How to Build a Mason Bee Hotel Series

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

How to Build a Mason Bee Hotel Series

Guest Posts by Powell River Books Blog

As most folks know I will be adding in a number of different mason bee and Native Pollinator hotels and nesting box’s here on the farm. I am also placing Nest Box’s at some community gardens as well as private garden/yards.  I was very excited to see a post on Powell River Books Blog talking about their Mason Bee Hotels as they are a number of years worth of working with them. I wrote and asked if they would be open to doing a guest post series here on the blog. Thank you so much for saying YES!

Part Three of Three –  Keeping your Mason Bee House Working.

Part One Drilling out your logs

Part Two – Making your Mason Bee House using a Bird House

I love this upcycle idea of using a older or new bird house to create the base for your mason bee house. I have noticed that “birds houses” are a faction of the cost compared to buy a Mason bee wooden house. Frugal is always a good thing.

In our area Mason Bees hatch, begin feeding and look for likely nesting sites in March.

Last year’s filled nesting blocks resting under the front porch.

Larvae mature during the summer and remain dormant from fall through winter. A freezing snap followed by increased sunshine and warming weather breaks their dormancy.

To get ready for the hatching phase, and to provide new nesting sites, Wayne and I made new blocks. We gently moved the old ones to a location nearby so the hatchlings can easily find their new nesting blocks.

Males emerge first but have to wait for females before the mating season begins. Mason Bees remain active for 4 to six weeks. While they feed and collect pollen for their nests and larvae, they are busy with the important process of plant pollination.

Old nesting blocks face southeast to catch the morning sun and encourage hatching.

Building bee hotels is a simple process. I made mine from old birdhouses. Drill nesting blocks out of untreated wood you have on hand. I use driftwood sticks.

Drill 6-inch deep 5/16-inch holes with an opening only in the front. Mount your hotel above ground, where it won’t sway, facing south or southeast for plenty of sun. Drilling blocks 6″ deep encourages female production.

Thank you again for sharing your posts here. I love their floating gardens.. You truly live in a very special place!  Want to learn more about their life?

Join us in Coastal BC and head up Powell Lake to experience off-the-grid life in a floating cabin. Up the Lake is the first book in the Coastal BC Stories series. It tells the story about how we discovered Powell River, takes you on an ocean cruise to popular Desolation Sound, for a quad ride into the backcountry and an overhead flight for a unique view of this incredible place. Read Up the Lake by Wayne Lutz and join us for the vacation of a lifetime. Up the Lake is free for Kindle readers at Amazon and most online e-book sellers.

Thanks again for this opportunity to share. Unfortunately, Amazon.ca doesn’t honor the free option that is available at Amazon.com. If your readers have an Amazon.com account that would be the preferred seller for Kindle. If your readers go to the Smashwords site they can purchase the e-book version of Up the Lake for free in a variety of versions including Mobi that can be read on Kindle. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12852 — Margy

These post’s was written between 2015 – 2018  They have a had great success with getting their mason bee’s to like their new home! 


 

Margy Lutz and her husband Wayne discovered Powell River, BC, during an airplane camping trip in 2000. They purchased an off-the-grid float cabin on nearby Powell Lake that has become their home since retiring from careers in education in Southern California and becoming Canadian permanent residents and citizens. Margy is the author of the Powell River Books Blog and Wayne is the author of the Coastal BC Stories series of books.

http://powellriverbooks.blogspot.com 

www.powellriverbooks.com 

 

 

 

Posted in Mason Bees, Native Bee's | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The Gal in the Garden Series 2019

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

This is the weekly overview of the gardens. I will still do detailed posts lots of different garden related subjects. I will bring them back and show cases them here on the weekly round-up.

Happy first day of spring! 2019

The past week is the very first week that we have had more spring like weather, it’s still below normal in temps but we have 2 days above 0 with some melting.  We have a deep snow pack all over the yard but the solar heat is strong and you can see things slowly being exposed.

The top of the dug out hill for the ponding area has melted out first. It’s the first soil to show on the farm, and I am tempted to cover it with a tarp and heat it up, put a few boards around it and plant it out with radish with a small cover, I think I can get a 30 day crop off it before I would need to move it.

We are already 3 weeks behind the average on the yard in terms of spring and as I do not want major flooding, I am hoping that it stays a slower melting and warming up on spring.

However I am more than ready to get some things planted, so on the weekend, I took matters into my own hands. We hauled out storage metal horse trough up out of the big barn and to an area in the front yard.

Nothing like spending quality time collecting frozen horse pucks with your man out on the snow LOL

We hauled in a full load of horse that filled the trough 1/3rd of the way after that, we did another full load of rabbit/bedding mix and filled it to the 2/3rds mark. I need room to dig and turn the poo to work it into compost and then fill that top part with soil to plant in at a later point in the process.

We covered it with thick plastic and put an old gate on top of that to hold it down with bricks on the corners. If you want to see the daily update on this project, some day’s just write-up, other days temp gage info, sometimes a little video. Like my Just another day facebook page to get the full scoop.

The only other thing of note is that one of the jug pens was cleaned out and the bedding, a mix of hay/straw and only sheep poo has been moved to its own spot in the yard, I will be working that compost pile as a single animal compost. It was kept in the front yard as I want to use it in the new build.  I will get a photo of it for next week.

I have finally decided that the front main yard is going to be called the “the big shake up” it will be so different when its done.. but its going to be lovely!

The week will run Tuesday to Tuesday and I look forward to what the next week will bring, they say? that we will have a few days above 0, we will see if they are right. I leave you with some of the pretty flower color in the house at the moment.

 

Posted in Garden, gardening, Goals | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

How to Build a Mason Bee Hotel Series

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

How to Build a Mason Bee Hotel Series

Guest Posts by Powell River Books Blog

As most folks know I will be adding in a number of different mason bee and Native Pollinator hotels and nesting box’s here on the farm. I am also placing Nest Box’s at some community gardens as well as private garden/yards.  I was very excited to see a post on Powell River Books Blog talking about their Mason Bee Hotels as they are a number of years worth of working with them. I wrote and asked if they would be open to doing a guest post series here on the blog. Thank you so much for saying YES!

Part Two of Three –  Putting your Hotel Together

I love this upcycle idea of using a older or new bird house to create the base for your mason bee house. I have noticed that “birds houses” are a faction of the cost compared to buy a Mason bee wooden house. Frugal is always a good thing.

I started with an old birdhouse and went from there.

 

Don’t you love to save something and then find a new use for it? Remove the front wall and clean out the house

Give the old birdhouse a facelift with new paint.  A darker color helps them warm up faster in the morning sun  Some kind of container for the drilled nesting blocks protects them from rain.

Preserve the new paint and exposed surfaces with Acrylic spray. Some folks choice to only paint or burn the wood on the front to get the darker color to help warm up the house in the early morning sun.

Place your drilled logs into the house.  Place your house facing the morning sun, approx. 3 feet above the ground on a solid surface ideally within 300 feet of the area’s that they will be feeding in. Remember they do need a source of clay/mud to help make their coons.

 

 

These post’s was written between 2015 – 2018  They have a had great success with getting their mason bee’s to like their new home! 

 

Margy Lutz and her husband Wayne discovered Powell River, BC, during an airplane camping trip in 2000. They purchased an off-the-grid float cabin on nearby Powell Lake that has become their home since retiring from careers in education in Southern California and becoming Canadian permanent residents and citizens. Margy is the author of the Powell River Books Blog and Wayne is the author of the Coastal BC Stories series of books.

http://powellriverbooks.blogspot.com 

www.powellriverbooks.com 

 

 

 

Posted in Mason Bees, Native Bee's | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Creme Carmamel – Made with Sheep Milk

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

The first of the Sheep Milk is coming into the house, Carmel only had one lamb who is nicknamed Shady Lady and she is old enough to be put into a nice little lamb creep with water/hay/lamb crumbles for the night so I can milk her mom in the morning for fresh house milk.

Crème Caramel Recipe

Brown Sugar Topping

  • 1/2 Cup of Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp of Water
  • 1/2 tsp of Fancy Molasses

Making a good Caramel Sugar is tricky.  So tricky..   I am going to put a video in here to give a helping hand to seeing how its done.

Farmgal Tip: Add your 1/2 tsp of Fancy Molasses and even if you just slightly under boil it, you will still now have a nice golden hue to it.

Crème Custard Recipe

  • 2 cups of whole sheep milk
  • 2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
  • 1/4th cup of sugar
  • 3 eggs (lightly beaten)

Heat up your milk, sugar and Vanilla together till its steaming hot but not boiling.. very slowly, carefully using a whisk add the egg into the very warm milk.  If you do it slow and steady with lots of movement by the whisk, it will come out so smooth and silky when cooked.

In your baking pan, pour the sugar into the bottom and let it cool. Then start making your Custard and at the same time put your tea kettle on to start your boiling water and pre-heat your oven to 350.

When your crème custard is done, gently pour it the cooled brown sugar topping and place your pan or small custard cups into a larger cake pan which you will fill to the half way point with water.

Cook for 20 to 22 minutes, allow to sit to cool, then place in fridge and serve very chilled. Run your knife around the rim and then place your plate over the top and Flip it over and Serve as is or with a touch of whipped cream, if you like.

 

 

Posted in Food Production and Recipes, Sheep Milk | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

How to Build a Mason Bee Hotel Series

Posted on March 18, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

How to Build a Mason Bee Hotel Series

Guest Posts by Powell River Books Blog

As most folks know I will be adding in a number of different mason bee and Native Pollinator hotels and nesting box’s here on the farm. I am also placing Nest Box’s at some community gardens as well as private garden/yards.  I was very excited to see a post on Powell River Books Blog talking about their Mason Bee Hotels as they are a number of years worth of working with them. I wrote and asked if they would be open to doing a guest post series here on the blog. Thank you so much for saying YES!

Part one of Three –  Drilling out your logs/wood

Last spring I noticed small flying insects going in and out of a little hole on the pedestal of our weather station’s solar panel. After taking several pictures, I identified the small insect as a bee.  Most likely an Orchard Mason Bee, a type of solitary bee that nest in holes or tubes.

This year I decided to make the bees a more permanent home, a Bee Hotel. I started out by using an old bird house that was no longer needed because John built us nice new ones. I took the front wall off and glued all of the joints. A new coat of green paint on the roof really spruced it up.

I cut four sections of driftwood and Wayne drilled the 5/16-inch holes for me. The holes only go part way through, creating tubes that the bees like to nest in. The larger stick got six holes, the rest four each.

I’ve already seen Mason Bees flying around the cabin. Hopefully they’ll pick the nice new home this year. We placed it on the south-facing porch post right under the solar panel they used last year. Maybe they’ll get the hint.

This post was written in 2015 and we are going to move forward with the rest of the series from then till 2018.  They have a had great success with getting their mason bee’s to like their new home! 

Margy Lutz and her husband Wayne discovered Powell River, BC, during an airplane camping trip in 2000. They purchased an off-the-grid float cabin on nearby Powell Lake that has become their home since retiring from careers in education in Southern California and becoming Canadian permanent residents and citizens. Margy is the author of the Powell River Books Blog and Wayne is the author of the Coastal BC Stories series of books.

http://powellriverbooks.blogspot.com 

www.powellriverbooks.com 

 

 

 

Posted in Mason Bees, Native Bee's | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Dogwood 52 Week 12-Trash

Posted on March 18, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

Such a odd subject matter this week.. trying to find and take a picture of trash..

These cushions are going to get a second life by being rescued and turned into soft spots for the kitties to sit in the sun and nap here on the farm.

Posted in photography | Tagged | 1 Comment

Muck Boot Season is Here!

Posted on March 17, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

Hello Folks,  So I have decided to step into the modern world and create at least one proper pin for each post and I am slowly learning how to use the graphic system I choose to work with..

However having said that, I still want and plan to use my own photos in them.. yes it means it’s a bit more work for me because it would be faster to use their “pre-made” ones with just a fast word adjustment.

However that would mean breaking one of my “blogging rules” which is that I use my own farm, my own photos and that what you see is what you get.. LOL

Look at my new Muck Boots.  On sale at 40 percent off and I sure needed a new pair as my old wear worn to the point of no return, not even my foot repair glue was going to get them though this season.

They were not found in the rubber boot area, which are your standard black and with orange bottoms. I find those have a rubber that really bothers my feet after a good hard workout.

There were found in the hunting section, amazing treads for hiking, meant to put the miles on in them, rubber up to a certain point and then into the softer tops. That is my other pet peeve with standard rubber boots, I want the height of them but they are straight legged the whole way up and that works just fine for my hubbies skinny leg but for me with my “fuller calves” I really dislike that they rub on my leg in the same spot again and again.

The new boots with their waterproof but soft half top hugs the leg well, its snug to help keep out spring ticks, its soft and mobile for when I am going up and down on pens to check momma’s, babies and or milking etc.

In many cases, its worth passing the “farming” section and heading right to the hunters, this goes for coats, gloves, boots and more..

Last reason to head that way.. its rare in my neck of the woods to find things on sale at the local feed stores in the farmers area.  I mean they had a rubber boot sale and their on sale boots were 2.5x more on sale then what I paid.

However in the Hunting/Fishing/outdoor lifestyle area.. you can find the gear, you can find them in all sizes, from super small to those XXX’s sizes and they go on an amazing sales and they tend to be really good quality and built tough and to last.

While I woke up to -7

I know that spring is coming! And with it comes lots of mud, Muck and so much wet melting mucky poo that needs to be cleaned up.. Fun, Fun

So what is your favorite brand of muck boots? Have you ever wrapped your socked foot in a plastic bag and stuffed it into a leaking boot to get the job done ? I know I have!

Posted in homestead | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Farmgal’s All About the Nettle’s

Posted on March 16, 2019 by Just another day on the farm


Local Folks that are interested come on out in Mid-May for an amazing afternoon learning about the Nettle Plant.  You have gotten stung by it and its on the bad plant list..

Let me tell you honestly, you are missing all the amazing things about Nettles.

We are going to cover some of the known plants history and its been used since the roman’s times and most like even before that!

We are going to talk about it as an eating green and there will taste testing and detailed recipes given out.

We will be talking about it in detail as a herb, both for in the kitchen (cooking) we will talk about its cottage uses and then we will dig down into some studies that have some solid backing on it in the modern sense. We will talk about how to use this plant in your homestead animal health kit and why it should be there!

We will do a small color dyeing show on my own sheep’s wool as this is very much a plant that has been used world-wide in this way!

Last but not least! We will take go step by step on how to make it into a wonderful green salve for your own use.

Each person will go home with one tin of Farmgal’s Nettle Salve, 4 oz of freshly dried crumbled Spring 2019 Nettles as a pot herb for use in their kitchen and if they want, they can take home a 4 inch pot with their own nettle plant in it to start their own patch!

Want to learn more? Want to sign up for the class?

Facebook Event Page 

 

Posted in Farmgal's Classes | Tagged | 5 Comments

Friday Rambles around the Table – Snow and Melting.

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

Come on in!

Watch out for the puddles, the melt has started.. sorry, can you come in by the farm porch, Mud season has started.. If you want to sit in the living room, give me a moment to take off the covers for all the wet prints from the indoor/outdoor time.

We had a leak on the pipe coming in from the well.  Thankfully it decided to tell us about it earlier so we were able to get a repair patch on it before it really hit the spring thaw, the real question is will that patch hold for the whole spring thaw and I am not looking forward to adding that job on our list to do this year.. we will need to move the rocks, clear out yet another one of my gardens(WHY.. shakes fist at the sky) and dig down and repair it from the outside for a longer term fix and while we are at it.. update the seal on the underside.. it is pretty much year 21 since it was made, its the new part on the house, it got its new roof 2017, it will need a new window in 2019 and I guess some repair work as well.

We are not the only one’s the house just across the road up on the hill has had the foundation repair trucks there for a few days this week as well. Its just the year.. the hardware stores says folks are having issues all over the place.  Heck, every morning this week, the local radio has had a time set for bringing in the experts, I was all excited this morning when they said they were going to be talking about basement window seeping.. the advice, shovel it away and cut a drainage channel.. ah.. duh.. yes I would if I could..

Thankfully only one window seal in the cellar (we have the old cellar and the newer basement) is seeping, the other two do not have the same snow build up. (And with today’s melt out, its now below the window seal and that means no more seeping there)

Speaking of water and seeping, on the one side of the older roof, we have a lifting happening on the metal roof.. bugger.. that will have to be looked at.. so far its just the one tiny spot where the screws have lifted but it will grow so that at least must get done this weekend.

So before we had the melt, we had more snow and they say more is coming yet! We got a solid six inches in the first go and other inch or two on the second.

I am really wanting to get some butchering done this month, I should be already done my first one and showing all kinds of fun things on the blog, but we have a issue.. we can’t get to ground to dig the pit to put the extra’s in. I can’t draw in the crows/ravens or the coons or coy-wolves by trying to do a top coat and cover, they will just dig it out.. It really important that its properly down and if we could get under the snow pack, the ground itself can normally be quite able to be dug right now.

Its still very much on my list..  a few things will be cleaned up to a point and then some frozen and then use the mealworms to help clean them up for other uses.

I am excited about trailing a number of different mason bee housing types and for a coming guest post series in regards to their Mason bee’s and houses/homes. I think it will be very interesting for you guys as well.

So I had had joined a homestead/green living group and I have been learning this and that, some things I like and other things I have struggled with but I have pushed myself to learn more things and try new things.. somethings got a trial and then I went nope.. other things are taking a slower more careful.. hmm.

It was interesting when I have been talking to someone and I went I can help with that and at the end of it, I laughed and went look at that, I was paying attention! I will be trying few more things and we will see if they stick or go to the side..

I opened up some classes this week and made the events pages on the Just another farm facebook page and I was thrilled that my Cold Process Soap Making Class filled up and was fully booked within 24 hours.

I will be promoting the other ones at some point here on the blog for locals and I am now at the half way point on the Master Rain Gardener Class and its keeping me busy on learning and homework that’s for sure.

I have been working on my new business cards, labels and so forth, my order is shipped and I am quietly working behind the scenes getting things ready for the launch of Farmgal’s Spring Soap and Salve Collection.

I am learning how to work Zoom and I am building my first “online course” which is taking me way longer then expected but I promise you even if it takes me a good while yet, my “Farmgal’s Adapting in Place” based on C5 Dark Green Mountain Research Center’s Adapters Series.

It will hold to his core values but will have my own spin on it, with my own examples and idea’s, and in keeping with working as a community, I will not be offering it as e-book, I will be offering it as a multi weekly gathering where you can see me, hear my voice, interact live asking questions and with follow up in a working facebook group for those that are interested in it.  Its a work in progress.. wish me luck on it! Please 🙂

There are moments it seems simple and then there are times I spend far more time then I want to admit re-reading C5’s words and then mine. I know that it will have my voice but I really want to make sure it stays true!

I am thinking of doing a small test run on using Zoom with a shorter subject and hopefully a few of you will be willing to give me a helping hand and be my beta testers when the time comes.

That’s a Wrap for Today!

 

 

 

 

Posted in At the kitchen table, Life moves on daily | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Chaga Poppyseed Salad Dressing Recipe

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Just another day on the farm

Chaga Poppyseed Salad Dressing Recipe

Guest post by Adagio Naturals

Chaga poppyseed Salad Dressing (1)

CHAGA POPPY SEED SALAD DRESSING

This salad dressing is as simple as it is nutritious. It little bit of a tart creamy dressing that works very well with lighter greens but holds up to stronger flavours well.

INGREDIENTS

1 oz of Rice Vinegar
1 or 2 Chaga Chai Tea Bags (if using your own Chaga tea 2 tsp of ground powder steeped)
2 Tablespoon of Mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon Sugar (or Splenda)
1 teaspoon Poppy Seeds
Salt and Pepper to Taste

In a bowl soak the tea bags in the Rice Vinegar for about 20 minutes. Then squeeze the tea bags to extract as much as possible of this precious liquid. Add the Mayonnaise, Sugar and the Poppy Seeds and whisk with a fork until completely blended. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Stir again. Pour over your favorite green salad and enjoy.

Don’t have chaga of your own but want to try it.. Head on over to Adagio Naturals to see their wonderful Chaga Collection. Our chaga is sustainably harvested from deep in the pristine forests of Northern Ontario. Free from heavy metals and pesticides.

Posted in Life moves on daily | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments