Happy Spring, Ya'll!

      Or in our case, early summer! The temps have been in the mid eighties the last few days, and are predicted to stay there throughout the week! It gets really warm after lunch, so I don't really enjoy the sun much. I can only imagine what it will feel like in a month or so! Still, I love the South! Everything is going to come in early this year, all the vegetables and fruit. I can hardly wait to go pick strawberries in a few weeks!


      The bees arrived this past Friday and seem to be doing very well. We are learning as we go and are doing things a little different this time. We check the sugar water every evening and always have to refill the jar. It's a very thick syrup that has to be fed to the bees in the beginning so they will have something to eat. We are not doing this to try to get honey this year, as I read on someone's blog. This is something that has to be done. We won't get honey until next year, and I'll be so excited when that day comes. In the meanwhile, I just enjoy watching the bees go in and out of the hive, and eventually pollinate the garden.


      I still haven't painted the bathroom trim yet. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get that job done! Hopefully, the notion will strike me soon! All I want to do this time of year is be outside or in the kitchen! I'm hoping to can some baked beans today.(Probably not going to happen today!) Oh yea, someone asked me about a website on canning and the name of it is: pick your own dot org. I hope she reads this post and gets the right address! Also, if you want to email me, just click on my profile photo. Have a great week! Blessings from Bama

Wisteria still looks pretty, but today it's almost gone!

Old once-blooming rose bush. Chickens stay under there when it's hot, and for protection from predators.

Lots of dogwood trees in bloom.

More dogwoods and irises.

View of raised beds.

The row thing seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

Play date with the nieces. It was a beautiful, warm day!

Tiny tot pushing cart.

Hubs the bee man!

Hubs and the other bee man. Hubs has on complete attire.

Nuc of bees. The can has  sugar water to feed bees during transition.

Close up of nuc.

Ten thousand bees?

Fig tree producing leaves and fruit. Fruit won't be ready for awhile, though.

Pulling out the container with the queen.

Queen is inside this box.

They're already trying to get to the queen.

Emptying nuc inside hive.

Look at all those bees falling into hive!

They're in! Tonight we get to see if they got the queen out.

I was told this was a snowball bush when I purchased it. It doesn't have big snowballs on it like I though it would.

All seems well with the hive.

They're going in and out as they should.

Feeder on top.

Spring has arrived in Zone 7 Alabama!

      The reason I can attest to that is hubby had to mow and weed eat Saturday! Now if that doesn't say Spring, I don't know what does! Although the weather has been cloudy and overcast with sprinkles of rain here and there, it is quite warm. I just came in for a drink of water after putting down all of the cardboard from the trailer. Since I needed a break, I decided to share a post with you. We worked hard all day Saturday and some yesterday, trying to get caught up with the grass. If I don't get cardboard and straw put in the garden, the grass will absolutely take it over, especially since the chickens are not in there. They are loving their new space and I'm enjoying them being there!


      Hubby cooked smoked baked beans and chicken breasts on the smoker last night, which turned out very good. We're not having chicken tonight however, but salmon patties. I'll warm up the beans to go with it, and I may fry some potatoes or cook some rice. The gravy will be good on the rice.


      I had to go grocery shopping today since we had no milk. That is an absolute necessity in this house! I hope to get started on the trim in the bathroom this week. I'll keep you posted. Blessings from Bama

Those are figs already! They won't be good yet, but figs!

I had to clean out the beehive and paint it a little. We are getting bees  soon!

Cardboard for the garden. I saw a bluebird on the perch of the  bluebird house in the background yesterday.

The property beyond the fence is not ours. We only have 2.83 acres. It's narrow and long. The back is wooded and on a slope. The goats will go in the back if we ever get any.

The man on the mower. The Tulip tree got in the photo!