Yep we are still getting about four times the amount of rain we are suppose to this time of year. The temps have dropped a little though so the high humidity is not as unbearable as it was. The truth is pretty much every day I am still forced to either mow or take care of some job directly related to mowing. Yesterday before the rains hit I managed to pick up one of the gas powered weed eaters from the shop and finish up my Dad's yard before having to stop. I had hoped to get back and finish the entire round of mowing but once it started coming down I was locked out so now I am way behind and looking at about the last 25% of the entire mowing job unfinished and as usual the first parts need to be started again.
Just means more work when I can finally get out there and get it done.
I also started cleaning up the remains of the dead out hives I have this season. Looks as if I lost three hives somehow and I am sure the wax moths have destroyed the comb inside since they have set unoccupied so long. This is a common problem when you lose a hive during the warm months but I have been so pressed for time I couldn't get them taken apart and stored properly.
One reason I use plastic frames though as the equipment will still be usable once it is cleaned up. I also discovered the chickens LOVE the wax worms when I scrape em off onto the ground. My guess is these deadoust either had a failed queen or over swarmed since I had no time to properly inspect or manage them this year.
Oh well as I said this year has been a net loss almost across the board due to the time restraints and constant rains. I have lost about half the hay crop, about 20% of my hives and spent more on constant equipment repairs than any other year so far.
Short term extremely wet years are more costly than droughts actually. Long term not so much I bet.
The Peacock managed to survive five days living wild down in the back pasture before something got him. I am not sure what did him in nor do I have any idea where his two Guinea hens got off too but the dogs drug the remains of the Peacock carcass up to the yard yesterday. I know he wasn't killed anywhere in or around the yard or barn lot because 90% of his feathers are missing and not scattered about to see so where ever he was done in at was back in the brush. If I had to guess I would say he got into it with something and escaped but was mortally wounded and the dogs found his remains. I don't think he was hit by a car because there are no feathers along the road that I could see either.
It will always be a bit of a mystery but that's why we lock our chickens up at night because the coyote, raccoon and fox populations are so bad around here. No large bird will survive the night very long without being inside a guarded structure and the owls will get them in the trees. I knew when I saw the trio heading into the brush at night they wouldn't be around long.
I will always wonder what prompted the bird to turn vagabond and end up roaming around the Small-Hold though.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!
Do you think chickens would eat a lot of the insects that bother the bees if some hives were in an enclosed chicken area? They would keep the ground scratched up and probably a lot of pests would not want to be anywhere near a bunch of chickens.
ReplyDeleteThis year has been real wet here. i have seen two farms that gave started to harvest corn, I just hope they can get every field done before winter.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised they lasted as long as they did with all the predators and the street. We had a neighbor who had guineas and they'd wander all over the place. I think the flock got thinned down to about 3... most were killed by jumping in front of moving cars. They would wait until you were about 3 feet from where they were hiding in the weeds along the road and then one would leap out in front of your car... or maybe it was another guinea pushing his friend out in front?? Hard to say, with guineas.....
ReplyDeleteAnd another guy had the white peacocks. They were about as bad as the guineas, except a little slower and he kept his lawn mowed so they were easier to see at the street's edge. His peafowl roosted in the big tree that branched out above his garage at night. It was quite a sight to see about 15 white peacocks, of various sizes, roosting in the tree.
Oh, yeah... and quite hogging all the rain! ;^)
~hobo
Shouldn't we be done with mowing? It's September dagnabbit!
ReplyDelete