Keeping bees

 

Honey comb

      It's official. I am a bee keeper!  Ever since we moved away from the city and into the country, I am longed to have a big garden and keep bees.  When talking about my desire for bees, people either look at me like I am crazy and say, "Why?" or smile and talk about their own bee keeping stories. 

Big things are happening!!

With spring here, we have been making some big (and little) changes over here at Big Sky Ranch.  

Garden boxes

The Joy of Keeping Chickens

Some people might think I am crazy, but I think this picture is amazingly beautiful.  Yes, I know it is eggs!  There is something inherently beautiful about a full basket of freshly collected eggs.  Just look at all those colors and sizes!  It makes me so happy every time I open the refrigerator and see the bowl of these gems.

Collecting eggs has been especially fun for my kids.  We try to figure out and match the egg to the hen.  Having a variety of eggs has solved one of our meal time dilemmas.  My daughter sometimes refuses protein in the morning.  Now she happily picks out a small egg and is excited to eat it.

2013 Chicks with Mama Hen

"The Girls"

Both kids now freely eat eggs anytime. I think it is partly the joy of raising the hens from chicks and the task of gathering the eggs everyday.  Raising your own food brings a thankfulness and appreciation that cannot be found with going to the Megamart.  I take comfort in knowing because we pasture raise our chickens, I am not only feeding my family a superior quality protein, but they also taste better.

Ingredients to a Luscious Coconut Custard- Courtesy of Coconut Love 

Also, in the summer when the eggs are plentiful, we eat them a couple times a week for dinner.  Eggs pair well with the fresh garden bounty.  More egg recipes to come.

Snuggling with "Rainbow Dash"

Some people say that chickens are the "gateway animal" and that getting more livestock is inevitable.  I would agree.  Keeping chickens overall has been easy (despite the predator attacks) and rewarding with fresh eggs daily.  We will see.  Have you thought about keeping chickens? If you have a flock, what other kind of livestock do you keep?

Spring Has Sprung

With the lime green blanket that has covered the foothills in Northern California, the excitement of Spring is in the air.  I love this time of year.  We escape the gloom of winter and get to enjoy warmer weather and the new green, the lime green of freshly budding leaves and new grass.  When the trees start to pop with buds and blossoms and the daffodils and irises sprout up everywhere, I can understand why the term spring fever was coined.  

 My family was enjoying the beautiful weather and the first day of spring break today.  The little ones gave me with best gift, a huge basket of wildflowers!  

 We filled multiple vases with these unusual beauties.  While some would consider these weeds, my children saw the beauty in these unusual plants.

  Grouped together, the spiral white flowers are so interesting, they remind me of an exotic plant.

 I am so grateful for my kind generous children who amaze me everyday!  Thank you for the happiness in a vase.

What is your favorite thing about spring?

A treasure from the pond

This week my husband has been working hard on getting our pond cleaned out and water flowing.  He has discovered, well, it is a huge job.  In order to get the pond, which is our irrigation holding tank, functional again, he has had to drain it, scoop the muck out, and repair part of the bottom of the pond.  This is a job that unfortunately started last year, only to have it rain like crazy a week later and fill up our pond again.  When we drained our pond the first time, we moved all our fish, Bass and Blue gill, to a neighbor's pond to live a happy life.  With this week's pond drain, we found a ton of fish and a turtle!

My kid's are super excited about their new found pet.  My son has named the turtle, Tizzy Lynn.  The thing that confuses me, is where in the world did this little Red Eared Slider turtle come from?   I do not see a ton of turtles cruising up and down road looking for a pond to call home.  Regardless, little Tizzy Lynn will be ours to enjoy at least until the pond works. 

Our first eggs of the year

First 2 eggs- 2012

 After much chicken drama, we have finally collected our first eggs this year.  We started the season out in the spring with 22 baby chicks.  After an ambush by a band of racoons, we were down to 8 chickens.

 The thinning out of our flock with one big swoop had a couple of effects.  The first was that we now did not have to figure out what to do with our 3 roosters.  The second was that I was on a mission to protect the remaining members of the flock.  I was determined to get some EGGS!! 

Baby Chicks 2012

 Baby Chicks arrived April 12th this year and so far we have great success.  The kids love holding and taking care of the chicks and they are looking forward to early fall/ late summer when we can start collecting eggs.