April, and we're waiting for the kids to start...
Well, here it is April already. And it seems we are just flying through it.
I can almost hear the whistle blow, Too-woot! "Next stop... May!"
I am anxious for our first kids to arrive. We usually have already had some by now, but this year we bred the does too kid out pretty late.
It sort of just worked out that way, and I thought it might turn out to be a nice break, certainly save us from the, 'the goats are kidding and it's storming out' scenario.
But we just got a storm here last week. Not a bad one, but nothing I'd want to be born in, if I was a little goat.
Our first doe, Argentina, is due later on this week. Of course she will not, (it's almost guaranteed!) With years and years of waiting for does to 'just kid, please!' I expect that she will actually kid next week sometime.
Which will work out all right, since the weather has cleared and become nice again. One nice thing about spring storms is that they rarely last long. (Of course, depends on where you live. Can't just tell that to the folks up north! Fargo Flooding and Snowfall )
[On a side note, friends up in the western end of SD. tell us they've got six foot drifts in some places, and worse in others. (Was I just complaining about the weather? We got a few inches.)]
Back to the subject, I am a little surprised at how anxious I am for the little critters to get here with them being scheduled later than normal. I didn't expect it of me! I have been through so many kidding seasons I should think that I would be a very old hand at this game. Which I am, but I guess it still gets to you.
Goat people are just like that!
I can almost hear the whistle blow, Too-woot! "Next stop... May!"
I am anxious for our first kids to arrive. We usually have already had some by now, but this year we bred the does too kid out pretty late.
It sort of just worked out that way, and I thought it might turn out to be a nice break, certainly save us from the, 'the goats are kidding and it's storming out' scenario.
But we just got a storm here last week. Not a bad one, but nothing I'd want to be born in, if I was a little goat.
Our first doe, Argentina, is due later on this week. Of course she will not, (it's almost guaranteed!) With years and years of waiting for does to 'just kid, please!' I expect that she will actually kid next week sometime.
Which will work out all right, since the weather has cleared and become nice again. One nice thing about spring storms is that they rarely last long. (Of course, depends on where you live. Can't just tell that to the folks up north! Fargo Flooding and Snowfall )
[On a side note, friends up in the western end of SD. tell us they've got six foot drifts in some places, and worse in others. (Was I just complaining about the weather? We got a few inches.)]
Back to the subject, I am a little surprised at how anxious I am for the little critters to get here with them being scheduled later than normal. I didn't expect it of me! I have been through so many kidding seasons I should think that I would be a very old hand at this game. Which I am, but I guess it still gets to you.
Goat people are just like that!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Denim Quilt
I have always liked quilts. Probably because of Mom, who introduced me to them because she has always loved quilts.
When I was seven Mom and my (then teen-age,) older sister went to a series of quilting classes that were being offered in our little town. They met some really sweet ladies there, who became friends long after the classes were over.
So every week they would come home with a new quilting style to make into a block. I remember watching my sister ironing painstakingly as she turned the edges under on an applique. I think it was a star pattern, but the fabrics were autumn colors, with leaves on them. It made me think that the applique was more of a odd shaped leaf itself, in the fall.
I wanted to do some too, so Mom set me up with a nine-patch. Mom gave me my choice of fabrics and I cut them into squares. Then I sewed them together.
I wasn't allowed to use the machine, Mom was extra careful about that since having her eldest run the needle through her fingernail. So I was kept to hand-stitching. I remember working on them curled up on the couch. By the time I was finished with the block I was tired of the idea. One was all there was to be!
Mom has always been the saver type, from buttons off of worn out clothes to the un-worn portions of denim skirts, jumpers and jeans. All these pieces of denim gathered into an apple-box, and were intended to be used someday.
When we moved here all the boxes and crates of saved things came with us, and by the time the whole move was over Mom's patience with all the 'stuff' was wearing thin. So, she threatened to throw out the box of denim.
I was shocked. We'd been collecting those pieces for a long time, and to think of throwing it all away was horrifying.
"What if we made it into something?" I asked. Mom said that would be fine, but she had too many other things going on to take the time.
So Abi and I resolved to make it into a quilt for our tall father, who has trouble with blankets not being long enough for him. We figured that even if it didn't turn out very pretty, (as this was our first try,) he wouldn't complain.
We sorted out the denim by size, and then brain-stormed up a plan. It would be a bit of a crazy quilt, since a few of our pieces would only lend themselves to that, and besides Dad likes crazy quilts. The middle we patterned with a grid like look, nine-patch and four-patch, with a nearly solid block for each corner. We put the crazy pieces along the sides.
We used an old blanket as batting, and backed it with a gray plaid flannel.
We made it to measure six feet by nine, with six blocks down and four across. This way our blocks would be
taking full advantage of the size of pieces that we had, and we would not be doing too much time consuming piecing per inch.
It still took a lot of time, and getting it completely together was the hardest part. I did the final quilting just on the Singer, and had a little trouble with running into wrinkles no matter how carefully I smoothed and pinned it. Luckily, just like we figured, Dad didn't mind.
We had kept it sort of as a surprise, and gave it to him in the spring. Even though he had often walked right through when we had everything piled on the dining table, (and were trying to be careful,) he was surprised, (not being the really observant type!)
It has been on his bed ever since.
So this is how it ended up. I like the sturdy way it turned out and will probably do it again when I get the chance. But it does take a long while to save up that much denim!
When I was seven Mom and my (then teen-age,) older sister went to a series of quilting classes that were being offered in our little town. They met some really sweet ladies there, who became friends long after the classes were over.
So every week they would come home with a new quilting style to make into a block. I remember watching my sister ironing painstakingly as she turned the edges under on an applique. I think it was a star pattern, but the fabrics were autumn colors, with leaves on them. It made me think that the applique was more of a odd shaped leaf itself, in the fall.
I wanted to do some too, so Mom set me up with a nine-patch. Mom gave me my choice of fabrics and I cut them into squares. Then I sewed them together.
I wasn't allowed to use the machine, Mom was extra careful about that since having her eldest run the needle through her fingernail. So I was kept to hand-stitching. I remember working on them curled up on the couch. By the time I was finished with the block I was tired of the idea. One was all there was to be!
Mom has always been the saver type, from buttons off of worn out clothes to the un-worn portions of denim skirts, jumpers and jeans. All these pieces of denim gathered into an apple-box, and were intended to be used someday.
When we moved here all the boxes and crates of saved things came with us, and by the time the whole move was over Mom's patience with all the 'stuff' was wearing thin. So, she threatened to throw out the box of denim.
I was shocked. We'd been collecting those pieces for a long time, and to think of throwing it all away was horrifying.
"What if we made it into something?" I asked. Mom said that would be fine, but she had too many other things going on to take the time.
So Abi and I resolved to make it into a quilt for our tall father, who has trouble with blankets not being long enough for him. We figured that even if it didn't turn out very pretty, (as this was our first try,) he wouldn't complain.
We sorted out the denim by size, and then brain-stormed up a plan. It would be a bit of a crazy quilt, since a few of our pieces would only lend themselves to that, and besides Dad likes crazy quilts. The middle we patterned with a grid like look, nine-patch and four-patch, with a nearly solid block for each corner. We put the crazy pieces along the sides.We used an old blanket as batting, and backed it with a gray plaid flannel.
We made it to measure six feet by nine, with six blocks down and four across. This way our blocks would be
taking full advantage of the size of pieces that we had, and we would not be doing too much time consuming piecing per inch.It still took a lot of time, and getting it completely together was the hardest part. I did the final quilting just on the Singer, and had a little trouble with running into wrinkles no matter how carefully I smoothed and pinned it. Luckily, just like we figured, Dad didn't mind.
We had kept it sort of as a surprise, and gave it to him in the spring. Even though he had often walked right through when we had everything piled on the dining table, (and were trying to be careful,) he was surprised, (not being the really observant type!)
It has been on his bed ever since.
So this is how it ended up. I like the sturdy way it turned out and will probably do it again when I get the chance. But it does take a long while to save up that much denim!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
2007 Clay Center Show
So, to catch up on a few things.
We have had our goats since the fall before Abigail was born, (when I was six-turning-seven,) so we have done a lot of things with our goats, as you can imagine. Going with the herd up into the forest-covered mountain for most of the day, picking service berries that grew along the railroad tracks, holding baby goat races. All of which taught us another aspect of life, and was as much fun as any child can handle!
But we had never gone to a goat show.
So when we moved to Nebraska we looked around and decided to go to the Tumbleweed Classic, put on by the Nebraska Dairy Goat Association, in Clay Center. (Which is about half-way across the state, so it was still a good piece.)
With all the things that were still in progress with getting the farm renovated, it was a tight squeeze, but Abi and I worked extra hard, and put in some very late nights, and got everything done to go for the weekend.
The NDGA folks are super nice and made us feel so welcome, as did all the folks who came from all over the surrounding states. Having pushed so hard to get everything done, I was seriously sleep-deprived, but we had fun anyhow!
Here's what I put on the Signet Dairy Goats site;
Showing in showmanship photos.
We have always wanted to be able to show our goats, but our previous very remote location worked against it. Now that we have relocated to McCook, we have been able to have a few more opportunities for that. So last year we went to our first show, the Tumbleweed Classic in Clay Center.
Had a lot of fun, won several ribbons, and met Nebraska goat folks.
Abi is hooked, I'm afraid she might become a goat show fanatic.
Elizabeth surprised everybody, and herself, by being placed first in adult showmanship. The fact that there was only one other competitor didn't alter the surprise for her at all.
[End web post.]
So there they are, the 'goatists' of the family. My good little sister and I.
Argentina, the yearling doe I took in showmanship, behaved very nicely for that class, and then when it was time for her own class, she went bonkers. Fidgeted, refused to stand still, made a complete nuisance of herself. But she is a gorgeous girl!
Abi's showmanship choice, Bellarus, displayed a similar pattern. Maybe they could only handle behaving themselves for one class, and two was too much! (We sold Bella that same fall, and she was shown in the Furnas County Fair last fall, winning the Championship ribbon for her owner's boy, Caleb.)
So we came home with our ribbons, and slowly recovered our sleep! The goats were also very glad to get back, they do not seem to apreciate being disrupted.
But it was a lot of fun, and we met a lot of, (far-flung,) fellow goat folks, ...and Abigail wanted to do it again.
So we did... but that is another post.
We have had our goats since the fall before Abigail was born, (when I was six-turning-seven,) so we have done a lot of things with our goats, as you can imagine. Going with the herd up into the forest-covered mountain for most of the day, picking service berries that grew along the railroad tracks, holding baby goat races. All of which taught us another aspect of life, and was as much fun as any child can handle!
But we had never gone to a goat show.
So when we moved to Nebraska we looked around and decided to go to the Tumbleweed Classic, put on by the Nebraska Dairy Goat Association, in Clay Center. (Which is about half-way across the state, so it was still a good piece.)
With all the things that were still in progress with getting the farm renovated, it was a tight squeeze, but Abi and I worked extra hard, and put in some very late nights, and got everything done to go for the weekend.
The NDGA folks are super nice and made us feel so welcome, as did all the folks who came from all over the surrounding states. Having pushed so hard to get everything done, I was seriously sleep-deprived, but we had fun anyhow!
Here's what I put on the Signet Dairy Goats site;
Showing in showmanship photos.
We have always wanted to be able to show our goats, but our previous very remote location worked against it. Now that we have relocated to McCook, we have been able to have a few more opportunities for that. So last year we went to our first show, the Tumbleweed Classic in Clay Center.
Had a lot of fun, won several ribbons, and met Nebraska goat folks.
Abi is hooked, I'm afraid she might become a goat show fanatic.
Elizabeth surprised everybody, and herself, by being placed first in adult showmanship. The fact that there was only one other competitor didn't alter the surprise for her at all.
[End web post.]
So there they are, the 'goatists' of the family. My good little sister and I.Argentina, the yearling doe I took in showmanship, behaved very nicely for that class, and then when it was time for her own class, she went bonkers. Fidgeted, refused to stand still, made a complete nuisance of herself. But she is a gorgeous girl!
Abi's showmanship choice, Bellarus, displayed a similar pattern. Maybe they could only handle behaving themselves for one class, and two was too much! (We sold Bella that same fall, and she was shown in the Furnas County Fair last fall, winning the Championship ribbon for her owner's boy, Caleb.)
So we came home with our ribbons, and slowly recovered our sleep! The goats were also very glad to get back, they do not seem to apreciate being disrupted.
But it was a lot of fun, and we met a lot of, (far-flung,) fellow goat folks, ...and Abigail wanted to do it again.
So we did... but that is another post.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Checking the Bees in February
Abigail and I checked on the bees yesterday afternoon. It was very warm and sunny, and we thought it would be a good idea to take a look at them and see how they were getting along.
We checked Vivian first, and she was looking a little low on honey supplies. She had also suffered the most death loss of the three, but she still had enough to get a start on the flowers when spring gets here. But we'd feel much better if we got her something to eat on, so we left her top cover off and went on to Scarlet.
Scarlet was doing great. Still doesn’t much care for her second story, but when we set it off the first story was filled solid with bees. We pried up a few frames and she still had lots of stores left. So we put her hive back together, as she didn’t need any assistance.
By this time we had gotten hot in our bee clothes, and so we decided we’d take a break before going at the third hive. It would also serve the double purpose of letting Carol’s bees cool off. So we popped the lid off of Carol, (to which her bees replied angrily, as always,) and broke the seal between the stories, setting the top aside on bricks. They came out of there in a swarm, and we retreated far from the scene and sat in the shade of the barn’s south wing and talked to Dad, (who was leveling the dirt floor after the recent construction, and raking things smooth,) and Kate, (who sat on her gray mare, and practiced her relaxing.) The mare didn’t like Dad working in there, but she soon settled down about it and just started sniffing around complacently.
We stripped off our bee gloves and veils, and removed our jackets and breathed deeply of the nice breeze. After a few minutes we returned to find Carol’s bees had calmed, and we sorted through her frames. She did not have as nice a pack as Scarlet’s, but there was still plenty of honey for her and her crew. She had emptied some of the honey filled burr-comb that we left for her to chew on over winter, so we now took the opportunity to take that off. Her hive is really rather bad about burr comb, I hope they behave themselves this next season.
Then we packed her hive back together and Abigail went to feed hay to the goats while I went inside. We had decided to make some sugar cake for Vivian, to make sure she had enough to get a good strong start as soon as the flowers start. I looked in my bee folder for a recipe, I know that I used to have one, but it wasn’t there any more. I must have thrown it out in an effort to organize things in there.
So I tried calling our bee suppliers, but they didn’t answer the phone. I really needed to find that recipe and get it made, because we had left Vivian’s hive open while I brought the inner cover up to the house to pour the candy into. So I went to the Internet.
I had the hardest time getting the search words right, because I kept coming up with ‘bee cake’, which would end up to be a regular cake, only made with honey, and there seems to be a great deal of variety on these. One was called a ‘Bee Sting’ cake, which I’m not sure where the sting part came from.
Anyway, after much searching, I came across a recipe posted by City Bees. These are bees that apparently live in Washington, D.C. Which just goes to show that bees really can be kept everywhere!
After jotting down her very helpful instructions, I descended to the kitchen and prepared to concoct some. I have never had a great deal of success with candy making, despite numerous attempts, and was ambivalent as to my chances of success this time. (They always seem to come out grainy, even when I put the lid on and let it boil capped for three minutes like they tell me to.)
Reading in one of our natural remedy books for animals, the author included bees and said that many old bee keepers in merry old England would put a pinch of salt in the candy. So I threw one in. The book also said that sage tea was an excellent thing to start with instead of water, it was very good for their health. It was already two late for that, as the sugar and water was heating nicely, but I stirred in some sage herb along with it, it was sure to lose its properties to the hot syrup, and the bees are savvy enough to notice part of a sage leaf when they come across it.
In a lot less time and bother than I had anticipated I had the mixture whipped to white, and I dumped it out onto the upturned inner cover. I set the cover at an angle to prevent the hot candy from running out the handle hole, and the whole thing set up very fast, quicker than I could get the pan cleaned with the rubber spatula. It finished cooling in about fifteen minutes, so that when I turned it over the candy showed no signs of falling off of where it had stuck, even though it still had some heat in it.
It was getting late in the evening when Abi went to milk the goats, and took it down to put on top of Vivian’s hive. I hope they are as pleased with it as I am.
We checked Vivian first, and she was looking a little low on honey supplies. She had also suffered the most death loss of the three, but she still had enough to get a start on the flowers when spring gets here. But we'd feel much better if we got her something to eat on, so we left her top cover off and went on to Scarlet.
Scarlet was doing great. Still doesn’t much care for her second story, but when we set it off the first story was filled solid with bees. We pried up a few frames and she still had lots of stores left. So we put her hive back together, as she didn’t need any assistance.
By this time we had gotten hot in our bee clothes, and so we decided we’d take a break before going at the third hive. It would also serve the double purpose of letting Carol’s bees cool off. So we popped the lid off of Carol, (to which her bees replied angrily, as always,) and broke the seal between the stories, setting the top aside on bricks. They came out of there in a swarm, and we retreated far from the scene and sat in the shade of the barn’s south wing and talked to Dad, (who was leveling the dirt floor after the recent construction, and raking things smooth,) and Kate, (who sat on her gray mare, and practiced her relaxing.) The mare didn’t like Dad working in there, but she soon settled down about it and just started sniffing around complacently.
We stripped off our bee gloves and veils, and removed our jackets and breathed deeply of the nice breeze. After a few minutes we returned to find Carol’s bees had calmed, and we sorted through her frames. She did not have as nice a pack as Scarlet’s, but there was still plenty of honey for her and her crew. She had emptied some of the honey filled burr-comb that we left for her to chew on over winter, so we now took the opportunity to take that off. Her hive is really rather bad about burr comb, I hope they behave themselves this next season.
Then we packed her hive back together and Abigail went to feed hay to the goats while I went inside. We had decided to make some sugar cake for Vivian, to make sure she had enough to get a good strong start as soon as the flowers start. I looked in my bee folder for a recipe, I know that I used to have one, but it wasn’t there any more. I must have thrown it out in an effort to organize things in there.
So I tried calling our bee suppliers, but they didn’t answer the phone. I really needed to find that recipe and get it made, because we had left Vivian’s hive open while I brought the inner cover up to the house to pour the candy into. So I went to the Internet.
I had the hardest time getting the search words right, because I kept coming up with ‘bee cake’, which would end up to be a regular cake, only made with honey, and there seems to be a great deal of variety on these. One was called a ‘Bee Sting’ cake, which I’m not sure where the sting part came from.
Anyway, after much searching, I came across a recipe posted by City Bees. These are bees that apparently live in Washington, D.C. Which just goes to show that bees really can be kept everywhere!
After jotting down her very helpful instructions, I descended to the kitchen and prepared to concoct some. I have never had a great deal of success with candy making, despite numerous attempts, and was ambivalent as to my chances of success this time. (They always seem to come out grainy, even when I put the lid on and let it boil capped for three minutes like they tell me to.)
Reading in one of our natural remedy books for animals, the author included bees and said that many old bee keepers in merry old England would put a pinch of salt in the candy. So I threw one in. The book also said that sage tea was an excellent thing to start with instead of water, it was very good for their health. It was already two late for that, as the sugar and water was heating nicely, but I stirred in some sage herb along with it, it was sure to lose its properties to the hot syrup, and the bees are savvy enough to notice part of a sage leaf when they come across it.
In a lot less time and bother than I had anticipated I had the mixture whipped to white, and I dumped it out onto the upturned inner cover. I set the cover at an angle to prevent the hot candy from running out the handle hole, and the whole thing set up very fast, quicker than I could get the pan cleaned with the rubber spatula. It finished cooling in about fifteen minutes, so that when I turned it over the candy showed no signs of falling off of where it had stuck, even though it still had some heat in it.
It was getting late in the evening when Abi went to milk the goats, and took it down to put on top of Vivian’s hive. I hope they are as pleased with it as I am.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
