Hey everyone! Hope your week went well. We stayed busy, and I got some answers regarding that hive of bees I lost. If you recall, I wrote about checking my hive and discovering it empty except for a few dead bees. A few friends gave their insight into what could have happened, which I greatly appreciated. Beekeeping has quite a learning curve. My mentor visited the hive to give me her opinion, and I'm happy to report that there were no signs of wax moths or parasites. My friend believes the queen was killed and the rest of the bees absconded. The queen could have been snatched up by a bird on a mating flight, or I could have accidentally killed her when I was pulling frames out and replacing them. We'll never know for sure, but I was pleased to learn that my frames can be reused for future hives. While my mentor was visiting, we checked the swarm that was in the other hive box and it's doing great!! It's doing so well, in fact, that we were able to add another brooder box for them to continue growing. It was definitely uplifting to have success with the swarm after losing my package bees. If all continues to go well, we'll have honey next spring!

Maintenance is a part of life on a farmstead. When you don't use chemicals to control the environment, you have to allot time to care for your plants and animals. I would much rather spend time maintaining my yard and garden than poisoning the soil and water for convenience. Our goal here is to leave a legacy for future generations to thrive. Besides, I enjoy being outside in the garden, hearing the bees buzz, clearing space for my vegetables, and admiring my bounty. If you love what you do, then it doesn't feel so much like work. I get fresh air, exercise, eggs, meat, fruit, and vegetables! This week was all about pulling weeds, picking beans, and trimming tomato plants. Here are a couple before and after pics of the tomatoes and our beautiful arch with pole beans. Trimming the tomatoes back helps the plants breathe and allows them to put energy into the strong stems and fruit. These are cherry tomato plants. Using the arch for beans makes picking super easy, and it's gorgeous!

I also made whipped body butter this week. I prefer solid lotion because it doesn't use water, so it has a shelf life without artificial preservatives. It's fun to make, great for your skin, and pretty! The ingredients are shea butter, cocoa butter, beeswax, coconut oil, safflower oil, and meadowfoam seed oil. Then it can be scented with whatever oils I choose.

I tried something new this week too! KOMBUCHA!! I love it because it tastes good and is really great for gut health, but it's expensive to buy. I've always heard it's easy to make so I finally got around to it. Making kombucha requires a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). You can make your own, but I got one from a friend to speed up the process. I started my kombucha on Wednesday and have the brewed tea and SCOBY sitting in a dark place fermenting. I'm still trying to decide how I want to flavor it for the second fermentation. I'm thinking gooseberries, or blackberries since they're in season right now. I'll let you know what I decide. Here's a picture from Wednesday when I put it all together. You can read about the process of making kombucha here. It walks you through everything from growing the SCOBY to the finished drink.

Finally, I am so very pleased to announce we completed delivery of our first CSA shares this week. It feels so good to offer our healthy food to friends and neighbors, and we're very grateful to those who dove in on our first offering and trusted us to be their personal poultry producers. To say thanks, I gave 2 quarts of homemade chicken broth to each customer as a special gift. Homemade chicken broth is high in collagen among other nutrients, uses all of the chicken to minimize waste, and promotes a healthy immune system. We hope everyone loves their products and tells their friends!

Our Fall CSA shares are available for purchase now! The deadline to sign up is August 15, and shares will be delivered in September, October, and November. We are now offering three different sizes of shares to accommodate every household, so there's something for everyone! Visit our site to read about the shares, size options, and to order. We want to be YOUR personal poultry producer!!

Click Here!

Have a great week everyone!