Harvest Labors

"When he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (Matthew 9:36-38)

The days are shorter; the skies seem bluer; and the nights are crisp and cool. The geese are practicing & congregating for the trek south. The blackbirds are noisily chirping and flying, in what always seems to me, to be a swarm. The mosquitoes are almost gone and the ticks are back. The monarchs lazily flitter from clover to clover but always in a southwest direction. The hummingbird buzzes by. Even the bees have changed their daily routine. There seems to be a bustle in the air... hurry, hurry, hurry.... not much time left... gotta get that last taste of nectar; that last bit of pollen. Busy, busy, busy. Please don't interrupt... gotta go. One doesn't need a calendar to tell us that autumn is here and the cold sleep of winter is fast approaching.

You can see that my "terribly sincere pumpkin patch" has indeed turned orange and is ready for harvest. The vines are withering and the orange fruits are readily apparent. But the pumpkins are not the only things ready to harvest. The fall raspberries are still in good fruiting; the blackberries are just coming ripe (I tried a new "everbearing" variety this year); the butternut squash is yellowing fast; the massive muskmelons are aromatic; the tomatoes seem to be nonstop; the pinto beans are dry (with the black beans, black-eyed peas and cranberry beans right behind); and the carrots are ready. I am struck today with what it means to have a huge harvest (thank You, Lord!) without having enough laborers to harvest it. There are only so many hours of daylight in a day. Only so much time to do everything..... Between parenting children, washing and pegging out three loads of laundry, dishes, meals, and feeding chickens, cats and dogs.... well, that doesn't leave much time to harvest. Beans needed to be picked and shelled, screened and placed in jars for their 24 hour freeze. And most pressing today, the carrots needed to come out of the ground. If left too long nasty, horrible, worm-like things attack the carrots from underground and destroy them. The carrots come out slimy and insect eaten. But if taken out promptly very few uglies attack the carrots. (I'll write more about my carrot adventure tomorrow or the next).

When there are no laborers to harvest what happens? Then those who are harvesting work extra hard, extra long, extra fervently...resulting in extra tired. But even worse (to my frugal and efficient mindset) the harvest rots. It stays in the ground and worms destroy it; it stays on the vine and over ripens; it stays in the garden and animals or birds attack.... but regardless of its end, the result is rot....waste....ruin....

Is that what Jesus meant? Will lives end up in ruin... in death... in waste... because there were no laborers? We are indeed like sheep without a shepherd.... without direction, protection, & purpose... when our lives (the fruit) is left on the vine to rot.

Jesus had compassion on the masses.... do I? Do I look at the news with apathy when damage or destruction impact a people or a nation? Or is my heart moved with compassion to pray or to act?

Perhaps the most sincere pumpkin patch is sincere simply because it was seeded, cultivated, loved and harvested. Without a harvest the pumpkin vine was only a weed....

Lord, teach me to have a heart of compassion and love... and please, send out laborers.

Today's Journey Joy: harvesting

Generous Neighbors

How can one describe the generosity of a friendly neighbor? All too often today people don't even know their neighbors... not even their names. I am grateful that we live next to a wonderful couple. From the day we moved in to our little farm next to theirs they have been so friendly, supportive and generous. They have been blessed with having a farm that has mature cherry and apple trees... bunches of them. She is passionate about orcharding in a natural, pesticide-free manner (sound familiar?). Two years ago they offered us an opportunity to pick apples.... we picked bushels and bushels. In fact we made 50 quarts of applesauce that year! This year the apples are plentiful again... and once again our generous and kind neighbors have given us apples.


The children are older now... two years ago when we were picking apples, my young son decided he would try tree climbing.... a new adventure for one who didn't like to get up on the top bunk of his double bed. He had a great time climbing the branches of the old apple trees and "bending" down the branches for us to pick. It gave him confidence and a sense of adventure. This year he was more helpful in the actual picking (and eating). I think he actually enjoyed himself. These apples are Ruby Reds... sweet and somewhat crunchy. We picked several bucket fulls. And once again made apple sauce. I think we have canned about 14 quarts so far.

Another reason why I enjoy picking apples from our generous neighbor... the company. I love listening to her stories, her love for the farm, the livestock and her gardens. Perhaps one day I'll take pictures of her flower gardens. Our bees frequent them often. Good for us and our honey (and of course we share!). The company is not always human though. We are often visited by flying insects (mostly bumble bees), flies, butterflies, birds and, as you can see below, a very friendly older horse. This is my neighbor's horse "Rocky". He's a wonderful and friendly horse (it is said that pets resemble their "master's"personality.... I'd say that is true here). He enjoys the apples as much as we do. Rocky handles well and even lets my unpredictable daughter pet him. She adores Rocky. Of course we have to get a horse too (according to my daughter). Perhaps.... in the future... but I'll have to get my neighbor to teach me about caring for one. I've only ridden horses... never taken care of one.

So I'm thinking today about the great joy I have in sharing and experiencing the bounty of summer fruits. I seem to be at a loss for words. It is difficult to communicate the warm pleasant feeling.... sort of like... well, like.... warm cinnamon apple sauce.

Today's journey joy: Generous and Kind Neighbors

Honey Harvest (Part 2)

"Pleasant words are as honeycomb, sweet to the soul." (Proverbs 16:24)

Earlier I wrote about our adventures with the 2008 honey harvest... it was basically uneventful... no stings, no angry bees, an easy time essentially getting the supers from the hives. And if you recall we found that our honey harvest was less than we had hoped (I also wrote about some speculations about the reason that happened). After we got the frames into the honey house (i.e., our basement!) we discovered that not all the honey was capped and in fact some of it still had too much water content. If honey is extracted with too much moisture it easily ferments... not a problem if you're trying to make mead, but if your aim to sell honey... well, one's customers might frown. So my husband cleverly came up with a dehydration-station. A make-shift room made out of a shower, a dehumidifier and a bunch of shower curtains / plastic. After a week the honey was well within the specs to harvest. So last weekend we extracted the honey from the frames. Above you can see my husband using an electric uncapping knife to remove the caps of wax over the honey. The cappings fall into the uncapping tank (which is a bi-layered "tank" that allows the honey attached to cappings to fall below - some say that the capping honey is the sweetest - I tend to agree). After the frames have been uncapped, I placed them in the extractor. We have been blessed with a large 20 frame motorized radial extractor. It makes the work of extracting super easy. I remember when I first saw our friends extract honey. They have a nice manually operated tangential extractor. They would turn the crank as fast as they could for (what seemed to me) to be a long time. Then they would turn the frames around and do the whole process again.... a great work out.... but I'm too old for that kind of work (at least that's the excuse I'm giving today!)

So anyway, I put the frames in the extractor and tried to balance their weight so the whole machine doesn't walk the floor like a washing machine out of balance. We close the lid, turned the motor and watch the honey "spray" out of the frames. A few minutes later we slowed the motor down and then spun them the other way. The whole extracting process probably took only 5-10 minutes (with no sweating or achy joints involved!).

The honey was strained using a double stainless steel strainer. The strainer gets most of the wax, bees debris and stuff that was on the frames out of the honey. Then the honey is stored in big 5-6 gallon honey containers and left to settle for a few days. The extracting process allows some air into the honey and if one were to bottle this new extracted honey there would be a bunch of air bubbles in the containers.


So since today is a very rainy day and I can't pick beans, squash, or raspberries and it is certainly way to muddy to be weeding the strawberries, I thought today would be a good day to bottle the honey. It's not difficult but it sure is sticky and sweet (of course I have to sample the "drips"). I simply grab one of our bears and open the honey gate and fill the bear. The process just repeats until the honey in the container is drained. Sometimes the children help me but today I did it myself.

We bottle Papa (16 oz.), Mama (12 oz.), Brother (8 oz.) and Baby (6 oz.) Bears. I placed the fall honey next to the spring honey to show the differences in color. The spring honey (we call "apple blossom honey") is much lighter than the fall honey (we call "autumn gold honey"). The last picture is one of the whole "family." We hope to sell some of it this year. Usually all I have to say is something like "Local honey makes a great and unique stocking stuffer." Sometimes I remind potential customers that this honey is from our hives which have no chemicals or harsh treatments (like many commercial honeys) and that since it is local they would be supporting their local economy. If they suffer from allergies I also remind them that research shows that local honey may help their symptoms.


Selling honey is not the only reason why we have become beekeepers. It just seems like the right thing to do. The berries need pollination and the bees make many products (honey, comb, pollen, propolis and wax). They have an amazing structure to their colonies. Perhaps one day I'll write about the many life lessons I have learned from watching their behavior.

God made an amazing insect with amazing abilities. And throughout history honey has been a valued and sought after commodity. Remember the Israelites? God promised them a land flowing with milk and honey... sounds like a good recipe for ice cream to me!

Today's journey joy - Autumn Gold Honey

A "terribly sincere pumpkin patch "

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. " James 3:17

Linus is probably my favorite character in the Charles Schulz's Peanut series. He is sensitive to others, strong in his faith, unassuming in his relationships and bold in communicating his morals. I still choke up today when Linus tells the Christmas story on that big stage all by himself.

Perhaps not very "Christianly" Linus' attraction to the Great Pumpkin is humbling. The story is told that every year the Great Pumpkin (kind of like a Santa Claus figure) visits the world over to find the most terribly sincere pumpkin patch and when he finds it will bestow great gifts to the children who wait for him. Linus is ridiculed and laughed upon for his faith in this mystical, unseen, and unbelieved figure. Yet Linus is steadfast in his faith. This year, he says, his field will be the most "terribly sincere pumpkin patch" and this year the Great Pumpkin will rise from the field and.... well, you know the rest of the story.

My pumpkin patch has survived the vine borers (after a little surgery on the vines) and seems to be victorious in the battle against the squash bugs (you know, those nasty little critters that look like they have armour on them). I planted nastergiums in hopes of keeping those critters at bay. I think it helped some... There are many large pumpkins out there. I counted at least a half a dozen from one hill alone and each one looks over 18 inches in diameter. They sure are fun to watch grow. The photo above shows them when they were still green... they're starting to turn orange now... a certain sign of autumn fast approaching. But I wonder if my pumpkin patch is sincere?

What will I do with these pumpkins you ask? Not much really. I usually give some away, use some for decoration and occasionally carve them in pretty fall patterns. I planted a different kind of pumpkin to harvest for eating. It's a small yummy sugar pumpkin that makes great pie and bread. They're not as impressive to look at being only about 6 inches in diameter... but they make great eating. Also, my friend Stacy suggested that roasted pumpkins seeds make a wonderful snack. Perhaps I'll try that this year too.

But getting back to sincerity.... I am struck today how important being sincere is to the Lord. Now this sincerity is not the kind that one can conjure up and "really believe". That's not what God is talking about here... there are many people who are sincere.... sincerely wrong.... but the sincerity that God speaks about is centered on His wisdom and His love. Sincerity doesn't stand alone... it must be intertwined with the other characteristics of a follower of Christ.... then one has truly obtained some Godly wisdom. The pumpkin patch reminds me... Linus reminds me... that although sincerity is important it is much more important to know the One from whom faith is centered on. A life changed by Him and centered on Him .... a heart and life that is pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, impartial and full of good fruit. Lord, may I have a sincere heart today... may it reflect Your wisdom.

Today's journey joy - sincere Godly wisdom

Corny

"Very truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." John 12:24

This spring, (or should I say early summer) when I finally planted the big garden, I didn't know if I had gotten the sweet corn in soon enough. It was the third week of June when my husband and son tilled the soil and made furrows. The corn was planted by hand three feet apart in 50 foot rows . This year we planted 10 rows of "luscious" corn - a supersweet tricolored sweet corn. It seemed to grow very well and soon seemed to be tassling and making corn. Two weeks ago we started getting some of the "early" maturers... yummy! But then this past weekend, as if the corn knew fall was fast approaching, all of the corn became ripe. On Saturday, I picked and shucked, blanched and cooled, cut and finally scooped 14 quarts of decobbed sweet corn into freezer bags . On Sunday I did 15 more quarts. And there are still three rows left standing!


The corn is supersweet and most delicious. Almost dessert-like. There have been a few surprises when some of the cobs have been shucked (a green or brown worm with insect detritous near the end - yuck... although the chickens love it!) but not anymore than usual.... even inspite of planting late. I remind myself that when one grows fruits and vegetables in concert with nature, one must be prepared for a few unpleasant bugs.

I love the aroma in the house when sweet corn is cooking. I also love the satisfaction and joy I feel after putting 29 quarts into the freezer. We will certainly enjoy this bountiful harvest well into the new year.

Have you ever stopped to wonder about the amazing simplicity of it all? Take a look at one of those sweet corn cobs. If left on the cob to dry each one of those kernels could be an entirely new corn plant... each one. Amazing. Jesus pictures us as a kernel... a seed. If left unplanted it remains only a seed... yes, it has potential, but it remains only a seed, a single seed, nonetheless. But if planted.... if buried (as if dead), if covered in soil and watered... a miracle occurs.... a small sprout emerges....new life emerges.... abundant life erupts. It sometimes seems counterintuitive to me how the Lord asks me to do certain things. Like choosing to die to self, turning the other cheek, loving your enemies. But the fruit is plain to see for those who obey. There truly is "joy in the journey and freedom for those who obey." Teach me today Lord to embrace Your promise of life...beautiful and sweet.

Today's journey joy - Abundant life

Possibilities

I've been contemplating why the honey harvest this year has been so small. We had expected about 250 pounds of fall honey. But it looks like it will be around 50 pounds. In the spring we got about 40 pounds of delicious light colored honey from two established hives that we called "Apple Spring" honey (since we live across the road from a 15 acre apple orchard). It was the first time we extracted spring honey and I was surprised at the color. Last year's fall honey was strongly flavored and beautifully golden.

We ordered 5 packages of bees (3 pounds each) in late April which seemed to do alright once they got established. Unfortunately they had to stay in their little cages for almost a week (it snowed unexpectedly) before I could hive them and 2 out of the 5 lost quite a few bees. Needless to say, the bees didn't like being confined that long and took awhile to recover. About a month after that 4 of the new queens were superceded (replaced) which put them back even more for numbers. And then my two established hives from last year started a cycle that any beekeeper dreads... swarming. They swarmed four times each this summer. We caught half of them and now they are in their own hives and seem to be doing well. The picture above shows the first swarm from the hive... in fact, the first swarm I had ever seen in person. It was 30 feet high in the box elder tree located near the hive. It was huge! All those bees leaving the hive... all those workers going elsewhere.... a sad day. It's not so bad if you can get to them and hive them.... but thirty feet high is a little too high for this beekeeper. I tried to lure them down with some bee bait - lemongrass oil - but 2 days later while I was thinking about how to capture this humongous swarm they went aloft and flew away. It was very amazing. Here I was sitting on the tractor with my daughter and suddenly we were surrounded by bees flying about 10 feet off the ground in a wave like pattern. We followed them as far as we could but they flew out of site. I was sad to say goodbye.

The month of May and June seemed to be full of swarming. I almost dreaded looking at the bee yard. I would come back from checking on them and shout, "Time to get the tractor.... suit up... it's another swarm." And like I said we were able to get four out of eight of the swarms. Most of them weren't as big as that first one up in the tree though. We put them in small five frame nuc boxes until they started making baby bees and then moved them to a more traditional deep box.

Then at the end of June two of the new packages superceded their queen again.... yikes, another three week wait before new bees were born.... and now the numbers were really dwindling. Hard to make honey without honey workers.

So my contemplations about the small volume of honey this year bring me to believe that it was due to swarming and superceding. But like most bee keepers I am optimistic about the future.... at least now I have 11 hives that should make it through the winter (hopefully)... but even if only half live I can make splits of the spring bees and at least get back to the same number of hives and they will not have to draw comb before they can bring honey in. So as the usually optimistic bee keeper I will say "Next year should be better!"

Today's journey joy - Hope for a fall honey harvest

Honey Harvest (Part 1)

"They (God's Word) are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. " (Psalm 19:10)

Labor Day weekend is our "Honey harvest weekend." All summer the bees have been growing, multiplying, collecting pollen and nectar. And it is this weekend when we interrupt them and remove the supers (a rectangular box with ten frames that the bees make honeycomb on). The bees are usually not too pleased to have someone take their honey. But this year we did the honey harvest at around 3:00 pm and most of the worker bees were out and about so the supers were relatively easy to get off. The weather was gloriously hot and sunny, and thankfully there was a slight breeze.

It all starts with getting dressed and getting the smoker lit for a couple hours of anticipated work. My husband grabbed some coals from the outside wood furnace and added some wood chips. It makes great fuel and super smoke.


The photo below is of a hive that was started this spring from a 3 pound package of Buckfast bees. They started a little slow but we were hopeful that they would make some surplus honey. So with anticipation I approach the hive with my smoker, fume board and a little Bee Quick (a smell that encourages the bees to leave the super).

But alas, no surplus honey on this hive. That is not unexpected. First year hives that have to draw out their own comb often do not have enough numbers and time to make extra honey for the bee keeper. But there's always next year!

So instead of getting honey I checked the brood boxes (the larger rectangular boxes below the super) and see if they have enough stores of honey to make it through the winter. The frame I have lifted is full of capped honey on the top, brood in the middle and some pollen near the bottom. The bees are healthy and happy. That makes a happy bee keeper.

After about an hour we have gone through all the seven hives (five of them new packages this year) and have about four supers with honey in them. A scant harvest of honey. But we are excited... the aroma of the honey is irresistable and I am eager to extract. My husband gets our massive 20 frame radial extractor ready below. But then as we are about to uncap the honey and put them in we discover that some of the frames of honey have too much moisture and we need to dehydrate them a bit. So my wonderful and resourceful "honey" rigs up a shower dehydrator and they are presently getting thicker. The rest of the honey harvest will have to wait until the honey is at 17% moisture content.

For now I will be satisfied with the anticipation of yummy, sweet and delightfully sticky honey.

Today's journey joy: Golden sweet honey