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The Beginnings of Our Beekeeping Journey
In late February Ty and I attended a 3-day Beginning Beekeeping class taught by our County Extension Agent. It was my first exposure to learning anything about honeybees. Personally, I have always had an aversion to bees in general, and I never paid much attention to learning anything about them. I just knew they stung, and I didn’t want to get stung. When we first moved into my grandparents’ home over ten years ago, they had big azalea bushes by the front door, and I always hated going through the front door in the summer because these giant furry bees (bumble bees) would be lingering right there, buzzing loudly. So, I typically just…
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Big Picture Plan: Keeping the Dogwoods
Yesterday the Wiggles went out into our woods. The lesson was about the Dogwood. This tree is a valuable component in my long-term Land Stewardship goals. It thrives as a naturalized understory tree on southern/eastern aspects in mid slope areas. It seems to like moist and richer soils, if there is such a thing on unmanaged Oak and Hickory woodland in central VA. The need for managing the land in three dimensions has become one of my criteria as I attempt to maximize land output while maintaining as low an input as possible. The land is a solar collector. The land that captures and retains the most energy will by…
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Family Project: Identifying Dogwood Trees in the Woodland
We have two beautiful Dogwoods in our front yard, one nestled between the outbuildings behind our house, and dozens scattered throughout the woods that border the back of our property. They are not only aesthetically beautiful, but also very well-mannered. Requiring little to no input or maintenance, they enhance the overall landscape we are aiming for. Given their medium size and their preference for dappled shade, they fill a void in the three-dimensional space without being problematic, providing dappled shade themselves. While the fruit of this species is not meant for human consumption, the trees provide fodder for the birds and animals in their natural habitat as well as our…
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Breakfast is Served: Eggs a la Wiggle
This morning on our day off from work, my husband served me this delicious dish. He calls it Eggs a la Wiggle. 🙂 For the past several months, my husband has been using his culinary gifts in creating delectable dishes containing our farm fresh eggs and grass-fed beef, with cheese and garden greens purchased from the local grocery store. This morning he made his way out to our gardens to gather fresh greens, some of which he planted last season and some this past December. These beautiful greens are what you see in the above masterpiece. 😛 Here is a gallery of the ingredients used and the process by which he assembled the final product:
