Bee Keeping & Alpacas!

I passed my test!

I am now a Certified Bee Keeper!!!!

I have my Nucs ordered & will be picking up my established colonies next month. I am very excited about this.

We are also welcoming a pair of Suri Alpacas next month! There is a Alpaca farm in Canton, NC donating a pair for a 4-H family that is looking into possible fiber weaving from their wool. Word got around & we were asked if we'd be interested in this new endeavor. I will post an update with photos once I have our bees & alpacas.

Hens brooding!

Cowboy, our proud papa!!

Honey, our araucana hen

Sweetie Pie, our sussex hen

Some of our hens are "brooding", which means that they are sitting on their eggs! They have found some cozy spots on our front porch & are in great view for us to keep watch over them. We should have some fuzzy chicks by springtime! It will be nice to see them follow their mothers around our farm. How exciting!

Goats Milk Soap

Our homeschool 4-H club, The Homesteaders made another batch of goats milk soap. We meet at the local community center once a month.

Here Dahlia is stirring up the mixture (Including Dangerous LYE). The mixture heats up pretty quickly when the LYE is added. You then have to place your bowl quickly in an ice bath to bring the temperature down. This is added to her chemistry lesson in our homeschooling.

We added oatmeal & lavender to one batch,
citrus & thyme to the other.

Here the soaps will sit for up to 6 weeks to "cure". The metal mold tray was lined with plastic liners to prevent a chemical reaction with the LYE.