Afterward, we put on our queen excluders and honey supers and on our newest hive, we added another deep:
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Beekeeping: Early Mite Treatment
So before we put our honey supers on, Ash decided to do a quick treatment for mites. A friend and fellow beekeeper had some mite trouble already this year and we thought we'd avoid any problems since it will be few weeks before we do another big hive check.
Since I spent 20 minutes staring at the openings of the hives waiting for the mite treatments, I got an up-close-and-personal look into bee activity. I watched as bees came out to defend their hive from little beetle-like intruders. They tried biting them, and then ended up pushing them off the edge of the platform. Since it was evening (best time to treat for mites because you catch the largest percentage of bees at home inside the hive) I watched the bees stand on their "front porch", put their tushies in the air and fan their wings like crazy. This was their way of calling bees to come home by wafting their queen's specific pheromone scent. I still enjoy helping Ash with the hives, although it is a bit stressful for me when one of our girls gets smashed between hive boxes. I think I'm too soft-hearted to be a super efficient beekeeper. ;)
Monday, June 1, 2015
Time With Kids is Too Valuable to Let Slip By: Summer Plan 2015
Confessions of a Planner
Ok, call me uptight, but I'm the first to admit to being a planner. Don't get me wrong, spontaneity can be fun, but when it comes to filling your memory bank with life experiences, I'm all about a plan. Every summer I ask the kids what they want to do, see, learn or accomplish during the summer months (it usually spills into October) and we compile our Summer Plan.
Planning the No-Plan Days
The kids get 1 "lazy day" for each summer month. This means, they sleep in as late as they want, don't have to practice the piano or do other chores. They can lounge about as they wish. (Yes, this is how we planning-types appease the kid complaints that their friend's moms never make them do stuff like this during the summer.)
The Basic Routine
Otherwise, the rest of the days we stick to more or less of a routine. We get up to have family prayer before my husband leaves for work, and then they can go back to bed for another hour or so (as we hit the teenage years, the wake-up time is getting a bit later). All the regular chores remain in place: laundry, housecleaning, cooking once a week, emptying garbages, dishes, etc. with the addition of a weeding assignment in the yard that must be weeded (and checked) every 2 weeks. We try to get the work and chores done in the morning so the kids have the afternoons free to hang out with friends, earn money or whatever. Reading is a big part of summer as well, and we usually have some sort of reading competition or reward activity. (Plus their grandparents pay them for book reports. . . spoiled kiddos!)
It's Intentional
I try to make sure that the kids are involved in learning homemaking skills such as sewing, baking, canning, etc. so we plan those "training sessions" in as well. If I was just concerned about getting the projects done in an efficient manner, involving kids would never happen. So this way I intentionally make the focus on training them, not achieving a perfect outcome or end-product. I no longer make my 15 year old boy do full-on sewing projects like when he was younger, but the occasional mending project fits the bill nicely for his training. We've done ironing days also to train and hone their ironing skills. By now they're pretty good at ironing, so we don't include that in our plan anymore.
The Crux
My hope is that besides training my kiddos to have good life skills, I'll also fill their memory banks with some really fun experiences and traditions. So, without further ado, here's the plan for summer 2015:
Ok, call me uptight, but I'm the first to admit to being a planner. Don't get me wrong, spontaneity can be fun, but when it comes to filling your memory bank with life experiences, I'm all about a plan. Every summer I ask the kids what they want to do, see, learn or accomplish during the summer months (it usually spills into October) and we compile our Summer Plan.
Planning the No-Plan Days
The kids get 1 "lazy day" for each summer month. This means, they sleep in as late as they want, don't have to practice the piano or do other chores. They can lounge about as they wish. (Yes, this is how we planning-types appease the kid complaints that their friend's moms never make them do stuff like this during the summer.)
The Basic Routine
Otherwise, the rest of the days we stick to more or less of a routine. We get up to have family prayer before my husband leaves for work, and then they can go back to bed for another hour or so (as we hit the teenage years, the wake-up time is getting a bit later). All the regular chores remain in place: laundry, housecleaning, cooking once a week, emptying garbages, dishes, etc. with the addition of a weeding assignment in the yard that must be weeded (and checked) every 2 weeks. We try to get the work and chores done in the morning so the kids have the afternoons free to hang out with friends, earn money or whatever. Reading is a big part of summer as well, and we usually have some sort of reading competition or reward activity. (Plus their grandparents pay them for book reports. . . spoiled kiddos!)
It's Intentional
I try to make sure that the kids are involved in learning homemaking skills such as sewing, baking, canning, etc. so we plan those "training sessions" in as well. If I was just concerned about getting the projects done in an efficient manner, involving kids would never happen. So this way I intentionally make the focus on training them, not achieving a perfect outcome or end-product. I no longer make my 15 year old boy do full-on sewing projects like when he was younger, but the occasional mending project fits the bill nicely for his training. We've done ironing days also to train and hone their ironing skills. By now they're pretty good at ironing, so we don't include that in our plan anymore.
The Crux
My hope is that besides training my kiddos to have good life skills, I'll also fill their memory banks with some really fun experiences and traditions. So, without further ado, here's the plan for summer 2015:
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