Sunday, April 22, 2012

Cactus Blooms, Bees, and Boon Companions

Inge's donkey, Herbert, is a constant companion on Die Weide. As you can see, when we take a hike, he hikes along too. But before Herbert, there was Penny, and as you see below, she too tags along on our hikes in the woods. However, she has learned to keep a close eye on Herbert as Herbert doesn't allow dogs in close proximity. He is quite quick to charge, nip, kick, or otherwise attack Penny or any of our neighbors dogs. Interestingly, the neighbors dogs haven't come around since Herbert took up residence on Die Weide.

 Last weekend and this weekend, the Prickly Pear Cactus has been blooming with its yellow flowers that start out red and change to yellow as they bloom. Very beautiful blooms! Bees and bugs abound around the blooms.

 Inge took this picture of her Herbie. It has a very nice perspective but there are a couple of asses in the picutre.
 Today's the day we found a home for the beehive. This is the mostly finished top bar hive and I carved a place out of the woods for it in hopes the donkey doesn't knock the hive over. I plan to pound some rebar into the ground next to the legs and bolt the legs to the rebar to keep it from tipping over.
And, just for reference, this is the state of the garden on Die Weide, Apr 22. Last year we planted earlier than this year, but by this time last year the drought had already taken full effect and it wilted away the rest of the year. This year, it looks very healthy, if a bit bug eaten. Due to having to hand water until we get the well drilled, we chose to only plant about half the area we planted last year. The front (bottom left) corner of the picture is the north-east corner of the garden and has watermelon mounds. Next are cantaloupe, then several rows of black-eyed peas, then several rows of corn, which are surrounded by mounds of yellow squash and zucchini.  We're growing tomatoes, peppers, carrots, green beans, cucumbers, leeks, and broccoli in our home raised bed gardens.

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