Clearing the Land

For all of the posts about our small home, it would seem that this is all we are working on here.  But there is so much more...

I really mean that...THERE IS SO MUCH MORE!!  😵

We haven't been neglecting the rest of the property.  There are several acres here, but we had only been concentrating on the one or so for our house and yard.

My husband had been trying to clear paths and some areas, but there is only so much one person can do with a mower and chainsaw.
  We have a lot of brush, and some good decent trees. Our goal has always been to clear the small scragly trees and brush out, leaving the good decent trees behind to enjoy.

This will open up the property, and help us to make good use of the acreage. It will also allow the good solid trees to be able to grow better, because it will not be competing with all of the brush for the sunshine and nutrients.

We have found a good logger that has been a godsend in helping us meet this goal.  He has been able to clear out quite a bit so far.Bringing the big machine in has made the job go a lot faster. This skidder makes the job look easy!

Although I didn't get any shots of our logger in action, here are a few pictures of the skidder to show you how big this baby is!  I have also included some before and after shots of how the "wilderness" looks.

I am about 5'5", and this towers over me!

The wheels alone are almost as tall as the hubby!

The hubby with cleared land over his shoulder

You can tell that big ol'machine has been through here!

An un-skiddered area

My Honey Takes a Honey Barn Tour

When a fledgling starts a new endeavor, one of the best things they can do is learn from the experts.

As my hubby has started his beekeeping endeavor, he has taken this to heart. He has started attending local beekeeping meetings at the local library.  

This week, he has had the chance to take the Worker Special Tour at Hunter's Honey Farm outside of Martinsville, IN.

According to their website, "the Worker Special Tour combines the Honey Barn Tour, Roll Your Own Beeswax Candle and Bottle Your Own Honey Bear."

So, in addition to rolling his own beeswax candle, and bottling his own honey, he also received a guided tour of the honey barn, a presentation of honey bees and beehive products, honey tasting, a demonstration of honey extracting, demonstration of candle dipping, and a demonstration of honey bottling.

From the looks of it, I would say he learned quite a bit and had a blast while he was at it!

Sting protection, or a fashion statement?

Tour guide pointing out the queen bee

Can you find her? Hint: No stripes

Fully loaded hive frame

A friend of ours from Iowa was visiting, and she was the photographer on this trip since I could not make it. Alas, there are no pictures of her.

But she did leave behind a memento of their trip to grace our cabin...

"Deer" Friends Joined Us For Breakfast

Guess what? We had some visitors this morning, as I was getting ready for work.

Scot guessed that they were approximately 50 yards away.  It would have been nice if they would'be been a little closer ♡

Oh, wait,...maybe not! Any closer, and they might have seen something they shouldn't have!  Lol