1. Topped off the large new bed.
2. Sowed 60 peas (5 kinds) in it (along its entire length next to the fence).
3. Didn’t forget to inoculate them.
4. But forgot to chit them. I figure if I keep the bed wet till germination we’ll be okay. (Okay, this is cheating.)
5. Built frame for new bed (4 x 8′).
6. Watched excavator dig out the stump of a 50-year-old pine and (a) enjoyed renewed faith in these trees to stay upright in high winds, (b) dreamed about all the things I could do if I had a little machine like that! (this one’s for One Straw, really).
7. Tidied all beds and saw that the black plastic and the warm weather – today was 60F! – had done their work: no more frozen soil. We’re a go for many seeds and seedlings to go in.
8. Cleaned out hoop house.
9. Collected all the sticks I want to use in the windbreak for the hive.
10. Painted the hive with Amie’s help. I know, I went for just safe bet: white – read that it confuses the bees if you paint it different colors.
11. Harvested tiny carrots, mache, mizuna and two something-elses that I can’t identify from the hoop house. Unfortunately, when I put these seeds in at the beginning of Winter, I didn’t take notes. Any ideas? The second one has bumps, like goosebumps, all over the leaves. {UPDATE} The first one is Claytonia.
12. Took pictures of Amie loving the mache. She just pinched off the leaves and ate them on the spot. This is a miracle, for up until now she would not eat anything that is green.
13. Drove through my flooded town to bee class and learned that bears go after hives not for the honey but for the bee larvae and pupae. That puts Winnie the Pooh up there with Popeye (*)
(*) What’s that about Popeye, you ask? Though spinach contains a lot of iron, none of it can be absorbed by humans.
My, but you’ve been productive!
The second of the unidentified plants photo looks like a turnip. I’ve seen the bumps on mine too but never gave this a 2nd thought. I assumed it was a characteristic of the leaf. I’d better check on that.
I grinned about the theory of one color beehives. Now you need to check out the Slovenian beehives:
here – http://www.beekeeping.com/goodies/painted-beehives/index.htm
and here
http://web.bf.uni-lj.si/jbozic/muzej/hivefron.html
I read somewhere else that Slovenian beekeepers thought the bees needed this to identify their own hive from all the others. These hive fronts are truly amazing works of art.
That aside, I plan to paint my hives the same as you, white. :)
Hi Leigh,
Funny, I didn’t think I sowed turnips – don’t even think I have the seed…
Those hives are gorgeous! It makes sense to paint them differently, especially if you have many hives one next to the other – though in those cases I’ve been told to orient each of them slightly differently.
Fascinating!
Personally I like the white: the hive will be a blinding beacon to all!
And it’s also all I’ve got time for, at the moment.