Bee roundup for this year

Beekeeping has a very steep learning curve, and not a lot of leeway for errors. So far going into winter my own hive seems strong-ish, and the one that I'm looking after for a friend is dead. Getting a sneaky walking pneumonia for a month and a half really put a spanner in the works, and probably killed the second hive. Welp, at least my friend will be getting honey from his first year's investment. We can buy a box of bees in the spring and just install them into a hive that is full of drawn comb (ie. full of the wax cells arranged on frames and ready to go). He has a flow hive, so that's going to be interesting to see.

I finally got my own bees wrapped up for the winter and a mite treatment on them a few weeks ago. I also put some loose sugar sandwiched between sheets of newspaper. I tried making a solid candy block, but I did something wrong and it was quite liquid even when dry. Something to try again for next year. Maybe I didn't leave it on the heat long enough, or I didn't use the hand blender long enough to put in adequate air bubbles.I did use my cheese thermometer, which doesn't quite measure high enough, so perhaps it didn't hit the right temperature. I'd never tried candy before, so it's a bit of a mystery to me.

When I put the mouse guard on the front they started coming out at me, so that feisty-ness is a bit encouraging. I knew they wouldn't like the hammering on their hive so I saved that for last on purpose. Good thing, too. Despite the cold they were out for blood! I got out of there before they could sting me. May they stay feisty and alive through the next long months. And then promptly calm down and become docile again in the spring.

I can always hope...

So, I got 2kg of half-finished honey out of my own bees when I took out a frame to keep them from getting honey bound earlier in the summer, and I'll get 1/3 of my friend's honey when I go in there this week and remove and spin out the frames. I don't know how much that will be, but I'm hopeful. And so are some of my friends who have a standing order for honey, too, I'm sure.

I will make mead, darnit. I will. I have everything now except the honey.

Storing vegetables for the winter

We've just bought a house, and included in this lovely, new home is an under-porch root cellar. I've always wanted one, and I even bought books to teach myself how to use one (when I didn't have one and there wasn't even one in my near future- yes, I'm a bit obsessed). They use no electricity, but they can require a bit of attention and maintenance. Most storage-worthy fruits and veggies will keep for 3-6 months tops, depending on the variety and conditions.

Some veggies need a moist environment, and others need a dry one, and some need cooler and others warmer. It can be difficult to provide all conditions in one room. However, the one most important thing that needs to be provided is ventilation. Without that it won't matter if you have everything else perfect.

Birds, feeders and the garden

My Dad loves feeding birds. He spends a lot of money every winter buying enormous bags of bird seed. And the birds love him, too. He has quite a few visiting his feeders for most of the year (he stops feeding them in May and starts up again in September). He loves to look after them, providing cover for them to hide in by planting bushes and native plants, and going out to shovel areas for the ground feeders if the weather is bad. It gives him a sense of purpose.

However.

Herbs, magic, and some other stuff that I found interesting

Obligatory Hallowe'en post...



Online Open Courses-
Magic in the Middle Ages
(I took this and it's quite interesting)


Videos-
 Science, Magic and Religion- From Antiquity to Today


Blogs, Encyclopedia Entries and Articles-
How Witch's Brews Helped Bring Modern Drugs to Market- Smithsonian Mag
Astrology and medicine in the Middle Ages
John Dee's Crystal
Herbalism in the Middle Ages- Wikipedia
Medieval magical plants from the Cloisters Gardens, NYC

Battening down the (garden) hatches for the winter

Here's a list of things you can do this month in your garden:

-Planting spring bulbs.

-Mulch up the base of tender roses to protect them from the freeze/thaw cycle- Use triple mix or clean topsoil. Rose shrubs and climbers should be fine without this.

-Dig in mulch and compost for the spring (so you don't have to do it when it's wet and partially frozen).

-Empty and put away anything that has water in it, such as hoses, and don't forget to turn off the water line in the basement that goes outside.

-Wrap up or put straw on plants that need extra winter protection.

-Plant garlic for the spring.

-Do a final and full weeding to get things ready.

A tiny masterclass in apple tree pruning

This is something I need to learn how to do.

Pumpkin and carrot muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 4 medium carrots, grated and squeezed of juice (final volume: 1½ cups shredded carrots)
• 1½ cups almond flour, spooned and leveled
• 1½ teaspoons five spice powder (or pumpkin pie spice blend)
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¾ cup pumpkin purée (canned or fresh-cooked from pie pumpkins)
• ½ cup local honey
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil, and a bit extra for greasing the muffin tin if not using paper liners
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon toasted pumpkin seeds

Steps:

-Heat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position

-Sprinkle sliced almonds and toasted pumpkin seeds on top before placing the muffins in the oven.

-Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted all the way comes back out without wet bits clinging to it. The tops should be firm.