Life inside a rain forest

As i sit here watching the rain fall again (and wishing it would stop), i have to remind myself we do live in a rainforest and this is to be expected.

Dome Creek is located at the very edge of the Robson Valley on highway 16 east. We live a few minutes from the fairly new Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Park. Its a very unique area and is the only inland temperate rainforest in the world. People come from all parts of the world to visit the park and to experience wrapping their arms around 1000 year old Cedars. We feel so blessed to be living in such a beautiful untouched area.

Everything is so lush this year and the fear of a forest fire in our area is pretty low. But unlike when we lived at the coast, it would rain for 30 days and 30 nights (well that is what it seems like) . Dome Creek rains for a hour or two then stops. Although this summer has been a tad more wet than usual, it is still bearable.

                                   

But i feel bad for our bees during all this damp weather. I have been battling chalk brood this year, which sucks. Its been a challenge and i am hoping they will build up the colony big enough to survive the winter. Three out of four hives seem to be doing really good, the other one....not so much. And although they do get out foraging...its quite limited by all the rain.

Its been a tough couple years beekeeping, but each time you have a failure, you do learn lots. But enough already!

Well even though i am kind of sick of the rain, i must say everything is so beautiful and the abundance of wild flowers is incredible. So when its not raining there is lots for the bees to forage.



                                             


We have a friend from Belgium who comes to Canada each year to fish. His little base camp is set up on our property where the bee yard is. He sets up his canoe under the eves of our cabin to catch rain water and the other day i went over to the bee yard and this is what i spotted.



                                     


When i asked him about it, he explained that it saddened him to see the bees go in the canoe to drink then drown. So he took some of that non slip rubber matting you use in your RV so your dishes don't slide around and put it in the canoe. The bees can sit on the mats and the water comes up thru the holes. It was rather clever i thought. I added the thinly sliced pool noodles.

Anyways, once the weather straightens out a bit, i will be able to get in the hives and check out how they are making out with their winter stores. Then maybe i will have more to talk about in my next blog. Well i should go, since its raining today i think i will bottle up my batch of mead i made a few months ago. I may have to sample a little to make sure its going to be good.

Til next time......     .

Getthing things done

Good morning everyone
Its been a few months since i have put pen to paper so i decided what better day then to do it, then today
So much has been happening since my last post. First and foremost, James managed to finish the bee yard while i worked at the Post Office for 3 weeks. He did a fab job and it ended up being larger than the original plan. It turned out to be 35' x 50'

Moving them was somewhat of a night mare. It was easy moving the hives but really hard to convince the bees where their new home was. Even though it was a short distance so many of the bees coudnt figure it out. I spent nights rounding up stray bees and putting in Nuc boxes and carrying them over to the bee yard. It went on for 4 nights. After that, they finally figured it out.

So the bees are doing pretty good, we have been battling a bit with Chalk Brood. Last year our bees also had it and i read up on it and sadly i didnt read how the spores can stay in the frames for up to 15 years. Sheesh. So now i am dealing with it. Our Bee Inspector, Barry Clark spent some time talking about it and he made some suggestions which i have done. He is coming our way to do inspections for some of our club members so he will stop in here on his way home and inspect ours. We will decide then if we need to replace queens. But the populations are increasing so i am hoping they will be able to get through it ok.

New bee yard

So what else has been going on at the homestead, well....lots  On our trip to Prince George the other day, we went to a nursery to check on fruit trees. We had in mind 2 apples and 2 cherries. We came home with 2 apples, 1 cherry and 1 plum. So now the bees share their compound with the 4 fruit trees and the black currant i started 3 years ago from a cutting. I really didn't think the orchard was going to happen this year so its a bonus it has.

Hard to see but 4 fruit trees planted

  Another little project we got done yesterday morning was, we got the outhouse (dubbed the "Confessional") over a hole and set up. So now when the power goes off....we are covered.  The new 3 bay woodshed has been started. James had to fall a few trees to make room for the shed, so he was in his glory.

James dropping trees to make room

New 3 bay woodhouse

Well so much for working on the woodshed right now....the blue sky dissappeared and the thunder clouds rolled in. But as they say......wait an hour and the weather will change.
Till next time. Bye for now

Riverside Apiary's new home

After we first moved in before we moved it

March 19, 2019
We made it home, although not until March 11 but never the less we made it.
The house had been locked up for 6 1/2 long years so needless to say, there was a lot of cleaning and organizing to do.
Our house is not the typical house and by now you probably figured it out that its a old church. We bought it back in about 2006   where it sat in a sorry state for many years, unloved. Over the years we have slowly picked away at it until it became a house.
The church first opened its doors in 1959 when the Bishop traveled by train from Giscome to bless it, Our Lady of Fatima. It only remained a church for about 10 years when it closed it doors forever and sat basically empty until we bought it.

When we first bought it, it was rather sad looking and it was no wonder no one ever gave it a second look. One of the little boys in the neighbourhood  shot out 9 panes of windows with a sling shot and there was broken glass inside, dead birds, bats and lots of flies and lord knows (no pun intended) what else. But we saw its potential.

When we first bought it

 

Back before the highway was in, the priests use to travel by train to some of the small towns. One of the locals would go over before the priest would arrive and light the barrel heater in the main room so it would be warm when he arrived. Once we bought it, we went ahead and wired it so we could have lights. We moved into it in 2007 and just recently have water lines run throughout it with hopes this summer there will be a indoor toilet and running water. For the time being....the little house (dubbed the Confessional) out back gets plenty of use. In 2010 we  purchased another piece of property out of the same estate and made plans to move the church onto that.
It was a big deal in Sept 2011 when the old Dome Creek Church moved down the road to its new location. The whole town came out.

The bell tower was removed for the move

The towns people following it down the road

So now that we are home. Maybe we can finally finish it and give it the love it deserves. But first......the bee yard has to be built before the bears wake up. So...the confessional out back will get used a little while longer

How it looks today

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go............

Now that i have put that song in everyone's head, let me share some exciting news. Its been 2 years in the making and I so ready. Riverside Apiary is moving and expanding...wooohooo.
Thats right, the Motel sold and we are heading home March 9th. I haven't had a lot of time to get real excited yet, as there is so much to do to shut down the business, change over addresses, pack plus all the other chores in the life of a Motelier. (is that a real word?)
Despite all the obstacles and hurdles....we are going to make it happen.  Like the other day,James took a load of stuff and his welding trailer home  and got 20 minutes out of town, when the engine in his truck decided to pack it in. Not the best of times to not have a truck! Anyways, we have some pretty great friends and its coming together.
So earlier i mentioned we were expanding the Apiary, i have ordered 4 packages of bees, which should be arriving near the end of May sometime. So once the snow goes, we will be busy putting in fence posts and building a bear proof compound for the future orchard/bee yard. 

So, a few weeks ago, i decided since we were heading home, i should bottle the Bochet (caramelized honey mead) I made months ago. A short time later some friends came over and Barb and I got to talking about mead. I mentioned that the Bochet was such a nice color and went and brought a bottle out to show her. Then we decided we should smell it...oh my, it did smell good. So out came the glasses. Now i am no expert in the art of wine tasting...but i do love food and really like to savor each morsel i put in my mouth, so  I tried to do the same with the mead. The two of us sat there, taking in the aroma and discussed what we smelt. Then we let it slide over our tongues. Oh it was so smooth and sweet, but sweet in a delightful way. We were so enjoying it, that the guys decided they needed to try it too.

It was a hit and i will definitely be making it again. Oh and after a couple (or more) glasses of it....i dubbed it Bitchin Bochet

Anyways, i should really go and get some more packing done. Not that i am counting or anything but there is  only 7 more sleeps and we are heading home to our little old church in the boonies.  

From our Hive to yours....

Well it is almost the end of yet...another year. 2018 flew by way to fast but i am told that is how it works once you get "over the hill".
It was rather a depressing beekeeping year for me. We lost all our bees coming out of winter, then ordered 2 Nucs to get going again and they were not that great. I struggled most of the summer to keep them alive. One didnt make it but the secnd one did and hopefully it makes it thru the winter. Last Feb i took a Webinar course through the Ministry of Agriculture on beekeeping, which i found very helpful and for 4 Saturday mornings, got me out of cleaning rooms. It was great.
Our local bee club decided we would take steps to become a "real club" so next month the elections will begin. I also joined the local Farmers Institute.
So whats new for Riverside Apiary in 2019, (all going well) there will be some exciting changes. Hopefully retirement is just around the corner. If that is true (and it better bee) we will be moving back to Dome Creek. I am ordering 4 packages of bees this winter in anticipation of retirement. I will be able to dedicate all my spare time to my bees (oh i guess i should probably spend some time on domestic duties and gardens too) and making a great apiary for them. There is a orchard in the works, so far only in my cluttered mind and a bee house. So lots to do.

Anyways, i just wanted to get one last babble in before the year ended. So from our hive to yours...we wish you a very happy New Year, may it be filled with good health and much happiness.

A special gift from a special person

Merry Christmas from our hive to yours

Christmas is almost upon us and the winter has been a kind and gentle one....so far.  But holy moly....the wind. We have never had such winds and for such a long time. Its been blowing now for around 3 weeks, thankfully its not -20C.
The bees are tucked away in their cozy coat and i am hoping for the best that they will survive the winter and come out strong in the spring.  After last winter i have lost a bit of my confidence of wintering bees over.
Since i didnt have enough honey to give as gifts, i made a batch of Cinnamon Honey Butter. If you are a fan of Cinnamon Toast then you will love this. (pictured below) If you would like the recipe, drop me a line.

 

 Creamy Cinnamon Honey Butter

 Anyways I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope the new year is filled with much happiness and good health. See you next year.

Mead Mead and more Mead

Are you kiddin me! Is it really Nov 12. How did this happen.  Its been a long time since i wrote anything, but then nothing much was going on so i didn't want to bore you with a bunch of "fluff".
We finally got the bee yard cleaned up and the bees put to bed for the winter. Like last year we have made sure we could move them incase this never-ending motel sale goes through. We moved the hives onto 2 stacked pallets so if the bottom one freezes to the ground...we can pick up the top one.  We even wrapped them differently this year. I read a article about how someone from Prince George wraps their bees and did my version of his method. I hope it works. It has 3 layers. Pink fiberglass insulation, then a layer of silver bubble wrap insulation then a thicker plastic over top to keep the insulation dry. I have left them lots of honey, 8lbs of candy board and some fondant and hopefully that will keep them fed for the winter. Once again  i say a little prayer they will make it through our long unpredictable winter, and see them again in the spring.

So what am i up to this winter....... Mead Mead and more Mead
Mead is believed to be 1000's of years old and one of the oldest known alcohols. It is also know as Honey Wine. It is made simply of honey, water and yeast.

Only a couple weeks old.

 The latest project i have been working on is a new batch of Mead. This time i wanted to try a Bochet (pronounced Bow Shay) its made by caramelizing the honey for a long period of time.
The first batch I made i cooked the honey for 20 minutes, then a friend and i made a second batch cooking the honey for 30 minutes this time. We will do a taste test when we rack them off in about 4 weeks.  Earlier this year i had decided to make a gallon of Traditional mead. It has been resting since March so we decided it was time we try it again and holy cow it was good. I was sort of impressed. Not that i am counting or anything.... but only 11 more days until i get to sample the Bochet...yum.
Bye for now