Fowl Weather Friends

Spring? Who said anything about spring?

You bring humor (and absurdity) everywhere you go. Stay true to your silliest self; stay absurd, you funny bird. [Also, hi, please let me in, I heard there are bagels.]

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Here’s What’s Happening At Good Spirits Farm

Welcome, April!!

We lost all our peach and pear blossoms in a late freeze, and we may lose the apple blossoms this weekend. Such is life in the south, and I try to frame it as making the years we do get fruit extra special (although it’s hard not to dwell on the disappointment).

The yo-yoing weather has me totally unsure of when my beehives will begin swarming. The earliest they’ve ever gone is the first week of April, but it’s almost always around April 15. We’ve had several 75-degree days, which has the queens laying drones. This is a precursor to swarming, as mature drones mate with new queens. Normally, I’d spend this weekend splitting hives, but we’ve got rain and a possible frost on the horizon. And so, I’ve put out my insurance policy: Swarm traps.

These are boxes with a few frames of drawn comb, baited with a spritz of lemongrass oil, which bees love. The tiny entrance is the exact size bees look for when choosing a new home. It’s my first year using purpose-built swarm traps, versus just placing empty hives near my bee yards and hoping they’ll chose those, which they never do. Let’s hope these are more alluring! (And save us from the bee vacuum backpack up on a ladder situation, which is never very fun.)

We spent last week touring farms in Vermont. This one, which came pre-loaded with babas (Farm Baby’s catchall for chickens and ducks) was his winner by a mile… Unfortunately, our criteria are a little more complicated, and the hunt for the perfect thing continues.

Heebeejeebees says she’s not picky, so long as there’s a good spot for going Loaf Mode.

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Here’s What I Loved This Week

Moving up north will put me within half-a-day’s drive of my two best college besties—with one in Montreal and one in Rhode Island. I took advantage of our farm-hunting trip to get in a girl’s weekend in Montreal, which included a lovely maple syrup street festival.

Music, maple syrup taffy made on snow, and maple bacon poutine—what’s not to love?

Big thanks to Todd for managing Farm Baby for two full days in a hotel room so I could have a little fun!