New Arrival

Last night was the night the hives finally moved to my house, fellow beekeepers (more experienced than me) helped move them.  It was fairly quick and uneventful, of course I prepared ahead in hopes all would go well.  I wanted to move them earlier this summer but in all fairness to the bees it was best to wait until most of the forage time was done and the weather was cooler.  Since is was almost dark when they were moved I really don't think any were left behind!

The grass in front of the entry is so they will orient themselves to their new surroundings, I am sure they know something is different!  They will probably be inside most of the next few days since we are expecting rain, I think this will also be helpful for them to orient themselves.  I will go out tomorrow and remove the screens that are covering the other entry/exit holes, already filled the water containers......Welcome to your new home! 

Charged Up!

Hi all, hubby and I finished up with the electric fencing in preparations for the arrival of the two hives, they should be here this weekend.  After seeing photos of the damage bears make when they get into hives and after talking with fellow beekeepers I decided it would be wise to be proactive instead of reactive so up went the electric fencing.

The box we built for the charger to hang inside for protection.

Before..............

 

After............see my "supervisor" in the background!

I also decided to try cutting down two Nuc boxes, they were "deeps" and I wanted them to be  "mediums", I want to keep the size of my frames uniform.  Since I wouldn't have been able to use the Nucs the size they were I figured I had nothing to lose by trying to cut them down, so with my husband's help I gave it a try!  The first picture shows one of them done, the one in the back shows the size they were before cutting them down.  The second photo is with both finished, I drilled an entrance/exit hole and put them with my other beekeeping supplies for next summer. 

I have also been busy in the quilting department, two weeks ago I finished the "flimsy" of this top, I will share a photo soon.

 

 

Remember this quilt, I made it because I loved it, not because I had any plans for it, when I got it back from being quilted I put is away thinking one day I would find a worthy cause.  Recently that worthy cause presented itself, a fundraiser auction for a young man the needs a special wheelchair to play rugby, I was very pleased to learn that the quilt brought in $450 dollars!

Hope you are enjoying Fall!

A Race and Some Stars

Just in case you thought I haven't done any sewing this summer.............the scrappy star blocks that I made quite some time ago are sashed and sewn together, today I hope to get a border on then add it to the flimsy pile.  I also decided to try a "Jelly Roll Race" quilt.......the best part of both of these projects is that they came completely from my stash!

 

Thankfully, the weather has been terrific to work outside.......here is the newest garden that I was able to get finished (along the fencing, to the left).  Later this week I am hoping to complete a garden along the other stretch of fencing, also along the stonewall that follows the road, all the while the grass seed I spread a few days ago should be starting to sprout!  Trying to squeeze in lots more outside stuff in before snow flies! 

Enjoy!

Don't be shocked.........

Yes, don't be shocked that it's me posting again so soon, I said I was going to try and get back in the habit of posting, first step was to learn how to get photos onto the computer, learned that this morning.  Now I need to sit and type!

Here are the two wool projects that I have been keeping myself busy with.................

The bee skep one still has stitching around a few things, some stems and leaves as well attaching the second layer and putting a backing.

 

 

I only need to finish stitching around the edges of this sheep one and it is done, the thread on the left side is where I left off.

 

 

This past weekend my friend Debra and I went into my future hives (they are still at  Debra's house until she moves) and checked them out to see what is going on inside.  Two weeks ago one of them swarmed and settled into an empty hive and we were hoping to see brood in that one and in the original one we were hoping to see signs that a new queen has started her job.......

 

We did see some brood, hoping this weekend there will be more.

 Wish you could smell the wonderful smell coming from inside.

 

My husband recently fixed his tractor bucket, it was wearing thin, so he had to add some reinforcement to the bottom, here he is welding them on.

 

Now that it is fixed, gotta get outside and mow so I can get him back on the tractor to move more dirt for me!!  Hope you have a great day, see you in a few........

 

 





Enjoying this Beautiful Weather

The weather here in Southern Maine has been gorgeous especially for working outside in the yard.  So that is just what we here on the little "mountain" have been doing!  Here is a pictorial tour of what has been going on since my last post.

Posts in and ready to add the fencing........the pile of wood near the tractor has been cut, split and is dumped out back waiting to be stacked so it can season a little more before in comes in for winter warmth.



 

After the fencing installation, the short section to the right is a gate.

 Inside the fencing........I moved my blueberries to this area where they can get more sun.  I will also be putting the hives up on the green carpet area.  Since this photo was taken I have spread grass seed over the area.  The fencing is cedar so I won't be painting it, it will turn a nice grey over time.

 

The pile of compost we recently acquired, this will help to spruce up the dull areas in the yard for many years to come! 

 

Here is the next area that I am cleaning up, I want to plant some forage for the bees, maybe buckwheat and some wildflower mix along with some other "tasty" treats for them!

 

 

 My husband and I  also squeezed in some blueberry picking and plan on going at least once more to pick some to freeze. I am hoping that my blueberry bushes will get this big someday, in a few years I should be able to pick enough from my bushes (I hope) to freeze some.

 

in the sewing department.........I have worked on two wool candle mats, should have photos for my next post.  I will try harder to post more, just need to get back in the habit!  Off to enjoy another beautiful day!

 

Summer Fun

Hope you are all enjoying your Fourth of July holiday.  Haven't been posting much lately, but I have been busy working outside in the yard......

 
 

Two weeks ago, our neighbors came over to lend a hand holding up the fencing, sure made the job easier.

Mixing up a batch of cement for the next post.

Hoping to get out soon, depending on the heat, to continue down to where we will make the turn and head for the woods!

 

All this fencing will completely enclose the garden area and help prepare the area for this to join my yard later this summer.

I have been wanting to add bees for a while now, one of my friends is moving and can't take them with her.....so I am gladly taking them.  I just started a Beginning Beekeeping class and have been going to her house when she tends the hives, so by the time they are in my yard I will have a little experience.

My husband and I went to the neighbors for a BBQ today, I decided to have him pull the wagon home since the walk home was uphill! 

 The boys heading home.......

 

Gotta get the camera pointed at the few quilting projects I have been working on since this blog is called Mt Quilter, LOL! 

In Place.........................

The first "run" of fencing and the first gate are in place..............


Should get the holes for the remaining posts dug this week, hoping to get them set in cement and then the task of putting up the fencing panels on a gradual slope!  The fun part will be planting flowers along the outside and gradually I will put perennials along the inside.  Since the fencing is cedar no need to paint, I prefer the "primitive" look it will have after some time in the elements.

Garden Gate

Today's adventure.........gate making!

Hubby and I made the gates for our garden fence, there will be a total of three small gates in the first stage of our fencing project.  Stage two, three, four, etc will be in future years. 

 This is the panel we started with..........

 

 

After a little cutting here and a few screws there, here are the finished products.  We saved $135 by making them ourselves! 

Hoping to get more done on this project in the coming week if the weather (and my body) hold up!

Blank canvas.........

Last week I started with this blank canvas.......................



 

Some of the "paint" that I added to the canvas, tomatoes, zinnias, cosmos, peppers, cabbage, eggplant, onions, radishes, green beans, to name a few..........

 

 

 The garden after adding all the plants........

This is the tool that I use to keep the weeds at bay, I discovered it last year and love it, I try to do one area every few days.  I am sure this has been around for a long time, but last year was the first time I had ever seen it, maybe it is new to some of my fellow gardeners..........

 

The next big project is to start replacing the "chicken wire" fence around the garden area with something more attractive and permanent.  Just picked it up today and thought I would "preview" it to get the feel of what it will look like when it is finished, it is cedar so no painting and over time it will weather and have the "primitive look"!

 

Did a little baking this past weekend and used up some of the rhubarb that is growing so wonderfully in my garden.  It is a rhubarb cake that has sour cream and honey in it!  Yum! 

One of the cake ingredients reminds me of something exciting that will be joining my yard in the fall, care to take a guess??

 

 

A New Brother...................

Several days after my dad's funeral I received a letter in the mail, it was in a business size envelope addressed to me, I set it aside thinking it was a newsletter or something as the return address was a business, when I sat down later and opened it I was pleased to learn that I now have a new Brother................a new Brother Innov-is 40, that is!!!!

Thank you to Mariner's Compass Quilt Shop in Bath, ME for donating this wonderful prize and all the other wonderful shops that donated prizes and participated in the 2013 Maine Quilt Shop Hop.

 

 
Here's a photo of the new addition to my family of sewing machines.......................

Today while I was in the neighborhood of a Jo-Ann's I decided to see if they had any "garages" to store my new Brother as this will now be my travel/class machine, I was fortunate to find a 40% coupon and carrier that I liked...........

 

 Tucked away safely...................

So glad that I visited those last two quilt shops, they put me in the next category of prizes!! 

We are expecting a few days of rain so I am hoping I will get my sewing MOJO back so I can share a few sewing projects.