Cleaning Up Bee Frames

During a January thaw we cleaned up the hive that was robbed this fall. 

                       

The picture on the left shows the bees with their butts in the air trying to keep warm in their little cells and eating the final bits of honey.  So sad...     The picture on the right shows a cluster of dead bees on the screened bottom board.  There were several frames with irregular comb so I scraped it off for melting this summer using our solar wax melter.  The decision on whether to leave or remove the irregular comb varies from one beekeeper to the next.  Some say you want to remove the irregular comb so the bees don't continue building it (eliminate that trait).  I opt for removing it so when I pull frames out of the brood boxes I don't smash bees and ruin the comb.  The pictures below show the irregular comb. Have you ever had a hive build comb like this, and if so, what do you do with it?

Chicken Water Heater

During the winter months, chicken care is pretty minimal.  The windows in the coop are closed for the winter and the interior of the coop is filled with plenty of straw and dry leaves.  Besides collecting the manure that piles up under the roosting pole, there's not much else to do on a regular basis except provide fresh water, food, and occasional heat.

The chickens stay inside most days with 24/7 access to the run.  I don't let them free-range without my constant presence because of many predators (e.g. dogs, foxes, hawks) roaming about with very little tree canopy cover for protection.  Last winter, egg laying continued even during the winter months because the coop is situated in such a way that they receive the early morning sun when it clears the hill and the sun shines consistently in the coop until around 3 pm.

This year we purchased a heated warming base for the waterer because we went on vacation for 2 weeks and didn't want the chicken sitters to hassle with frozen water dishes.  After reading reviews online, we settled on the Farm Innovators Heated Water Base for $47 at our local feed store.  One design feature I liked about this particular heater is that it is thermostatically controlled so it's not running constantly.  Jon did have to do a bit of wiring in the coop since the closest plug-in was about 25 feet away and the instructions specifically state to not use an extension cord.  In the coop it is elevated off the floor using 2 cinder blocks.

Two days after returning home, the night time temperature dropped to -5F with a wind chill of -30F.  For added precaution, we added a warming light aimed towards the roosting pole and closed access to the outdoor run for heat retention.

While we were away for 2 weeks, one of the barred rocks took a beating from the other chickens.  From the picture on the right you can see the missing feathers behind her comb.  Thankfully no blood was drawn, but we are watching her closely.  Opening up the main barn for the chickens to roam will hopefully quell some of the fighting.




I want to mention that we found this really cool handmade heated water base on the Flying T Ranch Blog using an old flat circular cookie tin and an incandescent light bulb.  As tempting as it was to make this, we didn't think it would be safe to leave it plugged in for 2 weeks straight in case of a fire; and asking the chicken sitter to turn it on and off would be another request.  We really do try and make it easy for the folks who watch our home and chickens while we are away.

Homesteading Through an Industrial Chemical Spill

Jon is filling our canning pot with well water.

It's been an interesting few days here in West Virginia where ~300,000 people are told they can only use their water to flush toilets.  On Thursday, January 9th, the chemical, 4-methylcyclohexane methanol leaked from its container at Freedom Industries, flowed across the ground and then into the Elk River only one mile upstream from the water treatment plant.  This chemical is used to wash coal before it goes to market (Whatever that means...).  

There's been a lot of news coverage about this event, but here's an article that sums it up.  

Jon and I have been fine through this ordeal by tapping into our well located at the barn.  The well does need a bit of fixing and there's always sandy flecks in the bottom of the pot, but we're managing just fine.  A kind neighbor friend even offered us water from their well (that is tested and safe for drinking).  I would like to go to the grocery store and pick up a few items since we just returned from a 2 week vacation, but apparently the stores are really chaotic so Jon, Paul, and I just sit tight at home (except for when Jon has to go to work) and eat out of the freezer and cellar.  

Going without water reminds me of the Derecho in 2012 when we lost electricity for a week.  Living in the country where we have the resources and land to grow our food with our own water supply does give us peace of mind.  Although, now with the recent events, we plan to get our well water tested and look into getting it fixed so we're better prepared next time.

Homemade Egg Noodles

Making egg noodles is really easy, requires only a few ingredients, and doesn't take a lot of time.  In the past I rolled them on the counter with a rolling pin but the dough tended to shrink back on itself which made rolling them a challenge and they were always too thick, requiring a couple days to dry.  After 5 years of rolling them by hand, I decided to purchase a noodle maker and chose the Atlas 150.  It's really easy to use and has two cuts: fettuccine and spaghetti.  You can make a couple batches at a time, hang them up to dry, and store them in a jar for later use.

Recipe:
1 2/3 cup flour
2 eggs
1 T oil
2-3 T water

Mix everything together.  If the dough is too sticky, add more flour.
(it should have the consistency of bread dough)

One batch of dough makes enough noodles for 4 adults. 

The Atlas 150 noodle maker has 9 thickness settings and fettuccine and spaghetti cuts.

Rollers squish the dough...

the dough comes out the bottom...

and then you put the dough through the cutter. 

Noodles are draped over a cookie rack waiting for water to boil.

After a few minutes in boiling water, the noodles are ready to eat!

Noodles that will be for later use are hung over a dowel suspended above the kitchen sink until dry.

The noodles are stored in a gallon glass jar for later use!

Eating Organic and Local for about $300 each month

The organic and locavore (eating from local farmers) food movements are two ways to reduce the pressure that each and everyone of us impart on the planet; with the qualifier that you, the consumer, make an educated decision when you purchase a product. Every dollar that you spend is a vote, a vote for what you believe in! All too often people believe that voting in an election is the only way to make your voice heard, but that is not true - nowadays the strongest voice you have is likely how you spend your money.

This post tries to clarify some of those tough choices that you may face and shows you how our family makes those decisions on a budget.

First off, there is a lot of confusion out there about what organic actually means. Simply put, it is an agricultural practice that tries to minimize the burden that we place on the planet by straying away from synthetic pesticides and practicing sustainable agricultural techniques (being nice to land). Organic foods are also not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.

So, now that we've got that off our plates, another common complaint is that it costs a lot more. Strictly in the monetary sense, yes, it does cost more, but if you've ever tried to raise an organic garden there is good reason it costs a lot more - it's an absurd amount of work to get a crop from seed to table (luckily we enjoy the challenge). So, yes, you may be spending an extra 10-25 % on your food to go organic. If you spend $1000 dollars on food a month, that equates out to an extra $100-250, but if you only spend $300 a month on food, at worst its about $75 extra on your bill. Either way, it's a small price to pay for insurance that your children and grandchildren will still have bugs around to pollinate their crops and soil around for crops to grow in. Further, you can save a lot of money by growing the food yourself, and you may just pick up a really cool hobby in the process. The distance from your own personal garden to your plate is as short as it comes. Let's talk some more about this.

Now, the real problem surfaces when you start to look at food miles (the distance traveled from crop to table - the average piece of food on the American table travels 1300 miles from farm to table). Sure, you can buy organic apples, but if they originated in New Zealand and you live in Colorado, is that really sustainable? Just imagine how much fuel had to be burnt to get that small piece of fruit to you. So, in that instance, choosing a non-organic apple grown at a local orchard may be the better choice. I'm almost positive that you even have a better choice - somebody almost everywhere is growing produce organically - search them out. You'll be supporting your local economy and making a statement that you do care about what happens to this planet. In the instant that you make the decision to do this, not only have you spoken and your voice was heard, but the farmers who are working extremely hard to raise a family will be very appreciative that you made that decision. In fact, we've met a lot of friends this way.  It strengthens the social fabric that used to be so common before nuclear families rapidly eroded the bonds of the community. People yearn for that bond, and it's probably why social media is so prevalent these days.

Buying in bulk is another option we use a lot for the sole reason that it saves on a lot of packaging and money.  We do not buy single servings.  Our oatmeal, flour, and sugar is purchased in 25 pound bags.

Ok, back to us. We eat a 50% mix of local foods and organic foods from the store. We do not buy meat from the store, rather from local farmers. Most recently our neighbor likes to shoot deer, but doesn't like to eat them, so he just gives them to us - a single deer will last us through half of the year. As you've seen on this blog, we preserve a lot of food from our garden. So, after everything is said and done, we really only consistently hit up the grocery store for milk products, grains, and chocolate. The graph below shows 7 years worth of monthly grocery spending. You can see the jump in price when we went to organic then from there food just got more expensive across the board. We used to be a little more diligent about finding coupons and only buying organic things on sale, but now we are a bit more liberal in our purchases. Honestly though, a family of three with some hard work in a garden of their own can easily sustain a local and organic diet for about $300/month.

Our stash of food going into the winter.

Homemade Calendar Envelopes

Before you recycle old calendars, consider this unique way of reusing them...make them into envelopes!  I started making these last year and they worked really well!  Best of all, I can customize the size of envelope for its use.  For example, my family sends picture cards for Christmas instead of cards.  We design our own pictures to fit a standard 4x6 size.  To finish off the envelope I use self-adhesive labels for writing the addresses.  When the labels are gone, I'll just use scrap paper and glue or tape.

To make the envelopes, I traced the picture and left about 1/4 inch on all sides before gluing the flaps on the sides. 

The Best Ever Homemade Hot Cocoa

It has taken me years to find the perfect homemade hot cocoa recipe.  After many searches and slight revisions, I think I have the best recipe.  Of course, everyone has different taste buds, but trust me, this won't disappoint!  I also want to point out that giving homemade hot cocoa is also a great holiday gift idea!

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (white, bittersweet, etc.)

1/4 tsp. salt

Combine ingredients in large bowl.  Add the mixture in several batches to a food processor and chop until finely ground.  Store in airtight container. 

Add 1/3 cup cocoa mix to ~1 cup milk, or mixture of milk & water. (Milk by itself definitely gives it a better flavor.)

**I tried adding dry milk to the mixture so I could use just water, but I found it didn't have the same flavor and there's always a pile of dregs in the bottom no matter how much I stirred.**

**I have made this recipe dozens of times and the best cocoa was the result of quality ingredients.  Hershey's cocoa powder and Ghirardelli chocolate chips produce a far better tasting cocoa than store brand ingredients.**