Ole Lake Farm: The good, the bad, and the really ugly

Saturday, May 31, 2014

The good, the bad, and the really ugly

First, the good:

The bees are back! Phil’s bees have come back to the farm for another season of pollination and honeymaking. Welcome back bees! We are happy to host you at Ole Lake Farm!

If you look close, you can see the bees moving in and out of the hive on the lower left side

Next, the bad:

You locals know that the mosquitoes this spring are way beyond bad. Horrible, awful, voracious, vicious, vile; pick your adjective! It’s bad enough that they prey on us humans, but what really gets to me is the poor goats, especially the little ones. Searching the internet for safe repellents, along with the various herbal concoctions, is good old Avon Skin So Soft. So off to Aunt Lila, our very own family Avon Distributor Kevin went, returning with two big bottles of the stuff. It seems to help some.

Yep, our goats smell like old women.

This morning I brewed up what amounts to a very strong rosemary tea. This also seems to help some. I have been out planting tomatoes (in the rain) and although there are clouds of the nasty beasts around me, I’ve only been bit a hundred or so times. Instead of thousands.

And then the ugly:

Cutworms are my enemy.

And I am their nemesis.

There are few things quite like walking out to the garden and finding your plants chewed off at the soil line. It is but a small consolation to dig around the stump of the once beautiful plant and find the miscreant. Capital punishment is meted out by my flock of feathered executioners who are especially fond of dining on the perpetrators.

Lest you worry over my newly planted tomatoes, they are all protected by soggy newspaper collars.

And just a few photos from earlier in the week:

Ranger just barely fit in our largest animal crate for the short ride over to Righteous Oaks Farm. Matt and Katie report that he is doing fine at their place.