The Honey Report

The honey super was more populated than during the last inspection.  Note the inside of the cover that is leaning against the building.

This frame is two out from the center.  The lighter colored zone in the center of the frame consists the capped honey cells.  The frame in the center is filled.  I will harvest the full frames in the near future by removing the caps.

Chicken Heaven

Clothesline Tragedy

Was this the work of the swamp creature?  What happened to the laundry that was hanging on the clothesline when I left the house 10 hours ago?

The base of the clothesline was bent.  Richard told me that the high winds lifted our beloved clothesline out of the ground, clothes and all.

The New Guy

Today Richard drove to Jacksonville to pickup our new Foghorn-Leghorn Rooster.  He was formerly in a caged-area in a shady backyard, now he has the run of the place.  He is 11 months old and very gentle.  It feels somehow unfulfilling to have  a rooster who does not attack, like our dearly departed Candy.

Murder Scene

It is with a heavy heart that I report the death of our feisty rooster Candy.  I know that he died doing what he loved:  Fighting.  This time it really mattered.  My guess is that it was a raccoon or possum . Closing the chicken coop door prevents this sort of thing.  What a tragedy.  We are looking for a new rooster. 

Whiz-Bang Apple Machine

Look at this amazing machine.  It is a Pampered Chef item.  It cores, peels and slices.  We had a wonderful time making our Julia Child sliced baked apples recipe.  This is a great tool!  I saw where Williams Sonoma also sells this.  That version has a suction to the table instead of the vice. 

Broken Lizard

This little lizard was found behind the shutters that line the interior living room.  What a sad end.

The donut is on the hard

Richard pulled this thing out of the pond the other day using the Jeep.  This used to be a fountain device that floated in the pond.  I refer to it as the spaceship.

July Scenery

Post storms Beryl and Debby, we have received a lot of rain, which has brought the retention pond up to about six feet, from the two feet earlier.

Bee Hive Check

I was curious how far developed the honey super was.  Note the rooster and the hen in the background to the right.

It appears we have a long way to go on the honey production.  The brood hive was thriving, no infestations noted (wasps, moths, etc).  

Florida in Bloom

This may be a very common plant, but it has an uncommonly beautiful flower.  If you know what this flower is, please post a comment.

This bloomed on the bank of the retention pond.  It appears to be a hybiscus.

The prickly pear cactus is native or naturalized here.  I have seen in grow in the dunes.

Bring on the Ladies!

Remember that gecko we discovered in the quonset hut?  Well, turns out the previous tenant had three males on the property to fight off the Floridian spiders.  These are Tokay geckos, native to India.  He offered to drop off his remaining geckos, both female.  Back in May we released them, and boy did they sprint.  These are such elusive creatures.  We see one at night once in a great while, suctioned to the side of the quonset hut.  Perhaps we have a successful breeding operation.  We would be the last to know.

The first 10,000 bees have arrived

I have the bees in a nucleus (nuc) box for a week and a half, then I shift them over to a conventionial hive box. When the sun comes out the bees are quite busy.

Gecko in the Quonset Hut

Richard called me out to the Quonset Hut to look at a lizard. This guy was about nine inches long. He is probably a gecko. We relocated him outside. What a beauty.

Free Range Poultry Operation

We have four hens and one rooster. The rooster was free. I wasn't keen on a rooster to begin with, but now I find him charismatic. The two hens follow him around. He is his own rooster. Before he came to us he was under the thumb of another rooster. Now he has his own lady friends and things are really going his way.

Lately we have been getting two to four eggs. The eggs are terrific.