It's Now A Pleasure

Like many folk in the Northern Hemisphere, September is my favourite month.

Yard work that was heat and mosquito plagued during the summer is now a comfortable pleasure. Weed trees, over-grown shrubs and vines can be safely trimmed without fear of disturbing nesting birds. As a bonus, the exercise and fresh country air provide a good night's sleep. October should be almost as wonderful for outside projects! November usually has me scrambling to winterize.

Ellie Mae loves the jungle-like aspect of our grounds.

Hogging too much light from the veg patch, some of these trees will be culled.

Not yet migrated, this catbird was calling for most of the day.

Cedar Waxwings are currently enjoying the yard's mountain ash berries.

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My honey bee hives produced a nice crop of honey again this year. Since I take my share in July, the honey is light coloured and delicately flavoured. I especially love it on pumpernickle toast.

A honey bee gathering pollen from a fading anemone flower.

The hummingbirds have migrated but their feeder still attracts clients.

Harvest of 2019, a light coloured July honey. It was a very good year.

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In the comments section of the previous post, Verna G inquired about the handicapped mother raccoon and her children. Well Verna, I have not seen them for weeks now. I suppose they have mostly gone their separate ways to hunt for food. Nearby there are vast acreages of field corn and miles of ditches to forage in. Perhaps the smallest kit will stick close to her this winter. Judging by how well the mom could scramble up tree trunks and posts, she should be okay. I'll always wonder what could have caused those injuries.

Summer Harvest

For the most part, it's been a hot and dry summer, providing my honey bees with more foraging days than was the case last year. And they certainly have been making hay, I mean honey, while the sun shone. I'm now in the process of harvesting these burgeoning hives. Yes, it's hot, sticky and heavy work but the rewards are sweet!

Freshly bottled July honey. Pretty and delicious!

This year a handcart helped me transport the heavy honey supers.

As I get older and less robust, all conveniences are appreciated.

These colonies are remarkably docile and forgiving -- even as I steal their treasure.

Thank you girls! I do appreciate all your labours! Buttered toast awaits!

My old kitchen floor tiles were installed two decades ago. I had picked out white ones so that any mishaps by dog, cat or myself would be easy to see and deal with. Over the years, some of them had cracked and were turning up at the edges, especially in the winter. A potential tripping hazard, I thought. So I hired a local flooring company to install a new floor. In the show room, the faux wood sample appeared much lighter in colour while held in my hands than when finally installed on my kitchen floor. Light can be tricky that way and hind-sight is twenty-twenty. Disappointing, but I'm sure that in time I'll get used to my now much darker floor. It took cat house-mate, Ellie Mae, a couple of days before she considered it safe to walk on but then she is a tad paranoid. The 7 inch wide by 4 foot long vinyl planks have a cork backing which should make them more comfortable. Also, maybe the next time I drop a dish, it won't shatter to smithereens.

My old kitchen floor tiles were installed two decades ago.

The new LVP floor is darker than I'd expected. The pattern is called 'Chai Latte'.

Every couple of days I need to replenish my grape jam feeder. It's a big hit not only with Baltimore Orioles but also Red Breasted Grossbeaks, Northern Cardinals, Gray Catbirds, occasional honey bees and even a Ruby-throated hummingbird. I've gotten very partial to a pat of the grape jam and a slice of cheese on a cracker, myself.

Of a morning or evening I often see this doe strolling through my yards.

To encourage clover blossoms, I use my lawn mower sparingly. A wild turkey approves.

Honey Makers

My honey makers are now at perhaps their busiest season. Nectar is flowing and they are wearing their wings to a frazzle in gathering as much as possible. I like to pull a few honey frames each week throughout the summer and early fall so that I can have a variety of flavours as different flowers come into bloom in their turn. On each harvest day, I spin out and return the honey frames to the respective hives for the bees to lick out and refill. The honey I just extracted is a light coloured, delicately flavoured early variety. I'm guessing it's a nectar blend from the blossoms of raspberry, blackberry, borage, clovers, vetch and wild grape.

A frame filled to this depth yields one litre of liquid honey.

A demure but elegantly charming little vintage with a hint of wild grapes.

Borage flowers are always attractive to honey bees.

Globe thistles are now blooming and abuzz with activity.

Both of my nucleus hives have made very productive queens.