The house is once again filled with those loud peeps announcing the presence of Baby chicks.
1 was obviously on its way to not surviving (An americauna at that..) where the rest were ready for water, heat, food( and hopefully soon a nap).
We have 3 Americauna's (3 others went to my Friends Chris and Lisa over at the 1 acre homestead) around6 or 7 Wyandott's and the rest Delewares.(27 chicks total).
Yay! I'm a Farmchick again...
Here in our area of Ohio we have had some great weather for Tapping those Syrup trees. I have had no luck in finding "Spiles"( maple tree spouts are also known as Taps or spiles). So i fashioned my own up for now. I will be putting in a order over at Bascom maple for next years Tapping. The plastic spiles are 35 cents and the Stainless steel with hook is less then $2.
I am on the lookout for some old school style Bucket and gable roof lids like these:
Now where was I? Oh yeah. My homemade Spiles for the Maple tree. I studied the picture of a spile and how it works. As I sat in bed still half in dream land, I envisioned a small diameter PVC pipe with both ends tapered to a pint. So When I got out of bed, I searched all over for any left over PVC from previous projects....None. So then I spied it. An orange pen. I immediately envisioned cutting the 2 ends off and fixing some plastic tubing to it. And these are what I came up with:
(food grade plastic tubing from The Captains old "Kegerator and unused Pens emptied and cut at both ends)
2 of our trial methods of sap collection buckets~ all the same pen and tubing Spile design:
See the first one? That is not water. That is Maple Sap. I need much more, but it has only been 24 hours since it was tapped. I need to cover the third bucket set up before dark tonight. Same spile set up and a hook screwed into the tree to hold up the bucket. Just need to find a cover for it...
Bee man was here. I went to inspect the hives and found lots of bee bodies outside around the hive. So Glad he stopped in to check on them. They are still alive inside the hive. He poured some honey in the top frame and they came licking it all up. I was so relieved.
He lost 3 hives and besides our hilltop hive, he has just 1 left at home. Good Bee's! You deserve something special for surviving the winter. I must plant some Lavender up there for them. Wonder if it will affect the honey in taste- good or bad? Hmm. Input?
Oh and those skylights will be put to use on the Cordwood chicken coop this Spring. Found out they would not be sufficient for cold frames so I am giving 2 to Chris and Lisa for their new coop and keeping 2 for our's.
Stay tuned~ Somethings dripping in the garage and it will be put to use very soon. Have a wood burner or fire place? Start saving those wood ashes in a 5 gallon bucket- fill it up! I will help guide you through the rest soon. You have about 1 week. Oh and you will need a 2nd 5 gallon bucket (plus a bucket of either snow to melt or fresh rain water). Gosh...Did that just give it away?
*Sweet Dreams*,
~Tammie
We have 3 Americauna's (3 others went to my Friends Chris and Lisa over at the 1 acre homestead) around6 or 7 Wyandott's and the rest Delewares.(27 chicks total).
Yay! I'm a Farmchick again...Here in our area of Ohio we have had some great weather for Tapping those Syrup trees. I have had no luck in finding "Spiles"( maple tree spouts are also known as Taps or spiles). So i fashioned my own up for now. I will be putting in a order over at Bascom maple for next years Tapping. The plastic spiles are 35 cents and the Stainless steel with hook is less then $2.
I am on the lookout for some old school style Bucket and gable roof lids like these:
Now where was I? Oh yeah. My homemade Spiles for the Maple tree. I studied the picture of a spile and how it works. As I sat in bed still half in dream land, I envisioned a small diameter PVC pipe with both ends tapered to a pint. So When I got out of bed, I searched all over for any left over PVC from previous projects....None. So then I spied it. An orange pen. I immediately envisioned cutting the 2 ends off and fixing some plastic tubing to it. And these are what I came up with:
(food grade plastic tubing from The Captains old "Kegerator and unused Pens emptied and cut at both ends)2 of our trial methods of sap collection buckets~ all the same pen and tubing Spile design:
See the first one? That is not water. That is Maple Sap. I need much more, but it has only been 24 hours since it was tapped. I need to cover the third bucket set up before dark tonight. Same spile set up and a hook screwed into the tree to hold up the bucket. Just need to find a cover for it...Bee man was here. I went to inspect the hives and found lots of bee bodies outside around the hive. So Glad he stopped in to check on them. They are still alive inside the hive. He poured some honey in the top frame and they came licking it all up. I was so relieved.
He lost 3 hives and besides our hilltop hive, he has just 1 left at home. Good Bee's! You deserve something special for surviving the winter. I must plant some Lavender up there for them. Wonder if it will affect the honey in taste- good or bad? Hmm. Input?
Oh and those skylights will be put to use on the Cordwood chicken coop this Spring. Found out they would not be sufficient for cold frames so I am giving 2 to Chris and Lisa for their new coop and keeping 2 for our's.
Stay tuned~ Somethings dripping in the garage and it will be put to use very soon. Have a wood burner or fire place? Start saving those wood ashes in a 5 gallon bucket- fill it up! I will help guide you through the rest soon. You have about 1 week. Oh and you will need a 2nd 5 gallon bucket (plus a bucket of either snow to melt or fresh rain water). Gosh...Did that just give it away?
*Sweet Dreams*,
~Tammie
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