Bees, sourdough, and mushrooms - oh my!

Things have been a bit slower here lately vs maple season but we’re still constantly on the move.

We picked up our nucs and got them settled in our apiary. When we checked on them the other day they’ve exploded in growth and might need to be split soon to create even more hives! We also set out several swarm traps. Fingers crossed we get some additional honey bees to expand our apiary even more!

We checked our wild cultivated mushrooms recently and are thrilled to announce they’re finally starting! Our patience these past couple years since incoluting is finally paying off. Our shiitakes had a small flush but we should have more next year. Our golden oysters are a different story though! We’re happy to say we had a decent harvest the other day.

Our little beekeepers have been experimenting with sourdough lately. They’ve made sandwich bread, boule, cookies, muffins, crackers, you name it! They’re hoping to perfect their skills soon so they can offer sourdough bread and treats for sale!

Even thought next winter seems so far away, maple is never far from our minds. We’ve been setting up the new tubing in our sugarbush to make sure we have enough taps to produce even more syrup next season.

During all our outdoor chores and adventures we’re always checking out what birds are around. The amount of goldfinches recently is mind boggling; there were 20+ on the sap house this morning alone! I wish we had gotten a picture. Our pileated woodpeckers are still hanging around and even seem to have brought friends. We saw four in the yard the other day. Mallards, wood ducks, and mergansers have been frequenting our waters. However, one of our favorites this week was a new one for us - an indigo bunting! We’ve never seen one in person before. They’re stunning!