The Fields Have Turned Brown

I know what you're thinking.  You're imagining a horrific bee massacre at the hands of one of our nocturnal farm creatures.  No, it's just the aftermath of "consolidation day" in the beeyard.  We combined the weaker colonies and ended up with a total of nine hives with (hopefully) plenty of honey to survive the coming winter.  The bees weren't too receptive to our relocation plan - we had to hide indoors the rest of the day. 

The chickens have nearly stopped laying altogether.  Our neighbor has the same issue with her chickens.  We assume that we have a predator that keeps the hens stressed out.  Brady set out traps but no captives yet. I think they're in the middle of a molt - most of them have bald spots and feathers are scattered everywhere.  If they don't finish their molt within the next couple weeks I'll have to knit up some hen-sweaters!

You probably noticed a new page on the blog.  I'm planning an online farm store in the very near future.  Plus I wanted to see how the blog template would handle it.  Still experimenting with what to offer, how to offer it, etc.  Things like knitting patterns will obviously be downloadables, but tangible wares are a whole different matter.  That's when we gotta start thinking about storefronts, shopping carts, online payments and inventory.  Maybe it will be a short learning curve.   So, in the very near future we'll have a little practice go-round with a pattern download.  It'll be free, of course.  :)

Massie Creek Bluegass Band is now taking bookings for 2012! Please contact us at smithscreekfarm@gmail.com for more information.  Website coming soon!

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Coming Up

Clean coops, band practice, band website & photo shoot, finish Christmas projects

Mobile

So this is our first entry by phone.  I guess you could say we're phoning it in

We had a late season hail storm this afternoon.  Seasonal growls. Katy hid under her blanket until it passed.

Not sure if the pictures uploaded correctly.  And I'm also not too keen on making a long entry tapping on this tiny keyboard.  Longer review coming soon.

Down the Road

The Cleverly Trio

The Smiths are a traveling bunch!

After a couple weeks of packing, traveling, unpacking, laundry, packing, traveling (you get the idea) we're finally back home to relax, regroup, and resume fall chores at the farm.  But boy did we have fun!  :)

Nashville - IBMA

Who wouldn't love a whole week of bluegrass and honky tonks?  The weather was beautiful (note to self - it's not too late in the season for shorts at IBMA) and the music was delicious!  Thanks to Brandi Hart and the Dixie Bee-Liners for letting us stalk them all over town.  And we enjoyed the awards show on Thursday night although our friends Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers didn't bring home the Emerging Artist trophy (robbed!).  The post-awards show at the Hard Rock Cafe was incredible with a triple scoop of Monroeville, The Boxcars, and The Cleverlys. And Fan Fest was better than ever!  Thanks to The Cleverlys for bringing us backstage.  I know who I'm voting for Entertainer of the Year!  :)

Pittsburgh - Steelers vs. Titans

We dragged ourselves home from NashVegas and after a brief layover at the farm we headed out to Pittsburgh to take the kids to their first Steelers game.  :)  The weather was absolutely perfect and the Steelers came through with a routing of the visiting Titans!

Brady & Cody meet Emmanual Sanders #88

 

Odds & Ends

Back to the farm...

Now that the temps are hanging around the 70º mark we're making plans for winding down the farm for its winter nap.  The field needs to be mowed one last time, the coops prepped for cold weather, and the beehives need a wind break.  Interesting note - the bees have no problem with cold temperatures but can't survive the wind.  So, we need to construct a break from the northern winds - hay bales, cardboard hive wrap, etc.  And their fall feeding is coming to an end quickly.  The winter survival rate for honeybees in Ohio is around 40% - a depressing number when you look out over the beeyard and try to imagine starting the new year with fewer hives.

High Tech Rednecks

Brady has a new iPhone and I inherited his Droid, which means I can now do mobile blogging!  :)  Well, I could if I didn't have a chihuahua in my lap every time I sit down.  Anyway, I've downloaded the Blogger app and within the next few days I'll send out my first attempt at a blog-on-the-run. 

Coming Up

Clean coops, consolidate bee hives, fencing, band practice