Costumes 2016- Rainbow Dash & her pet Tank the turtle

Quite excited about our costume creations for this year.  Lady genevieve loves My Little Ponies right now, and wanted to be Rainbow Dash.  After browsing the Internet of the many costumes already created, we went to the craft store with an idea in mind and found materials to get started.  My mother made me an amazing Rainbow Brite costume when I was about 4 years old.  Her costume creating abilities has given me something to strive for in my motherhood.  I think we nailed it pretty well this year.

The blue pants and shirt were purchased from Old Navy (2016) on clearance- which was a great deal.  Not to mention way less work than trying to make the body if the costume.  With that accomplished it was time to design a tail.  My Rainbow Brite wig was made of yarn, and I thought that would be a good application for this costume as well.  However, once I added up the cost of all the yarn I decided to check out the fabrics for an alternative.  Tulle was discounted, and seemed like a good option for a puffy tail.  The lady cutting our fabric agreed, as it would be lighter as a tail than lots of yarn.  We found an awesome rainbow belt material, that we originally intended to cut into the Lightning bolt "Cutie Mark".  But after checking out the actual Rainbow Dash, I realized the lighting bolt did not have all the rainbow colors in it- only Red, Yellow & Blue.  Originally I had planned to use elastic to hold the tail up at the waist.  But then I realized we could use the belt to hold the tail up.  I cut & scrunched the tulle, and sewed in onto the inside of the belt.  Yellow, Orange, & red sewed to hang straight down.  Purple, Blue, & Green sewed to come out the top of the belt.  I did this to give the tail a little more body.  Then I sewed velcro to the outside and the belt attached at the tail.  Then we made the Rainbow Dash wings and stuffed them with fluff.  I created little arm straps with elastic and covered them with the material to match her outfit.  Next came the wig.  Originally I tried to make the wig with an elastic band around the head, and the tulle tied on, like how my mom had made my yarn wig.  It basically turned into an upside down rainbow tutu.  I did not like it, and then decided to use a friend's design to create more of a mane.  I cut a 3 inch strip of white felt, the length that I wanted the main to be.  Then I cut 2-3 holes into multiple rows down the length.  Then I pulled tulle through 2 of the holes, with the tales sticking out the back.  I covered a headband with the wing fabric, and sewed some ears.  Used a glue gun to attach everything.  The lighting bolt cutie mark was made out of iron on patch material.  I had to purchase both packs of colors, in order to get the colors needed for the bolt.  I cut them to shape and then ironed them onto white felt.   I attached it to a loop that could easily slide on and off the belt.  So easy, looks great!

Little man got to be Rainbow Dash's pet turtle- Tank.  

Redwoodshire Eggs & and an Egg-speriment

I thought it would be good to get current, as it's been many months since our last post.

The chicks have grown up and are laying the most beautiful eggs!  We currently have 12 chickens-  11 hens and 1 rooster.  One of our 2 Americanas is now known as "Cinderfella".  Somewhat disappointing as we were hoping for more than one blue/green egger in the batch.  They are wonderful!  Every day is so exciting when we visit the coop and peak into the nesting boxes for the days eggs.  One week ago we got our first blue egg!  So very exciting, for sure.

This Fall, a friend and I both had intentions to start doing some home schooling activities for our 3 year olds.  Our friend turned her basement into a very cool school room.  She invited us over one week to do some activities.  It was so inspiring, and I offered that they could come over the following week and I would put together some activities about Bees and the letter B.  And our home school co-op was born!  Each week we take turns leading a handful of activities with the girls, with a focus on a letter of the alphabet.  This past week we focused on the letter E.  Tracing & writing the letter E, reading a couple books about eggs, a fun experiment (egg-speriment) and then eating eggs prepared 3 different ways (based upon the book "Two Eggs, Please".)

Organic is all the rage these days, and don't get me wrong I definitely believe it is better for all of us.  But the truth of the matter, is that some people purchase "organic" because of the label, but don't really know how different or better it is, than the "non-organic" label.  Our egg activity, demonstrated that backyard, free range chickens are superior to even the factory "organic" eggs.

We decided to make hard boiled eggs, Scrambled eggs, and Sunnyside Up eggs.  I knew that our backyard/ free range eggs have a deep school bus shade to their yolks.  Recently I hardboiled some non-organic factory eggs from Wegmans, and was taken aback at how pale the yolks were.   We compared yolks from each of the different procured eggs.  The amazing part was while we made the "sunnyside up eggs".  We cracked 1 Wegmans organic, 1 Wegmans non-organic, and 2 different backyard eggs (one from Redwoodshire, and one from another friend backyard flock).

Check out these beautiful photos my friend took our our eggs.

Dark chocolate brown (Copper Maran)- Light brown (plymouth barred rock or Yellow Comet)- Light Blue (Americana)

Clockwise from the smaller dark yellow yolk:  Redwoodshire free range/ non-organic egg.  Light yellow on right: Wegmans non-organic egg.  Large dark yellow yolk on bottom: Backyard, non-organic egg (older hens).  Light yellow yolk on left: Wegmans Organic egg.

The backyard eggs, though not organic have much darker yolks than both of the Factory procured eggs.  The darker yolk is due to the free range diet rich in varied nutrients.  Notice how minor the difference is between the two lighter yolks.  The one on left is "organic."

WOW!  I am convinced that backyard eggs, organic or not, are far superior than factory eggs from the store.  From reading about all the nutritional benefits of backyard, free range eggs, I already had a basis to believe they were what I wanted to feed my family.  But having cooked them side by side and seen the very obvious difference in yolk colors, I am completely convinced that backyard eggs are superior than their factory procured counterparts.

With all of our hens in the laying rotation, we have so many eggs.  When the days lengthen in the Spring we are going to have even more eggs on our hands.  We have begun selling our Redwoodshire Eggs to friends in the area for $2/dozen.  Once we switch over to Organic Feed, eggs will be $3/dozen.  I don't even feel like I have to convince people that they are worth it- because I know that they are.  If you are health conscious about putting the most nutritious food into your body, you should definitely consider the hens your eggs come from.  Even if you cannot keep chickens yourself, you may be able to find someone local who is raising backyard chickens and selling their eggs.

If you are local and would like Redwoodshire Eggs, please get in touch to be added to our egg schedule.

Photo credit: L. Desormeau 2016

Hive Inspection #2- Day 25

OUR HIVE INSPECTION in photos

1st Hive Inspection- Pollen filled cells

We inspected the hive for the second time today- just shy of 2 weeks since our first inspection.  I have been so eager to get inside the hive, but have patiently waited until today.  After our last inspection we looked up what we saw and found out that the dark yellow, half filled cells were pollen stores.  I thought that I saw eggs in the bottom of the cells, though I wasn't sure if they were eggs or my eyes were playing tricks on me.










Second hive inspection today (day 25 since we installed the swarm) was very exciting.  We saw the queen again, though our photos were blurry, so we have nothing to show.  Next time.  We saw lots and lots of capped brood.  White, squishy larvae inside some cells.  Tiny little white eggs.  Capped honey cells at the top of the comb.  It was a full compliment of the honey bee stages of life.

Removing top bar #9

Top Bar within the hive

This bar of comb demonstrates capped honey- light capped cells along the top of comb.  The dark cells below the capped honey are stores of pollen.  Then a few uncapped cells.  The bottom half of comb, covered with bees is capped brood.  The dark cells amidst the capped brood, are vacated brood cells (where bees have matured and left their cell).

Within the darker cells, there is a tiny light colored tic-tack- that is the egg.  This observation means that our queen is mated and laying eggs.  Success!!

At the center of this photo, one row above the capped brood, are 5 open cells containing larvae.  They look like little white packmen.  The dark cells below, are already emerged bee cells.  The cells at top of photo are also cells where bees have previously emerged.  What you see within the cell is the junk left behind from the bees growth and transformation.  The bees on those cells are likely cleaning the cells up and getting them ready for a new egg.

This much anticipated hive inspection lived up to my hopes.  During and after the inspection I was high with excitement about how fascinating and cool bees are.  Observing them in action is so wonderful.  I visit our hive multiple times a day to see what I can see.  I have actually observed the queen pass by the window twice.  Though not a lot changes from visit to visit, I still love counting the bars of comb and watching what they are up too.  Hopefully we will get a photo of that queen.  Maybe next inspection we will try to get a photo of the different members of the hive: the Queen, the worker & the drone bees.  I absolutely love photographing our bees, as so much more can be appreciated from the photos after the fact.  They are beautiful creatures indeed.

HoneyBees- week 2 update & 1st Hive Inspection

Memorial Day marked 2 weeks since we welcomed our swarm to the Top Bar Hive at Redwoodshire.  We've been watching them daily through our observation window, and they have been very busy.  At day 12, we did our first hive inspection.  Unfortunately we only took a couple photos, because we were focused on inspecting the comb- which was territory completely unknown to us.  And it seems as though we probably made a few mistakes in the process- though nothing hugely detrimental.  The inspection went well and was so fascinating.  We were blindly going about it, as we noted what we saw, but were not entirely sure what everything we observed was.
Check it out:  The dark golden filled cells are stores of pollen.  The light cells are filled with a clear liquid, or empty.
DAY 12- Hive Inspection

And the Laird spotted the QUEEN!!  He's been talking about needing to find the queen, to which I always responded with cynicism because there are thousands of bees in the hive.  But sure enough he spotted her-- which made us both quite pleased.  We have a queen!  I think we spotted some eggs within the empty cells, though we are not entirely sure.  On our next inspection, hopefully we will spot some larvae or capped brood cells.  

DAY 15:  Observation- Spotted the queen through the observation window- though I didn't have my camera to take photos.  Check out the bee entering the hive-- notice the pollen filled back legs!  I can't believe I got such a cool photo.  The bees are quite active today.

There are 9 good sized bars of comb visible.  I spotted 2 smaller combs started on bars 10 & 11.  About 1/3 the length of the hive is filled with comb- as our TBH can fit 30 top bars.  

  

In other news, our Queen Anne Golden Raspberries survived the transplant and have sprouted leaves.  Of them, 9 out of 11 plants are thriving!  The red raspberry row is growing like crazy, and is covered with blossoms and berries.  And the blueberry blossoms have started becoming berries as well.  It's our third season, and it's going to be the best one yet!

News in chickens:  One of our little Amerucana chicks, Belle appears to be sick with Wry Neck.  We're researching in on the internet and doing our best to remedy her condition-isolation from other chicks,  baby vitamins & tuna in water.  She seems to be doing slightly better, but is still under the weather.  Queen Mother & Diana have been enjoying their days free ranging in the yard, while the 4 little Marans are getting used to the coop.  We finally finished securing the run below the coop, and they are utilizing that as well.  The Laird is trying so hard to get that garden planted, but with re-fencing the garden, finishing up the chicken coop, bee business, yard clean up....  he's a bit behind.  The garden is taking a toll due to all the other projects before us.  Hopefully this weekend we will get everything in and planted.

This is all the news fit to print at Redwoodshire.  Bees, chickens and berries.  

HoneyBees- 1 week update

One week ago, in the dark of the night, we installed a swarm of bees into our Top Bar Hive.  Being new to beekeeping, we were not really sure what to expect.  Would they stay, or decide they wanted a better place?  Is the queen present or are we queenless?  It's been a week of observing and learning- and I have loved every day of it.  It's exceeding my expectations, as I have always been fascinated by the idea of beekeeping.  Homesteading, gardening, beekeeping, chicken raising... they all involve a level of keeping records of observations, and I absolutely love that part of it.  I love keeping track of what happens each day, as I know the notes will be very helpful this time next year when we're doing all of it all over again.  We think we will remember from year to year, but it's literally impossible- just the same as the first year of your baby's life.  It all blends together, though you do have a general idea of the memories of what happened, but the specifics get lost.  No matter how hard you try.

So far it seems as though our hive is doing what it should.  Each day we go out and check on them and based on my notes, it seems as though we have observed a new Top Bar of comb being built each day.  In 7 days, the bees have built up 7 bars of comb that we can see from the observation window.  They are "busy bees" and it's so awesome to watch.  We have been feeding them a simple 1:1 sugar:water syrup in a homemade mason jar feeder.  The Laird and I are growing more comfortable with the bees and opening the hive, which is also good news.  No bee stings yet.  No fear.

6 Visible Top Bars of comb

The Laird took lady genevieve & lord alastair to the zoo with friends last weekend.  Lady genevieve's friend spotted a bumble bee and started to squirm in fear--- to which lady genevieve responded in confusion:  "We like bees.  They are our friends!"  Very cute, and definitely demonstrates to me how much she is learning alongside us as we walk this journey of beekeeping.  Where we have no fear- she has no reason to fear.


CHICKENS:
The Queen Mother & Diana have spent the past 2 weeks cooped up in the coop- as is recommended with chickens that will free range.  This past weekend they got to experience their first days outside the coop and they did awesome.  They pecked and hung around in proximity to us while we worked to get a little more finished on their coop.  It's a beautiful thing to see chickens roaming around our yard.  I love it!  We love checking the nesting boxes every afternoon to see if we got any eggs.  With 2 layers, we're getting "just enough" eggs to keep us going.  In 6 months, when the chicks are ready to start laying, we will have eggs coming out our ears!  And I can't wait.
The chicks got to have some outside time in the baby gate area.  They are so friendly.  The chicken coop is coming along.  The roof is about 90% shingled.  We hung trim and an adorable window box on the southern side of the coop (fixed window).  We still have to hang the other 2 windows with their cute shutters- build a cupola- fence in the run below the coop- and cut the interior door to the run.  Hopefully we can get these things done and the chicks can move out of my dining room- sooner than later.  They are quickly outgrowing their cardboard boxes & my house is smelling like a barn.

The Lusty Month of May- Chickens, Bees & Berries

So much has happened in the past 2 weeks!  We have added some ladies to our flock of chickens. The Laird's friend gave us 2 of his Copper Maran laying hens, plus 4 month old chicks.  Our hens are named, The Queen Mother & Diana.  Within the first 24 hours of having them at Redwoodshire we had 2 different escaping events- but thankfully they both returned and we are wiser in the ways of these chickens skills.

We have a double brooder set up in the dining room.  The newest princesses (on the right) are: Mulan, Pocahontas, Jasmine & Tiana.  When the weather warms up a bit, the Copper Marans (right) will head out to join Queen Mother & diana in the coop.  The little ones will head out shortly after that.  We still have to secure the chicken run, shingle the roof, & install the windows.

 Our original chicks are growing so quickly.  Their feathers are so beautiful!  We currently have 4 different breeds of chickens- and because the Americanas can lay different colors, we may have 4 different color eggs in our collections.  We will have to wait until they start laying to see what color eggs Cinderella & Belle will produce.  The other chickens will range from dark chocolate brown, to light brown.

   

Here are some blossoms on a blueberry bush.  It's the 3rd season for these blueberries and it looks like it's going to be an amazing year.  Both baby apple trees are slowly but surely growing and getting better looking with each passing year.  

It is swarm season, and the Laird's friend also caught us a swarm from one of his hives.  Two weeks ago, his bees swarmed for the first time this season.  Despite his best efforts to catch them for us, they swarmed and found one of this other hives that was empty because the hive didn't make it through winter.  Yesterday they swarmed again (multiple times) and he was able to capture them in this box.

The Laird brought them home, and together we donned our veils and gloves and a good flashlight and headed for the hive.  Both anxious to remove the lid and get to work- we set to work.  I lifted the lid.  The Laird flipped the box, and banged the bees into the hive.  Then we quickly replaced the top bars.  The darkness made it difficult to see what we were doing, but we're hoping the queen made it into the hive.  There are a number of bees still lingering in the nuc box.  Now we just watch and wait, and then watch some more.  And take a few photos too! Really looking forward to the awesome opportunities that bees and chickens will lend towards my photography.

Our Top Bar Hive has a sweet observation window.  We are able to open it up and see what they are up to.  Day 1- the bees are mostly  clustered in the corner & near one entrance.  Some bees are still clustered on the nuc box.  There is some activity outside of the hive.

Things are very exciting here at Redwoodshire.  We read lots of books about bees and chickens over winter, but have had to get the books back out to refresh our memory.  In addition to the livestock, we've been harvesting first fruits of rhubarb & asparagus.  We added 10 Queen Anne Golden Raspberries to our 3 year old Red raspberry row.  Not sure what this first year will amount to, but I have heard that the Golden Raspberries are amazing.   We are very grateful for the help we have had from friends who are helping us enter new territory of homesteading (chickens & bees).  I hope we can be those kind of friends to eager learners in the future, once we have skills to offer.

Chick-Inn Coop Progress- Part 2

Stats: 6 Chicks here.  We are adding a few Copper Maran chicks to the bunch this weekend, in addition to a couple laying marans to give us some eggs until the chicks start laying (in about 6 months).  The chicks are currently living in our dining room while we work on the coop and while they grow their feathers and get big enough to move into their coop.  But we've been in "finish mode" with the coop this past week since the laying hens we're borrowing won't be able to live in our dining room.
Here's our progress:

 The Laird installed plywood onto the roof, in addition to cutting the southern window out.  Unfortunately we had a few days of rain, and failed to cover the roof with a tarp.  We discovered some substantial warping of the plywood when we went back to work.

Next the Laird laid felt roof underlayment on the roof, and hung the final piece of siding.  In the midst of all the work on the coop up to this point, we tore apart the pallets and pulled nails to build the coop entry door.  We finished it with a coat of tung oil- and it looks AMAZING!  I love the different wood colors, mixed together.  I absolutely LOVE making barn doors.  I will be building little pallet shutters for the 2 small Western windows, and hopefully a nice window box for the Southern window.  I am undecided about how I feel about working with pallets- it's a TON of work- pulling pallets apart without breaking the boards.  The great aspects are the unique and weathered appearance, and the fact that they are free.  They are truly perfect for the chicken coop or play house application- where you're not striving for perfect.

In addition to building the coop, the Laird decided to do a Garden expansion- which involved re-building the fence (3rd fence in 3 years!).    He expanded it upwards to include the top tier, and be right along the raspberry row.  He also expanded it on the Southern side towards the woods.  His intention for expansion is in effort to grow hard corn and sunflowers to supplement the chickens feed.

 Next up was to cut the 2 western windows.  Yesterday, I was able to paint the entire coop during nap time! Yay for good kids.  Last night the Laird built the soffits and started working on the nest box roof/ door.

The trim is drying with first coats of paint.  With the chickens arrival, we really need to hang the entry door and nest box door, hardware cloth on the windows.

More to come your way!

 We painted the coop to match our barn