Bees and Bikes (But No Babies)

Glenn's prized school house hive had a traumatic week.  The weather here has been perfect for checking the hive so Glenn did an inspection last weekend.  Oliver was the keeper's assistant, Grammy served as Pearl's guardian, and I was the photographer.  The hive looked great and was filled with brood.

Grammy, Pearl and I had to take cover because a couple of the girls decided we were too close and began to head butt us.  Oliver and Glenn were brave and finished their task while I took the opportunity to take photographs of Pearl.

Two nights ago Pumpkin began barking at something in the front of the property.  Pumpkin is the sweetest dog alive, but he looked as though he wanted to tear apart an intruder.  The next day Glenn found his hive knocked to the ground.  Pumpkin perhaps was trying to tell us we had a bear or some other large animal in the front pasture.  Glenn quickly put on his bee gear and ran outside to save his girls.  They seem to be doing okay considering the horrific night they endured.

We did our second bee presentation earlier this month.  This time it was for Oliver's preschool class.  The kids seemed quite interested in bees.  They couldn't believe Oliver likes to hang out with bees and doesn't get stung.  I made the mistake of pulling honey sticks out of my purse at the end of the presentation and nearly got swarmed  by twenty preschoolers.

Today was the annual Wildflower Century bike ride.  The past few years we have gone out to the street to cheer on the riders.  Grammy thought Oliver and his cousins would have a good time trying to make some money by having a lemonade stand this year.  The boys faced steep competition from the bike club; they were serving free lemonade at the fire station across the street.

Business was booming regardless.  Some of their customers left money without even sampling the delicious lemonade.  We also sold lip balm to benefit Oliver's Aunt Kelly's "Treasure You Chest" team.  Kelly and her friends do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer every year in Texas.  We are getting a head start for the 2012 walk.  

Oliver's favorite customer was this nice officer.  After Oliver passed his sobriety test, the officer donated all the dollars and change he could find in his car.

They scored!

Serio is still pregnant!  She is getting huge and often has unmentionable things dripping from her unmentionables.  I think it will probably happen in the next week, but I don't seem to have a very good read on goat pregnancies yet.

Three Goats, Three Alpacas, Two Swarms, One Livestock Guardian Dog, and a Fetus

I have several farm updates! I planned on blogging last week, but I got sick with a gallbladder issue and spent the last part of the week throwing up, going to the ED, and eating a liquid diet. (By the way, I promised myself I would not mention poop or vomit anymore in my posts, but here I go again, sorry). So, the good news is that I have lost a few pounds over the past few days. I was starting to get a little big around the middle. So here are the things that have happened around here over the past two weeks.

1. SWARM CAPTURE

Glenn was working in my parents' greenhouse last week, when he heard a swarm of bees fly into one of their oak trees. Glenn excitedly called me, so I rushed home from work to help him capture the swarm that landed 15-20 feet off the ground. I didn’t do much but take pictures and curse when the swarm landed on my head under the tree, but I can’t miss an opportunity to watch a swarm removal. Glenn went up the ladder countless times to collect all of the bees. The bees are satisfied with their new home and now live in our front yard.


2. ALPACA, DOG, GOAT

The three alpacas, dog and goat have all managed to work out their differences and seem to live in peace with each other. Our goat, Leche, thinks she is an alpaca, and has been seen grazing, sleeping and frolicking with the alpacas. When Lotta gets a little too rough for her, she runs to the alpacas for defense and they actually seem to take care of her. You can see Leche in the shelter eating with the alpacas, while Lotta is forced to stay outside.

Occasionally, Lotta will do something silly, like wake Mic up from a nap. Below Mic is giving Lotta a good warning spit in the face.


3. BABY BB

We decided to have an ultrasound this time around for some peace of mind (mine, mostly), but we did not find out the sex of the baby. Both grandmas came to the appointment as we were lucky enough to schedule it when Glenn’s parents were in town visiting. Here is a peek at her profile. Glenn is already claiming she looks like him. He’s probably right, Oliver was born looking like a miniature version of him (and that’s a good thing; Glenn is pretty cute).

4. NEW GOATS

Glenn brought home the new babies! We have been working with them, trying to get them on the bottle, but the male in particular seems to like eating alfalfa instead. Here are both Grandmas, each holding a new baby goat. In the second picture we are attempting to lure them back to the house with an alfalfa “carrot.”



5. WILDFLOWER BIKE RIDE

The annual Wildflower bike ride rode through again this year. As usual we woke up early to cheer on the bicyclists. Our alpacas and goats were quite a hit. Oliver served as the alpaca guide, taking photographs with the bicyclists and alpacas, and correcting people when they called Remmy or Mic a llama.

6. BACKYARD SWARM

Yesterday I heard a loud buzzing sound in the back under the oak trees. It turned out to be a swarm in action. I have only seen swarms once they have settled onto a tree, so this was a real treat for me. The air was thick with bees. It was beautiful! Just look at how many bees were in the air at the time of the swarm.

Wildflower Bike Ride

People who ride bicycles are cool. I do not own a bike. I do however want to support bike riding when I can. That is the reason Oliver and I got out of bed at 7:30 today. The annual one hundred mile Wildflower ride includes our country road (Parkhill). Oliver and I headed down the driveway to cheer on the riders and take photographs. EVERY rider waved, said good morning, or rang a bell for Oliver (and we watched the riders for almost two hours). I'm hoping these types of experiences will help inspire Oliver to love bicycles!

Here are a few of the shots Oliver took of the bicycle riders this morning: