get me a beer!

[beehive lane]

Lol... Cindi, I was thinking that an old push mover would be my choice, can we find them anymore....and to think, my husband's grandfather mowed this whole place with one. Something to be said about clean living and hard work

[indypartridge]

. We have only about one acre cleared, and that is taken up by a veg garden, chickens,  and our house. Placement of hives is gnawing at my brain. Do I clear some trees and open up an area for them?

All of us can describe the perfect location:

...full morning sun and preferably throughout the day, with partial late-afternoon shade in hottest part of summer be ideal...

Very few of us have such a place.

I live in a cabin in the woods. I situated my bees as best I could for maximum sun, but that ain't much. They do fine.

[Sean Kelly]

Lol... Cindi, I was thinking that an old push mover would be my choice, can we find them anymore....and to think, my husband's grandfather mowed this whole place with one. Something to be said about clean living and hard work

Yes!  I saw two different models here at the local hardware store.  One a little more heavy duty than the other.  Both ran for around $100.  I seriously thought about picking one up.  Still might.  Would sure be some serious exercise too.  I just might loose a few pounds, enough to fit into a "normal" bee suit (see other post  lol).
I'll let you know who makes them when I'm at the store next time.

Sean

[Cindi]

I do have the perfect spot for my bees.  I can't post a picture yet, still working on the Gateway Timeout crap, gotta phone Dell to find out what the problem is, but we just haven't had a rainy day where I want to be inside.

My bees sit on a grassy knoll on a part of my property that is behind my house.  It gets sun the moment it comes over the horizon until about 5 PM, then shade from the trees on the western end of my property.  It is indeed the perfect spot and I feel very grateful that I was able to situate the girls there.

Last year I mowed the grass around the bee yard, inside and outside of it, they didn't seem to mind.  But, the reel lawnmower runs about $160 at the hardware store, so my nephew told me, and I am going to invest in one.  Just so I don't have to make noise unnecessarily around the bees.  I don't need to pollute their little kingdom with noise, I am sure that they don't like it and causes them stress.  They don't need stress, just like us humans, we just can't seem to get rid of it, it is always lurking in the back of our lives.  Oh well, learn to live and deal with it is all I can say.  Lots of B vitamins (LOLL).

Gonna go get a REEL lawnmower, my nephew says that it is fantastic, unless you run into a stick. He was pruning his fruit trees and found that it stoppped right up when he hit a stick, poor dude.  Have a wonderful, beautiful day, our sun is still shinin'.  Right, good health, can't forget that wish for everyone.  Cindi

[thegolfpsycho]

or, you could save 155 dollars by buying some screen material and pushing it into the entrances late the night before mowing, or early in the morning before they begin flying.  Get the mowing done, and then pulling the screens.  As long as the discharge chute and exhaust isn't blowing in their direction, the bees at the house don't get too excited.  I take more bumps walking through the takeoff and landing patterns than when mowing.

Did someone offer beer?  I'll take one, something I can taste the hops in, without water added to make it lite, not cold brewed, preferably a dark beer, maybe a boc.  Bring some wings too!   bahahahahahahah  Lately, I've been enjoying captain bastards oatmeal filtered stout.  Now thats a beer.

[bluegrass]

ahhhh...oatmeal stout I love that stuff, especially Trout Rivers chocolate oatmeal stout, some other brands are good too, but can't think of the name.....For everyday drinking I like honey bown lager.

about reel mowers....they are alot of work and they make noise too. If you are worried about the noise around the hives lay down landscape cloth and mulch it.....it would be cheaper.

[Sean Kelly]

I've been enjoying captain bastards oatmeal filtered stout.  Now thats a beer.

How could you not enjoy a beer with that name!  How funny!!!

Sean

[thegolfpsycho]

How about Polygamy Porter?  Not a thing wong with a porter.  And their motto?  Why just have one?  bahahahahahah  I even have some of their T-shirts.  Guess I'm a low brow tho.  Or is it unibrow?  1800 cc brain, protruding suborbital ridges..... no geico for me!! bahahahahaha

[Brian D. Bray]

I have a lawn mower and brush cutter with 4 legs.  Likes to chew on my belt when I feed it.  It's called a goat.  Works great on the creek bank that's too steep for the riding or push mower.

[Cindi]

Brian, now you have brought up a very interesting point.  I have had goats, I like goats, but man oh man, can they be a nuisance, unless they are in an area where they can't do the goat attack on tender plants, and man do they love these.

I had Nubians many, many years ago, two to be exact and then no longer kept goats because we moved.

A few years ago, I bought another Nubian cause I think they are so darn cute.  Well, what a mess.  This was about 10 years ago.  I did not have a proper area fenced for this young lady and she used to always sneak out and eat my stuff.  She particularly liked the raspberries' new shoots.  She had an entire forest of new shoots to choose from, those being high in blackberry numbers.  But did she stay in the back with the horses.  Nope.  Had to come into my cultivated area to chomp.  She didn't live with us very long, I was much more impatient back then and too worried about my garden tenders, so I sold her to someone who want some land clearing performed, and I know that she did her job well.

Brian, does your goat go near the bee yard?  I have heard that they do not like horses (I imagine the scent), but goats definitely have a stronger scent than horses, particularly the lovely stench of a billy.  Eeeh gads!!!  So I wonder if they would really dislike goats?  Best of a beautiful day, good health to all.  Cindi

[Dane Bramage]

milk from Nubians ROCKS!  (just finishing up my raw nubian kefir smoothie, lol)

[bluegrass]

I raised Oberhaslis for 4H, had 15 of them.....they where in electric fence and I never had trouble with them getting out once they where big enough that the could not slip through the strands. The kids where out all the time. If you are going to drink goats milk it has to me handled right and the goats fed right, otherwise it has a flavor that I can only describe as old sponges. That is what the stuff in the can (from the store) taste like too. They do a great job of clearing property....I wouldn't let them near a bee hive though, they would constantly be standing on top of it.

[Cindi]

No goats' milk for me of any kind.  Had the most horrible experience drinking the milk.  It was when I had the first two Nubians, when I was about 22 years old. Young, inexperienced with farm life.  Probably did not take the best of care when milking these girls, nor the care afterwards.

I did not have regular milk in the house one day and thought that I would make a drink of Kahlua and goat's milk.  Probably had a few too many of these "smoothies" and the next day had the worst goaty burps that you could ever imagine.  Ya, kind of like an old gross sponge, come to think of it. 

To this day the smell of a billy, the thought of consuming goats' milk is beyond what my stomach can handle.  Eeeks, even thinking of it now is a bad thought.  Have a beautiful day, good health.  Cindi

[Brian D. Bray]

I have, at present, a toggenburg nanny, a 1/2 nubian-1/2 Boer Billy (Whose a Major pain), and a 2 month old buckling.  The billy came with the place when my father died.  My brother gave me the nanny.  It was only recently That I realized that trying to teach a 5 year old nanny to milk was a lost cause.  My wife and I have decided to get rid of the billy and nanny and keep the buckling.  1st I'll wether the kid so he'll stay gentle and keep him around for shrub and weed control.

You're right about them wanting to hop up on the hives.  I have my beeyard fenced from kids of all kinds.

[beehive lane]

funny that you all are talking about goats... my husband and I were talking goats the other day. Man,... one thing at a time though!
Syd

[thegolfpsycho]

Thats right.  This post is about beer.... er... lawnmowers... lets stay on topic.. bahahahahahha

[Sean Kelly]

Thats right.  This post is about beer.... er... lawnmowers... lets stay on topic.. bahahahahahha

HAHA, I thought it was about tresspassing hillbillys messin with beehives!  lol.  I love how conversations morph.   

Sean

[Dane Bramage]

give the goats the beer, put them on the lawnmower and they'll chase the trespassing hillbillies away.
 

[Sean Kelly]

give the goats the beer, put them on the lawnmower and they'll chase the trespassing hillbillies away.
 

Oh man, I'd pay money to see that!!! 

Sean

[Sean Kelly]