Do We Have any Beekeepers as Readers?

Good morning guys and welcome to Coverin’ the Bases!

Rain…lots of it today, so let’s take a few minutes and talk about…rain! It started early this morning, and has rained off and on, mostly on, all day. It’s continued up into the night, its 8:00 pm here now, and we’re getting a good shower as we speak.

It’s been exactly the kind of rain we needed, too. Long slow drizzles, broken up from time to time by heavy downpours, then back to drizzling once again. No rain has started standing or running off, all steady being soaked up by the ground! Absolutely perfect!

We’ve been awful dry here lately, and when it gets like this, I refer to it as being bone dry! Our garden soil was literally like a powder, and some of the little seedlings have burnt slap off at the ground. It has been really, really dry so far this year.

I walked off into the garden last week barefooted, and in just a second was coming back out, the bottoms of my feet “lit up!”

We’ve watered constantly just keeping the little fellers coming on, but you can water all you want, but once you get a rain, everything just busts out growing again! This simple act causes the pastures, trees, the yard, garden, literally everything looks as if it greens up almost instantly.

Today as an example, in between showers I took a look at everything, and it’s amazing how fresh and rejuvenated it all is. The little bean sprouts, corn, cucumbers, squash, eggplants and tomatoes look as if they’re growing right before our eyes, in the larger garden, all because of…rain!

All the oaks have put out, and hopefully this takes care of the last of the pollen from them as well. Deb and I were out earlier this evening and commenting on how full they looked foliage wise. The pastures are getting rid of the last brown tints from winter, and the grass is really fixing to bust loose, and I’m sure the cows can’t wait either.

Spring is truly a beautiful time of the year, and what a blessing from the good Lord to allow us to witness such an event once again. You all know our time here on this earth is limited, so take every day as a blessing, and find good in all that you can!

After a good rain, it has always amazed me how good everything smells. Things during a dry period begin to even smell dry, but come a good rain, there’s just a freshness in the air.

The cows and the wildlife all feel, look, and act better. Lately the cows have been laying up under the trees longer than normal because of the heat. We were even talking yesterday about how hot it was, and we watched several of the turkeys just sitting under some oaks panting away. We’ve actually been warmer this spring than usual.

Today though, everything is up and moving around again. Tonight, the deer, hogs, fox, and all the other little critters will be moving around, more so than usual. Once again, there’ll be a little “spring in their step.” We all feel better after a rain!

New Plans for the “Old Dog”

Before I start with this, let me say thanks to all you guys out there that have shared your own thoughts and opinions with us. I know I’ve said this frequently, but also, I’m saying it because I mean it. You’re really opening up my thoughts to try, and do different things, and man, we appreciate you guys thinking enough of Deb and I, to continue coming back and, well, being our friends! Thanks a lot!

These composting, and lasagna gardening things, have got my attention, and I’ve said this the last couple times we talked, but honestly, I’m really seeing some beneficial possibilities with them. Tell me more!

Deb and I were talking yesterday about going ahead here pretty quick, and expanding the garden out front of the house into a 100’x100’. This would double the size as now it’s a 50’x100’.

As you know, over the winter, we cover the garden area with cow manure three times, tilling it in all three times.

Because of your guys’ input, we thought we’d go ahead in the next week or two, disc the new area in, then start going heavy with leaves, hay, manure, grass cuttings, and maybe even adding some topsoil.

Of these items, we have plenty right here on the place, except top soil, so in reality that’d be our only expense.

You see, our soil down here is very sandy, and the moisture doesn’t hold long, because of this. But don’t you think by adding more and more organic material, and this breaking down through time, that this would in fact help this area to hold more moisture? Personally, I believe it would, and you know that it would enrich the soil without a doubt. What do you think?

I won’t attempt to use the lasagna style of gardening in an area that large, but it would kinda be like one, or a compost area too. By adding all these different types of materials, in layers, letting them lay two or three weeks, then tilling it all back into the soil, I believe this could work out well.

Any thoughts of yours would be appreciated.

Do We Have any Beekeepers as Readers?

Have any of you ever thought about having a few beehives? I’ve considered it a time or two, but never seriously enough to give it a try. Well, once more, I feel the urge to look into it some, and thought if we had any readers experienced in such, you might just wanta help us out. What do you think?

I don’t mean to get into it to start a business, but just enough to piddle with it and produce enough honey for us some of our friends, and the bees, to all have a little honey. Which by the way is getting pretty expensive.

I’ve got orange grove access to put some hives out, and we could keep them here on the place as well, and I think I might enjoy tinkering around with them.

I’d like to find out number 1, the cost in getting started for 3-4 hives, and is this enough? Is it something that you HAVE to continue to grow in because of more bees being brought into the colony, or is it something you can keep just a very limited number of hives going with no problem?

How time consuming is it, and how much honey could be produced by 3-4 hives? Anyway, I’ve always thought it a pretty neat activity, but have really never been around anyone who does it, just curious mainly, but interested in talking about it, too. Let us know.

In regards to lasagna gardening we had a comment from a reader who was letting us know about a book in regards to it. Let me share it with you guys in case someone might like to pick it up.

“For further information, Rodale press offers a book under that title.  I have it in my library. FYI”

This was from Driefromseattle.

Thanks for sharing my friend, we appreciate it, and this may help someone out there. Did you enjoy reading it, and have you used this technique yourself, and if you have, what were your thoughts? We’d like to hear back, if you wouldn’t mind. Your experience may help influence someone else considering this! Thanks again!

Listen my friends, I’m going to call it a day, but thanks for coming. I hope by Thursday, we can give you an update on how our canned butter worked out. We were going to try it this weekend, but got tied up doing other things, but it’s on the burner!

You guys remember to keep your eyes open, and your nose in the wind!

God Bless!

Dub and Deb

Deb and I found this to be too funny! A new twist to the song, “Side by Side!”

This next is of Rufus Hussy, “the Slingshot Man.” If you haven’t seen this man before he’s amazing with a slingshot!

He talks about killing rabbits to feed the family. Ole Rufus, in regards to his slingshots, definitely has his “Bases Covered!”

Take a couple minutes and watch a master in action!

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11 Responses to Do We Have any Beekeepers as Readers?

  1. Monique says:

    BEES! Yes get a hive or two of bees. Everyone should/could have a hive even in a town/city it is possible. One hive of good producers can make 3-5 gallons of honey a year with enough left for the girls to survive over winter.

    I LOVE my bee hives. It costs about $250-300 to buy and start a hive (start with a Nuc hive not 5# of bees). BEES!

    • admin says:

      Monique, how are you? Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment, it’s appreciated! Yes, we’ve been kicking this around for a couple reasons, the first being honey. The second though, is possibly using this for an opportunity to let the older grandkids in on it. I feel it could be a good teaching tool and probably very interesting to them, and myself in regards to learning about the whole process. We’ll see, and we have a couple irons in the fire checking into this.
      Thanks again for reading and please stay in touch!
      D&D

  2. Yes, keeping bees is really nice – but if you want honey cheap, buy it from China. I got allergic to the Sting of Death and had to give up. Lost a lot of money, never regretted it. But money-wise? It’s an open secret that beekeepers are so intelligent/savvy they could make a lot more in other professions.

    • admin says:

      Hey Harrie, and thanks for stopping by and visiting with us, and we appreciate you doing so! This would only be a hobby for us, but hoping to get some honey out of the deal! Sorry about your getting out of it, and losing money. I faced the same predicament the day I married Deb…started losing money on my investment!! LOL! Plus I think I’d rather face the “sting of death,” versus Deb and her “slap of death!” She said a couple weeks ago to find something to occupy my time more, or face “the slap” more often. I looked into getting a couple of lions and tigers, like ole Roy and that other fellers name, however you spell it, it starts with an S, but that’s about as far as I can get with it! Anyway, after living with Deb, them cats weren’t quite mean enough, so I figured bees might work…
      Cheap honey in China?? They may market it cheaper than we can buy it here, but if you look at ALL OUR MONEY the feds keep borrowing from them, that WE’LL end up paying back for our leaders incompetence, on top of what interest accumulates daily on our debt to them…well, you might better wake up and smell the roses, because in reality…NOTHING IS CHEAP FROM CHINA ANYMORE!! LOL!! Plus, I worry about the China honey having possibly the same material their dog food and sheetrock have??
      Harrie, I was just messing with you some, but in reality we do appreciate you commenting, and seriously we’ll not spend a whole lot in regards to this, just a “pet project,” more or less!
      Please come back and visit with us again!
      D&D

    • Sandra says:

      Buy it from China? Kind of scary thought after throwing out some really expensive bags of dog food a couple of years ago. No food products from China. No canned or frozen fish, no canned goods. Quality Control is a bummer here and in Canada but when your Vet tells you to dump the dog food he sold you. You listen up and start to police yourself on purchases. No, Honey, not from China, Husband says. To Admin, I think it’s called Gypsum,
      that stuff I told you to use as a garden additive in sandy soils.

  3. Sandra says:

    Our area has taken a beating on bees. Several years ago bees started disappearing. Two guys in our ‘burb kept hives and they are now abandoned. Now our pollinators are a small black bee that looks like a bumble bee. Night moths pollinate as do some birds and some bats.
    Some of the Ag Colleges say we could have to depend on these for awhile until they can identify what happened to our honey bees. This phenomena occured worldwide. Do your research on bees before you invest. Check out Garden Forums for discussions also.

    • admin says:

      What’s up Sandra? How are you my Mississippi Belle? We hope all is good for you and yours, tell Sumo we still have “a match,” just need to know when to schedule!
      Bees? We really appreciate your input, but as I was saying to Harrie earlier, it will be just a pet project. Honestly, we’d love to make some honey, but this would be more involvement for the grandkids if they’d like to…check it out. We’d not invest enough to get hurt by it at all. Shoot, the prices you quoted me in regards to your eggplant purchases the other day, I believe for 35-40 eggplants, we might get us a hive or two…LOL!
      Really hadn’t heard too much about the bee problem besides just watching Discover Channel quite a while back in regards to the European Bees, getting walloped by the African Strain of Bee?? Anyway, we’ll check it out some…got a couple people looking into it.
      Those small black bees might be them “Gator Bees,” gettin on them Bulldog and Rebel Bees rearends!! LOL!! Oh…what about Ole Miss, I know it’s old news, but having to give up their mascot?? Last I looked, this was part of our heritage, and many, many died?
      D&D

  4. Jim Marshall says:

    I have been a commercial beekeeper, but now somewhat retired with just about a 100 hives. The colony collapse disorder, the current problem with is mostly a pesticide. when a hive dies off of natural causes, there is a host of scavengers including other bees. They are often after the pollen, unhatched larva, and honey. With a hive that dies off of CCD, nothing goes near the hive for months. When DDT was used and sprayed on crops, the bees would not go near it. So that’s a big clue. CCD became prevalent about the time that Bayer introduced nicotine based pesticides, namely imidcloprid to treat crop seeds. This pesticide has proven to systemic, going from the seed to the flower, thus contaminating both the nectar and the pollen. France did a lot of research on this, and both France and Germany have banned their use. Note here that Bayer is located in Germany. there have been several court cases in Europe brought up against Bayer, and they have all been settled out of court with a gag order.
    Imidacloprid was used for treating wood and was used in flea medication, before being used for crop seed treatment. It is used quite a bit on corn seed in this country. that is why we do not buy any food with corn syrup in it.

    • admin says:

      Good morning Jim, how are you? Jim thanks so much for responding. This is but one of the reasons why we, Deb and I, enjoy this so much. You can ask a question and there’s always good people out there who stop, and take the time to respond back! This is just a great quality we humans have, thank you again…everybody!
      Boy, just from reading your comments, you impress upon me a deep knowledge in regards to this subject, and thanks for sharing them with everybody! Anymore, I really don’t believe we as a people have any idea as to what is being used, etc. by “the powers that be.” But you know what’s amazing to me? The different types of medicines being sold, or advertised to be sold, on TV. Just look at them…”Oh, is your eyesight not quite what it used to be?? NOOOO problem…we’ve just come up with a new drug to help you in this, it’s called, “TWENTY-TWENTY!” If you’ll call now, we’ll send you a 30 day supply absolutely free! What’s that you ask…side effects?? Well, maybe just a couple. If you experience chest pain, abdominal pain, headaches, nausea, double vision, shortness of breath, hair loss, weakened or decaying teeth, hearing loss, numbness in your toes, or all over your body for that matter, insomnia, back pain, loss of balance, or an erect…,” oops, wrong commercial, but you see what I mean. It’s amazing the “side effects,” they state, but you can go buy them, many without a prescription!! Is that crazy or what??
      Sorry Jim, got off on something else kinda, but it all pertains with what you were saying too! But back to the bees. We’d just do this at a minimal cost, and would be basically only a hobby.
      You come back to see us again, okay? We’d love hearing any input you have on any number of subjects, seriously! Wishing you all the best!
      D&D

  5. Jim Marshall says:

    You might not know this, but the U. S. is the only country in the world that uses high fructose corn syrup for a sweetener. Every body else uses mostly sugar, and some honey. This is due to the corn industry being highly subsidized. The U. S. also has claim to the highest percentages of autism. This rise in autism started to show up when the use of corn syrup was ramped up. I can’t say that corn syrup and autism go hand in hand, but there some that believe there is a correlation. If you get a chance try a coke made in another country; it taste significantly better. My wife occasionally likes a gin drink. She use to drink gin with Rose’s Lime Juice, but stopped when we started to stay away from corn syrup. We recently went to New Zealand, to visit friends, and my wife found a bottle of Rose’s Lime Juice there made with sugar, and she claims it taste much better. There is also a percentage of corn that is grown that is genetically enhanced withstand the herbicide Roundup. However, the corn still absorbs the chemical and is passed off into the food chain.

  6. Sandra says:

    “Sting of Death”
    Folklore
    Arthritis. Bee stings and bee venom therapy have been in use for many, many years, some people swear by it. If I could find a bee I would let him sting my knee and then I would not have to go to the Ortho doctor that uses a Cajun flavor injector on my knee. Hurts much worse.

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