Whew....first lamb

The drought was so hard on the ewes.  There were not ready to carry lambs until much later in the year.  We had our first lamb today.  The ewes normally lamb in January / February.

It was great though. The kids and I drove up not too long after she was born.

Researchers: Bee Venom Can Kill the HIV Virus | Yahoo! Health

Bees are such amazing creatures!

Researchers: Bee Venom Can Kill the HIV Virus | Yahoo! Health

Bees use electrical fields as a "sixth sense" to find nectar-rich blooms.

Check out this article about bees using electrical fields to find nectar.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/bees-electrical-sense-nets-nectar/story-e6frgcjx-1226582873519

Stars who like bees profile.

Carol Drinkwater most notably played Helen Herriot on the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. A series about small town veterinarians in the 1930-40's.  I really enjoyed this series.  In addition to her entertainment career, she also owns an olive farm. 

Carol became a bee advocate after her farm's bees inexplicable died like so many other bees. One could say she's risen to the level of bee advocate.  You can learn more about Carol at her web site CarolDrinkwater.com

New Employee

We got a border collie puppy this fall. Her name is Kate. 

She'll work the sheep on the farm when she gets a bit bigger.  Kate comes from a long line of sheepdog trial champions. The championships include the US National, the Scottish National, and the International. Her great great grandfather was one of those champions.  Here is a video of him running  a trial.

Queen Cell Frame Project

Today's project was making queen cell frames. This device is used to raise queen bees. The frame holds 3 cell bars.  Plastic cell cups are attached to the cell bar. 12-24 hour old larvae are grafted from mother hive into the cells cups. After some manipulation the bees turn these larvae into queen bees. And walla, we get queen bees.

Today's project was a challenge of my woodworking skills and equipment. I was finally able to get all of the dimensions right after a bit of trial and error with scrap lumber.  The thing that saved me was cutting extra pieces. Inevitably a piece gets ruined by the table saw every now and again. Nothing goes to waist though.  Once a mistake is made, the ruined pieces magically become fire kindling.

Winter Project - Queen Stool

Ever wonder what a beekeeper does in the winter? Well, we make stuff like this queen stool. This handy gadget let's me carry around my tools and gives me a place to sit.