the birds and the bees

Spring is here, and for now, so is the mud. But soon enough the trees will be clothed in green and there will be an abundance of blooms.

With Spring comes an annual rush of enthusiasm around our house for growing. Our tomato plants are up to 2" tall, the peppers aren't too far behind, and we have a few things we are trying for the first time this year. Annie's indoor snap peas are as tall as I am and we're looking for little white flowers any day now. The two biggest experiments, though, are the birds and the bees.

The Bees:
I took a beginner beekeeper class through the Lorain County Beekeepers Association and am expecting two packages of bees on Monday, April 27. The plan is to establish two colonies in hives at the back of our property to help pollinate the garden and provide local raw honey. I'm fortunate enough to know an experienced beekeeper in Bud Fawks, a friend of the family with enough equipment to get us started. He has recently been wanting to keep bees again and was looking for a place to set up some hives. I love it when things come together. Honeybees are having a rough time right now and the success of this endeavor is far from guaranteed due to mites, fungi, beetles, bacteria and even viruses (which may be linked to Colony Collapse Disorder). But we'll give it a go and see how it pans out. With any luck, we'll have two strong hives next spring and plenty of honey next fall. If you have any experience as an apiarist and want to "talk bees", send me an email.

The Birds:

Annie and I have been interested in eating more locally and living more sustainably and, in our reading and discussions with others, keep coming across the idea of keeping your own chickens for meat and eggs. Everyone says it's so easy, entertaining, and rewarding. With this project has come a lot of research. Annie took a class at a local farm to learn the ins and outs. I have read a few books, checked out online discussions, and researched local zoning restrictions. Together we've planned a coop layout, decided on a flock size and chosen which varieties of chickens we'd like to keep. We still have to do the physical work of converting half of our shed to a coop and fencing in the run. I don't think I've ever personally met the girls who have laid my breakfast. It should be fun. We will pick up eight one-or-two-day-old girls on June 22. They'll start laying about 5 months after that. Drew and Garrett are pretty excited about the prospect of some baby chickens.

The Phish:
And our favorite band, Phish, has re-united for a tour after a 5 year hiatus. We're going to see them live in June, just before we get chickens.

The days are just packed.