There is always a lot to do on our property in the spring, and this year is no different. However, we’ve had a shorter “window” of time to get everything outside done.  Where we would normally do this at a more reasonable pace, Mike’s knee replacement surgery will take place in the next few days and this has accelerated the schedule. 

Here’s some of the things that were done outside in the past ten days…

Compost spread in all the garden beds.   In the  picture below, those are perennials here and there in the dirt.  We’ll put lots of annuals in the beds.

The next picture is the new apiary.   Gerald and Mike installed wire fencing on Friday to keep skunks out. I wish skunks were rare and valuable. We’d be rich. Did you know that the raised area (on the cinderblocks in this picture) where the hive sits should be 1/2″ taller in the rear than in the front? This allows rainwater to run off the roof of the hive.

Rosebushes pruned. I remember reading in Southern Living that the time to prune roses is during the NCAA Final Four so we’re right on time.

The six acres fenced in where our house sits did not have a single tree on it when we purchased this property. There’s now about 70 trees. All have fresh mulch around them to control weeds. This tree is a weeping mulberry tree. Chrissy the Cat gets stuck in this tree several times each year.

Chrissy: I hate her.  She puts me in that tree and gets me all tangled up. I’d never do anything so stupid.

The weeping cherry tree is at the onset of  it’s brief-but-beautiful show this year. Almost bloomed out!

I’m so glad that when Mike comes home he won’t have to worry about these things and can just focus on recovering.

I’m so excited about our new apiary. Our new bees will arrive mid-to-late April.

Jenna and Ashley worked hard on this project today. I took pictures.   Here’s where they started this morning….

The hives have to sit level so there was digging and positioning involved…here’s Jenna…

After the leveling, they installed landscape plastic as a weed barrier  held in place with large flat rocks that we had on hand. The rocks are heavy  but Jenna and Ashley moved them around like rock stars.   Betty Butterbutt came to lend a hand…

But she grew bored and took a nap…

Here’s where we are at the end of the day….still need the fence wire in place and the posts need to be evened up, but most of the work is done.   We made the stone into a path along the back side of the hive where we’ll stand and work behind the bees.  In the front of the bees, the stone is laid in a decorative pattern to hold down the weed barrier.

Notice how the shade falls on the hive? The picture below was taken about 6 pm — this shade will feel good to our bees in the blazing heat of summer.

Here’s our hard working pals, Jenna and Ashley. We enjoy their friendship and will miss them greatly when they leave for their work this summer. They have been such a help, and Mike will go into his upcoming knee replacement surgery with peace of mind that the real RiverCliff Cottage is in good shape.

Are they going golfing?

Have you ever heard of Shoebox Ministries? Samaritan’s Purse comes to mind when I think of these ministries. My sister is working to make her shoebox extra special for a little girl. Can you imagine the face of a sweet child opening her box and seeing this sweet face staring back?

A sweet dolly…with skin the same color as the little girl’s skin? With a pretty dress…and cute feet?

This dolly was sewn with love and prayers. It will make a little girl smile. And I am smiling, too.

We are still at it here at RiverCliff Cottage as we get our hobby farm ready for spring. However, I thought you might like a break from the pictures of us working!

Hi…we are so busy around here. Mike will be having knee replacement surgery soon, so we’re trying to get everything done. In addition, we didn’t expect to lose all of our bees which means that we had to remove any honey in the hives. We did this on Sunday after church.

Here’s our neighbor, Helene, uncapping the honey from the frame.

We won’t have a great deal of honey, but we don’t want any to go to waste. It seemed strange working with honey on a cold day. It was stiff. We moved it close to the woodstove to get it warm but the extraction was a lot of work. I didn’t do any of the work. It was done by Gerald, Ashley, and Jenna. It was Mike’s day to babysit Gracie so he’s no where to be seen in this process.

One person cranked, while two held the extractor down to keep it steady. Here’s Gerald cranking the extractor. This is not an automated process.

The honey was so stiff Gerald’s arm got tired so he rotated to Ashley and Jenna…they all look like their having fun, but it went on for hours!

And here’s the first drop of that precious honey…

We are getting new bees! Our new bees were born and raised in the Roanoke area. We are getting four hives. They are black in color. We’ll be picking them up in mid April, and I’ll take you along for the trip! They are more aggressive bees than the Italians. Hopefully, we’ll learn to get a long.

We’re moving our apiary by the barn. It is a good place for the bees because it gives them privacy but it’s close by. My task for these bees will be to ensure they are fed daily upon their arrival. I enjoy this. I’ll be asking our neighbors…”have you seen our new black bees?” Hopefully, they’ll be working all around Swinging Bridge Road.

Here’s the gate where I’ll enter when I’m feeding them…

And while all this was going on, we purchased firewood for next winter, and Jenna and Ashley worked their tails off unloading it.

Because of Mike’s knee, we decided not to cut our own wood this summer.

Here’s Jenna…

And where was I during all of this? Well, it looks like a small task but I started weeding the flower beds around the house and guest house as well as push mowing the small back yard. I was at it all day, too!

Here’s a “before” of the guest house bed…weedy.

And here’s an after…a few perennials are here and there. I’m glad the two lupine plants survived the winter. They’ll be beautiful this summer.

So, I weeded and weeded and weeded. My arms are aching, although probably not as bad as Jenna and Ashley’s arms.

It’s a beautiful Saturday. I could be outside working; helping Mike and Gerald with breaking down our bee hives (see more about that here), or helping my girlfriend with her move to her new business location.

I’m not doing any of those things. Instead…you know how much I love this girl, right?

I’m babysitting her closely. She’s got a terrible “hot spot” on her leg. It was shaved and she’s being treated with antibiotics and medication.

She does not want to wear a silly Cone of Shame to keep her from licking, and I do not want to ask her to wear it. At 15 in dog years, she deserves her dignity. So, on this Saturday, I’m sitting with her making sure she doesn’t forget and lick her leg. She’s deaf so she cannot hear me tell her “no” if she attempts to lick. Instead, I touch her lightly and raise my index finger…she’ll be just about to lick but when she sees me, she turns away.

I know it itches even though I’ve slathered on the antiobiotic/antifungal/anti-itch ointment, but she is such a good dog, she’s trying hard to make my job easy.

If you’re reading this, why don’t you comment and tell Miss Gracie hello. I’ll tickle her and yell in her ear!!