Snowman Homicide

It was a cold and windy Saturday afternoon.  I stepped outside to get the mail and stumbled upon this disturbing scene:

The Groundhog says he didn't see a thing, but I'm taking it as a sign that
Ol' Man Winter is on his way out.

Brushy Mountain Order

The UPS Man (aka. Santa!) paid me a visit yesterday.  I had placed an order with Brushy Mountain Bee Farm three days ago and it's already here.  Yea!

In addition to a few things I already had, I ordered two more deep hive bodies, two IPM bottom boards and new frames; enough to build three hives total.  Now I am ready for any swarms (or otherwise free bees) that may come my way.  I will see how strong my current hive is in April and may decide to do a split there as well.

So to add to my long to-do list today, I will be assembling the new hive bodies just as soon as I can get out to the hardware store for some nails.  They come precision cut for tightly jointed corners and you need to assemble them within no more than one or two days so that the wood will not have time to warp and make your life difficult.

But the thing I was most excited about is this:


Soap making supplies!

And how cute are these honeybee molds?  This first one is my favorite.  It makes a full-size bar, 4 oz.

This one is smaller and makes a guest soap sized bar, 1.75 oz.  The first thing I plan to use it for is a hard lotion bar.  More info to come on that...

I also got a gallon of 76 degree coconut oil and a pound of refined shea butter (and now I wish I'd gotten another pound or two of that.)  The last ingredients I have left to aquire are olive oil pomace and the lye--which is the most necessary ingredient. 

I have tallow I rendered from a couple fat does we took off my dad's farm last hunting season.  I don't know why, but the deer out there are always very well fed compared to others we harvest elsewhere.

And I have wax I got from my own bees.  There are a lot of things I can do with that:  lotion, soap, candles, lip balm, etc.

I am very eager to get started on this, but today is not looking very promising so far.  Among other things, I have a 3-year-old down with the flu and a hen in Chicken ICU that is needing bumblefoot surgery done.  Maybe I'll at least get around to making a few lotion bars...they are simple and easy.  Lip balms are too.

Curried Chicken Salad

I love curry powder and I'm going to have to find more things to put it on!

This chicken salad is to die for and shockingly good for you too.  Serve it up on flat bread or a whole wheat pita with a little lettuce or sprouts.  Your tummy will be happy!  (And your waistline will be too.)

My Curried Chicken Salad

Prep time:  about 15 minutes,  Makes 18 (1/2 cup) servings

• 1 lb. diced chicken (rotisserie chicken, chicken breast, or leftover chicken)
• 1 1/4 c. light mayo
• 2 c. seedless white grapes, cut in half (or 1 c. raisins or chopped dates)
• 1 c. red onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 c. celery, chopped fine
• 2 tsp. mild curry powder
• 1 tsp. salt

Combine all and mix well.  (How's that for easy?  :) ) Refrigerate one hour before serving to allow flavor to blend.

Nutritional Info:
(I started using http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ a couple months ago and recently discovered that they will calculate the calories, etc. in your recipes for you.  I jumped for joy when I saw how light and healthy this chicken salad is!)

Winter Scenes

We haven't seen the sunshine much here lately, but when we do, it puts on quite a show this time of year.

I took my daughter trout fishing on a nearby lake last Tuesday.  The water was mostly frozen, except for a few spots where someone had broken up the ice.



The lake is stocked with rainbow trout once a month by the DNR this time of year.  I am hoping to catch enough fish to recompense the cost of my fishing license! 

Ava was really excited at the idea of catching "rainbow fish" using the brightly colored Power Bait.  We were not lucky this day though.

I told her we would eat them if we caught them.  She said no--we would pet them gently and put them back.  I love broiled trout with lemon, sage and butter.  I'm afraid I will not be casting mine back!  She can still pet them though, if she wants.  ;)

This was a bright and beautiful late January sunrise, taken from my front yard.

A feathery seed from my Autumn Clematis hangs on with determination.  The chickens love these and have picked most of them off.

The weather reached nearly 45 degrees last Saturday.  A quick check on my honeybees found them alive and active.  I am hoping they will come through the winter strong enough to do a split this spring.

A few landed on the snow and froze themselves to death.

I am too new to beekeeping to know exactly what they were coming outside for during this break in the weather.  I believe some of the older bees will come out just to die, sacrificing themselves for the good of the colony so as not to use up precious resources.  Some will make short trips out of the hive for the opportunity to relieve themselves.  I checked the landing board for any sign of Nosema.  So far so good.

We were treated to a particularly colorful sunset last Saturday evening.  I happened to stop shovelling snow and look up just in time to catch this one.  This is the view from my back yard.

My father-in-law always got tickled with me this time of year, as I insist that spring is almost here.  But really, it is.  We are on the upswing now.  My glass is half full! 

The buds on the trees are beginning to swell.  It's time to spray the fruit trees with dormant oil and do my pruning.  I saw over a dozen male bluebirds on my curly willow last week too.  It's time to plot out my garden and start a few flats of seeds indoors.  Spring is heading our way... It will be here before you know it, so hang in there and stay warm folks!