Our first ducklings this year!

Earlier this week I was very discouraged about how my nests were doing. There has been more light-and noise pollution in our neighborhood and it had an impact on the way my animals behaved. I was worried more than one broody duck/chicken had abandoned her nest. Sorry about the shaky footage, but those are my…

Nature – All The Creator’s Craft…

Originally posted on Dimma's Ink:
Take a decent look at the nature surrounding me Look how perfect it is… With intent, look keenly at the scenery it creates… Tell me, what do you see? Tell you what I see? I shall! It rings in my bowels as a melodious sonnet, The art work of…

Varroa treatment for honeybees with oxalic acid

In my previous post I mentioned one of the methods I use to get rid of varroa mites; sugar syrup with oxalic acid. I combine two kinds of treatment, both are appropriate at different times of the year. I currently don’t use any other chemical (synthetic or natural) than oxalic acid. Oxalic acid occurs in…

Project cleanup: I got free beehives!

When it’s time to purchase new beehives for the coming year, have you ever found your mind drifting towards discovering a beehive-tree that gives you everything for free? Maybe you’d plant your crown board tree, your broodbox tree, a couple of frame bushes and plant your wax foundation tubers… Equipment is expensive! And if your…

Spring update

I knew that the gorgeous February weather would mean we’d get punished in March or April. And I was right. The winds are so strong here that it’s not possible to really do anything outside. We have greenhouses where we can work if it rains or snows, but with strong winds they feel like rattling…

Species we’d love to have living near us

To me, homesteading isn’t primarily about farming. Homesteading is about making use out of the many resources your environment offers. So, grow your vegetables, chop firewood and raise chickens. You are human and you know you feel better in a natural environment. Helping life go on, regenerating the soil, and stewarding the spot where God…

Visiting wildlife

One of the great things about having a big backyard or living on a farm-type location are the visitors you get. We live nearby a small, protected nature reserve, so we get a lot of interesting wildlife-visitors. In a densely populated setting, these deer are some of the largest wild animals that will appear. They…

Planning the apiary

2018 was my first year in beekeeping. The colonies that survive the winter will give me a honey crop in the spring of 2019. It’s difficult to predict how much honey you’ll get from a hive. In my area, a healthy hive can produce as little as 10kg of honey in a year if the…

Planting for pollinators part 2

In part 1 of planting for pollinators, I focused mainly on plants that thrive in wetlands. Of course, not all valuable plants need a wetland to survive, many are more flexible. In this second part I’ll devote more attention to annuals and plants that grow on other soils.   Probably the two biggest assets to…

Invasive species

Most ecosystems in the world today, have to deal with invasive species disturbing the natural balance of the system. Foreign plant species often get introduced through gardeners trying out something new in the garden, then losing control of what they planted. Some species, such as red oak and non-native honeybees, were introduced for commercial purposes….