It's a New Season....

Thanks to the unseasonably warm temps this year,
May has become swarm season. Michael caught 2 so far.
Both came from the top bar hive we have in the garden.
The first clung to a t-shirt he uses to tear fabric strings
from. The second swarm clung to a blackberry bush limb.
Here Michael is situating one swarm in hive boxes. Later,
we transported them onto the hill with the rest of the ladies. 



Spring = time for general homestead upkeep, kids.
Early on a Saturday morning, I was out with
my electric sander, taking the cracked varnish
off the front door. Although it was after 9 a.m., Michael stuck his
head out the door and said, "Good Morning, Little Marvin"
since my Dad is notorious for running loud power tools
well before 8 a.m.. Oops.



And the interior door, rehung. Yep, it's Smurf blue.
We had intended it to be a little darker, like Delft pottery,
but we like it. It's happy and different than anything anyone
around here else has.



Our salvage house door has been turned into a new garden
gate. And not a moment too soon. The old one fell to pieces
and I had to bag it up for the trash....really, in pieces.



We've moved the beans this year. They are where the corn
used to be. Michael is stringing hemp twine so that the vines
have a natural medium, up which they can climb.

And the very first strawberries of the season!
We had them on cereal this morning.