An Interesting Morning at the Farm

Bees, Bunnies, Gardening, Reflections, The Farm, , , ,

Graden Update

When my husband and I arrived at the farm yesterday morning we decided a garden tour was in order before we began working on our to-do list. It had only been a couple days since I had checked the progress in the gardens (my husband visits and/or works in them daily) but it seems they have grown in leaps and bounds since I last saw them.

The summer heat and intermittent rain has done wonders.

Everything is lush and green and many things are either flowering or fruiting.

So far we have harvested small amounts of Swiss chard a couple times to have with our dinner.

We now have some banana peppers ready to harvest and within the next week I expect to start harvesting green beans and cucumbers.

It won’t be long before the potatoes are ready to come out of the ground, but first we will harvest the garlic and get it drying in the barn.

I Could Hardley Believe What I Was Seeing

We see a lot of interesting and strange things at the farm and I don’t always carry my camera, so I don’t get pictures of everything. This first story is one of those times.

One of my tasks this morning was using our weed-burning torch to burn off some of the weeds around the edge of the pond. It’s quite common for frogs to be hidden in these weeds and jump into the water to avoid the danger, so when I saw/heard the splash I wasn’t surprised. I was however surprised as I watched a small furry animal pop up and begin swimming across the pond. It was a baby bunny, not much bigger than my hand. I didn’t know rabbits could swim. It was a tense couple of minutes, and I prayed “Lord don’t let it drown” as I watched it doggie bunny paddle the whole width (approximately 30 yards or 27.432 meters) of the pond. I lost sight of it for about half a minute when it exited the pond on the other side. Then I saw it scamper off into the woods. I would have felt so terrible if the little critter hadn’t survived. When I told my husband what I had witnessed he exclaimed, “No way!” But it really did happen.

A while later my husband also had an “I don’t believe it event”.

This is the first year since 2013 that we didn’t start off the year with bees in our hives. After losing two more hives over the winter, we made the decision in the early spring not to spend the money to buy more bees.

For the past several weeks I have been hearing my husband express his regrets about not getting bees. We have seen a few honeybees foraging on the farm but not nearly as many as when we have one or more hives there.

The two hives were still set up where we kept the bees last year. The weeds/wildflowers were growing up around them, so my husband’s task was to weed whip around them. When he finished the weed whipping, he announced to me “the bees are back”. “No way!” I exclaimed as I headed toward to hive. Sure enough, bees were coming and going as if this were their home. We’ll know for sure in the next few days if this was a swarm of bees that has decided to use this hive as their new home. Free bees how cool is that?

Thanks for visiting.

22 thoughts on “An Interesting Morning at the Farm”

  1. How wonderful your garden is producing, Ruth! Ours is too! I canned dill pickles yesterday, and am planning on canning sweet pickles soon. Our potatoes are nearly ready too. Sweet potatoes look terrific! Dang! My cabbage is getting eatin like crazy. Any tips?? Hurray for saved bunny and bee swarm! 👏👏🐝🌻

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Wow! you are canning pickles already? My husband loves bread and butter pickles so I’m sure I will be canning some this year.
      We find it’s usually cabbage moths have laid their eggs in the cabbage and now their worms are eating it. We use BT, a natural, organic spray. We had a hard time finding the concentrate locally so had to order it online. https://www.homedepot.com/pep/Monterey-B-T-Bacillus-Thuringiensis-Pint-Concentrate-Outdoor-Organic-Insecticide-LG6332/206211430?mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-BNG-D28O-028_001_CHEMICALS-NA-NA-NA-PLALIA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-2023&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-BNG-D28O-028_001_CHEMICALS-NA-NA-NA-PLALIA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-2023-19610925762-146127919192-1944448318959&gclid=a4cfccdc808b1c4c1d18a4ab097f3fd1&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=a4cfccdc808b1c4c1d18a4ab097f3fd1
      It’s too late for this year but onions are supposed to be a good companion plant for cabbage to ward off cabbage moths.
      Happy gardening/canning! 🌞

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. May your fruit and vegetables continue their growth. It is so satisfying when you can eat what you have grown and we find it tastes different to the same produce in the supermarket. We are also growing leeks, potatoes, peppers, chillies, spring onions (scallions), carrots, tomatoes, apples, pears, plums, french beans, red/brown onions and salt leaf crops. Our harvest is currently looking bountiful.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you. Absolutely! We can’t find the quality and flavorful produce in a grocery store that we get with homegrown. What are salt leaf crops? I’m not familiar with the term. I hope you have a bountiful harvest as well.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. Great stories, Ruth!
    I am so glad God was watching over that bunny. 🙏Who knew they could swim!
    And prayers for your free bees! Hope they stay.
    Your garden is going to be plentiful. It’s beautiful!
    Enjoy your week, my friend.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Nancy. It was such a relief seeing that bunny get out and hop away. Not sure what I would have done if I had seen it struggling.
      It does look like those bees are staying. The hive is very busy.
      I hope you have a great week too! 🌞

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. That’s exactly how my husband started on his bees…one day I was hanging up clothes outside and I saw bees going in and out of the hive my husband set up. I went inside and asked him when he got bees and he looked surprised. He didn’t, and he went out and saw a hive had just moved in. After that, bees would show up above the gazebo where I worked on my art and crafts outside. We ended up with 8 hives. I shared photos over the years. Bees are still showing up where we live now. God must need bee keepers, He is sending them out. Matthew 6:26

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. We have captured swarms in the past and put them in hives, but this is the first time they have moved in on their own. I told my husband God heard his regrets and sent him a gift. 🌞

      Like

      Reply

  5. You have quite the crops going on there thanks to Mother Nature and all the hot sun and rain. I had no idea that bunnies could swim! Maybe he/she didn’t know how to swim before seeing the flame from the torch and hightailing it to the water. I’m glad it was safe and emerged on the other side of the pond … what a story it had to tell its family. 🙂 Free bees is good – bonus honey. Those wildflowers were drawing them in and now your husband has a new task added to his other ones.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Of course, I had to look it up and found out that rabbits can swim but do not like too. I am so thankful that it didn’t struggle. I’m not sure what I would have done. I think the water was over my head in much of the area where it crossed.
      The bees do have lots to forage in our area and must have thought that ready-made home was a good option. It’s perfect timing too as we will be having squash blossoms soon. Bees love squash blossom!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Thank goodness Ruth. In a pinch, they get out of Dodge as best they can, like escaping a predator. That’s really deep water – well luck was on its side, along with your prayer for it to be safe. I was surprised to see squirrels could swim when I saw one swimming in the Ecorse Creek. You will be having squash blossom honey on your toast. I hope you post about it to update us.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I don’t think they like to either, just as a necessity, maybe to escape predators. It was the first and last time to see a wet squirrel. I see – maybe in the Spring hopefully then. You’ll have a pleasant and sweet surprise.

        Liked by 1 person

Leave a reply to ruthsoaper Cancel reply