Well, fortunately it looks like the farm vehicle is still here today, so i guess i should do some more farm work again today. I did some work with my bees yesterday(notes below). i think today i will be doing some follow-up related to that as well as finishing scouring my wool. Yesterday's bee notes below:
July/30th/2026
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
after today's operation:
west
• - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - •
| _ |
| [2]b2 |
| | | |
•BAD[2]b1 •
s | | | [e] | n
o | |_| _ | o
u • [e] • r
t | | | | t
h | c1[2] | h
| | | |
• _ c2[2] •
| [e] |
| | | [e] |
• | | •
| | | |
| [e] [2]a1* |
| |
• - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - •
east
a,b,c = lineages from last year
1,2 = hive numbers from early splits(march/25th)
* = new boxes from last splits(may/19th)
[e] = empty box
[number] ~= approximate height of each stack in deep hive-bodies
BAD = bad bees(i will harvest honey from these)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
I did not end up harvesting any honey however I did make useful progress preparing for
harvest, and removing dead hives, as well as identified which hives were better or worse
temperament; i think i have identified the hive i will sacrifice for this year's
harvest(labeled BAD in map). In the end, 2 hives were completely infested with wax-moth and
either dead or in the process of dying. I had 2 more which were queen-less though not yet
overrun by pests. The moth infested hives i removed and will melt down in the morning. the
other 2 dead hives were basically clean; one even had some honey still in comb which i
placed over the 5 remaining hives to give them a boost before i harvest in a few days. As
for the empty(but clean) hives, i converted them into catch boxes, and they may become home
to new hives if i decide i want to try a late season split. There was plenty of evidence in
the comb on these hives that they had swarmed(multiple empty queen cups). I did remember
seeing a swarm briefly in earlier in the season, however with the amount of spraying the
orchardist have been doing near me the last few years, it's pretty much a suicide mission
for any swarms that get too far from the bee yard. I now only have 5 living hives, though
each one looks healthy. I will try and get to them in the next few days, and harvest the one
hive, and attempt a split on each of the 4 remaining. Other than the one mean hive, all the
bees seemed very nice and considerate when i peeked under the inner covers, and all 5 had
visible comb constructed over the full width of the hive. i did check and confirm one hive
had activity in the lower box, however i did not check all the hives and instead focused on
removing the sick and dead hives. I have noticed bees tend to be less reactive when the hive
is sick, however i did suit up pretty well. These days i like to use a hood which fastens
under my armpits, and a canvas shirt tucked into my jeans. I have gotten in the habit of
wearing cotton gloves underneath my leather gloves, as well as hiking gators around my
ankles. This time i also tied an old bandana around my neck to fill the gap between my shirt
and hood when i bend over. it all worked, and i didn't get any stings, and no bees in my
hood, though i did slice my finger on a very sharp frame-stand while setting up. ...why is
it so sharp?
A few more notes: i need to figure out a better fire set-up. my smokers keep going out.
perhaps i need new kindling, though i think a real game-changer would be a larger pail-sized
double-wall mobile fire-bucket(preferably smokeless) from which i could scoop hot coals for
the smokers with some appropriate metal trowels. i didn't use much smoke this time(because i
was mostly dealing with dead hives), however i'm sure i will need smoke when i go to harvest
from the living hives - especially my extra BAD Bees hive.
Also, i'm still struggling with the cross-comb. i think i have some ideas about ways to fix
this. any solution has to be able to withstand my hive melter. i still have a bunch of empty
frames missing their foundation which got melted over the years. I think i miscalculated
when trying to convert some old groove frames to wedge; the hives that did the best seemed
to be the ones where i wired up existing wedge frames, though they still are not perfect,
and i have some theories about the gauge wire i used, as well as the particular way i strung
them. I think i might have an idea for some of my remaining empty groove-frames
incorporation aluminum sheet, but i will have to save that for future post; i guess it's a
winter job.
Well i managed to do some cold scouring of wool fleece this morning. all-in-all, it took all 8 fleeces all morning and a bit into afternoon. i did the whole thing assembly-line style and recycled the water for all 8 fleeces. i started with a batch of dish-soap in water in a 32 gal trash barrel. this was followed by a 32 gal fresh water in another trash barrel. the rinse water was picking up plenty of dirt, so i finished off with yet another 32 gal fresh water, followed by a sequence of 4x 15 gal water pails. The water was still kinda dirty at the end, but decided time is sort of limited, and i need to go practice organ, so i flail-dried the mesh bags of fleece and set them back on their wire-shelf racks(note, i need to fix a couple sharp spots on some of the racks where they are cutting my mesh bags). I plan do another session of hot scouring(with soap?) maybe tomorrow? and then set the fleece out to dry before stuffing it in stockings. i guess i never got around to the bees. at this rate, i'm kind of thinking it might have to wait until next weekend. this is not good, since some of the hives appear to have failed, and i need to check on them before they fill up with wax-moths. Anyway, that is it for today probably. The weather really got nice!
well i got another barrel and extension cord to scour wool in however it looks like i only have one submersible heater with the appropriate rating for my circuit. i guess i'm just doing it all in one barrel this time. i ordered some more heaters on amazon. their website is terrible. my order was over $35 however the option for free shipping appears deleted, so i had to pay extra this time; i guess it will get here sooner? it's too bad so many other companies have subscribed to AI software companies, and their sites are completely unusable. Amazon doesn't look that far behind: their customer support page was not helpful, and it gave a browser warning when i tried to find a place to ask about shipping; none of their quick questions mentioned erronious missing free shipping button. This is a sad world we are building. Anyway, i got to scour wool now.
Another good documentary from @eugeniomonesma-documentales. ...chestnut time is approaching soon(~2 months: need to get ready)! The chestnuts. Collection, conservation and processing of this fruit | Lost Trades | Documentary ...Interesting, the nuts are smoked in a smoke-house; i need to build one of those - or maybe a smoke-closet(i don't have quite so many trees). i am already planning to build a solar-kiln to dry lumber; i think potentially it could also be used for drying chestnuts. ...dried chestnuts go in barrels and bashed with a cerated smasher to free shells and skins from nuts then panned to separate. alternatively a machine is used. hand-grading and sorting is still necessary. ...cooking instructions. begin by soaking nuts(already dried shelled and pealed), then boiling... ...cook in recipe.... alt candying(using fresh nuts): peal and marinate in warm syrup or broth(savory). looks like polypropylene(could be cotton) mesh stocking is used to retain individual nuts to soak evenly and absorb flavor and not stick to each other. Spanish bagpipes! ...i need to go run to the local hardware store now so i can do the wool stuff today!
In addition to practicing the organ and working with the cleaning ladies yesterday, i did get the chance to dump out my fermenting wool fleeces(pretty stinky!). i was thinking of letting them dry for a day today while i work on the bees however the farm truck is missing this morning, and so i suspect i will be doing something else today - maybe scouring wool fleece?
in positive news i'm figuring out what all the buttons and knobs on the organ are for. in less positive news, we still have a big disaster in the back of all the cabinets and behind appliances in the kitchen with poisoned-dead roaches and other dead bugs who feed on their corpses and die. I don't know how you convince people to just not leave out food..? ...also close containers! ...interesting: @agreatalternative - Bramble Cordage | Cordage from foraged fibres | Ep 15
Interesting video! the process looks the same as flax or nettles after the initial cutting/pulling and retting/aging/drying and seed collection. @eugeniomonesma-documentales - Hemp in the Pyrenees. Cultivation and traditional production of fabrics and fibers in 1996 it's too bad hemp is still sort of a controlled plant: "...Under the Virginia Hemp Production plan, residents can grow hemp if they obtain hemp grower licenses..." "...Notably, federal law requires that VDACS review an individual’s criminal history report before authorizing the individual to grow industrial hemp. Additionally, growers must obtain a farm number from USDA’s Farm Service Agency and must sample and test each of their industrial hemp lots no more than 30 days before harvest..." The application process looks pretty involved. Perhaps i will stick to crops that are not so controlled. Either way, I think i need a spinning machine; spinning by hand looks pretty laborious. ...also a loom. ...$$$!
I managed to find a little time and mowed and cleared the weeds growing on the fence around my bees today. hopefully i'll find the time to check on them and harvest some honey this coming week. i'm also still thinking about plant-based fibers i think it's maybe too late for a flax harvest this year, however i found this neat permies thread about thread from kudzu(which we definitely have growing around here). i also found some threads on flax and nettles. "...ramie..." interesting, i guess you learn something every day: "zone 7-9" maybe could grow here more saved tabs on plants to fiber: ...still need to finish processing this wool... ...also chestnut time is coming up... ...air-crete, beewax stuff, barn cleanup and repairs. i wonder if i can get all this done.
this is a good channel: I'm still interested in growing flax. @eugeniomonesma-documentales - The linen. From seed to fabric. Cultivation, collection and preparation of garments with its fibers "...plowing and raking, add seeds, more raking, irrigation, hand harvest by plucking and bundling, sun dry, then 9 days retting in irrigation ditch followed by sun-drying again, then breaking and scutching and hackling, then spinning, then bleaching(with wood ash) now ready for weaving..." my flax-growing is not that impressive this year. i think i need to choose a more naturally wet location. I do have a few pots near the house where it is growing nicely, and i a have already collected some seeds(though probably not enough, and i expect i will have to by seeds again).
Apparently reddit backtracked their JS policy for some browsers. sadly my old mac is still getting a redirect to a mangled login page. In other news, my sister is mad at me for freeing her turtle which she rightfully abducted from the wild(i am Aston Kucher i guess):
i should have cleared this sooner(many duplicates): July/24th/2026 1.770.628.0985 1.23456 1.770.666.0871 1.202.987.9873 1.602.428.4952 1.989.662.9278 1.672.258.9396 1.601.202.1025 1.984.477.9768 1.216.260.9522 1.646.296.9038 1.203.309.2167 1.771.217.5181 1.615.270.6481 1.646.926.9029 1.833.650.3149 June 1.512.222.4947 1.619.951.0452 1.771.208.5382 1.771.202.5948 1.770.666.0858 1.512.648.2357 1.804.331.0869 1.771.209.7483 1.646.290.3421 1.434.857.9295 1.771.209.7418 1.201.534.3996 1.835.997.5998 1.704.803.4108 1.771.209.7511 1.703.249.6002 1.224.236.0956 1.703.831.2262 1.424.560.1876 1.313.708.3732 1.843.994.9639 1.770.674.8975 1.757.276.8470 1.320.416.5342 1.207.393.5189 1.609.318.6756
Hey, it looks like the sun is coming out after all; maybe i will get out there and do stuff later. Forecasting continues to be kinda weird in The Age of Trump. I noticed something funny with reddit, but i guess now it's official: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe comments: I guess i'm not using reddit anymore. it's too bad about all those reddit links in various notes where i didn't actually copy the text; i guess it's lost now... from the HN comments - more scummy Big Tech banditry: interesting(i wish substack would fix it's mangled presentation but oh well):
The weather is much better today(sorry no pic). I've decided recently i want to improve the music situation in my life, and i decided to try and learn the recorder. I bought myself a budget friendly yamaha alto recorder, and so far it's been good, however i have trouble hitting the low F. I'm sort of thinking of getting a fancier yamaha since i have heard that complaint about this specific model, though at the moment i haven't decided yet on how fancy i will go(probably not that much; i've got a budget). I also bought a pack of cheap $2 plastic recorders to give as gifts to various young people i know, however i discovered they are pretty seriously out of tune. They seem to start out ok but go flat pretty quickly as you go up the scale, and it become pretty flat by the time you reach the octave. Did i mess up? maybe i should just trash them. i'm sort of on a budget though, and supposedly there are ways to adjust tuning on wooden recorders; perhaps it's applicable to plastic? here are some links: also this interesting one about modifying a recorder with keys to play one-handed(this might be beyond my skill level): It looks like the gist is to simply file on or fill in the holes with little blobs of wax in order to lower or raise pitch. I'm not sure how plastic will hold up to the filing; polystyrene is pretty prone to cracking(not sure about ABS). I think super-glue will bond pretty well to both PS and ABS; maybe a plan hatching...
Smoke is even worse today, and i'm hiding out indoors again. i think 2023 still holds the record.
smoke's getting worse. i think this might be an indoor day. ...this might actually end up worse than 2023. we will see...
It is smoky out there today! It's not the worst i have seen, though it is pretty bad. At least the temperature is not forecast to be so hot today, and the smoke tends to temper the heat of the sun. My last two batches of air-crete turned out pretty well. Hopefully i'll get some time to do some more soon, though i'm thinking i might go back to single 5gal bucket batches so i can test adjusting my ratios. As for today, i'm hoping to get the sheet aluminum on my solar wax melters; it is supposed to rain this weekend. Also, perhaps good to do before the rain is to dump out my latest batch of wool and get it sitting on the drying racks. we will see how much i can get done - the smoke is oppressive!
I did manage to i order seeds yesterday, as well as more xanthan gum. I also went and collected and scattered some seeds out in the woods and fields over on Tinkerland. Most of the willow canes i planted last winter did not survive the June drought, and so i'm trying to get some sort of cover started for my planned hedge-rows. Wild black cherries are in season now, as well as various wild blackberries and raspberries. i also found a sassafras that was going to seed. it looks like redbud is also hanging seed-pods right now(i should grab some of those), though i haven't seen any seeds on the locusts yet. Supposedly, there is also an Osage orange growing somewhere near the road; my dad said he saw it. i haven't been able to spot it yet, though i did spot a paulownia(which has a few seeds on it). Still waiting for poplar to go to seed, as well as some of the other more valuable hardwoods(oak, hickory, walnut, etc). I'm still practicing the keyboard, as well as trying to keep up with a fitness routine. I'm experimenting with some wrist exercises using light weights and some improvised moves pressing against doorjambs and walls. The hands feel pretty good(compared to my usual baseline). It's also still pretty non-optimum down in my barn-studio. i managed to run through some hymns last night before retreating up the hill; it was just too hot! hopefully the temperature will get better again soon. little window AC units are just not intended to cool ~700sqft during 90+°F heat.
why does firefox start imploding every time i try to watch a Louis Rossmann video?: @rossmanngroup - WeRecoverData becomes WeWipedData; their archive.org page is GONE after threatening to sue me ...interesting, laptop fans start cooling down immediately after closing the tab; it's almost like there is a youtube conspiracy to take down rossmann's channel??? ...Edit, i found some more rossmann links:
I really hate the AI auto-dubb, but i found this very interesting old video on wool processing from fleece to woven blanket from Spain in the 90's: @eugeniomonesma-documentales - Inside a century-old BLANKET FACTORY: how pure wool was transformed into handcrafted blankets i'm working on another batch of 8 fleeces now. i probably still have 3 or 4 left to go in the bag. my first batch of 4 fleeces has now been turned into balls, though i still need to get them out of the stockings. It really shrinks down a lot during the felting process: 4 fleeces turns into about a wash load of balls. I have at this point learned about all the settings on my tumble dyer. it's important to get them completely dry or they do tend to smell. perhaps i need to improve my scouring setup. i made some more drying racks using my wire metal shelf design(i now have 8), as well as some finishing touches on my (4)skirting tables. I still need to get propane for my water boiler. My plan is to try and get the water hotter during my next scouring session, as well as maybe do a few more rinses before starting felting on this next batch. hopefully that will cut down on the smell in the finished product, though at this point, after figuring out the settings on the dryer, the latest batch is not smelling anymore. still, i might try running them through the washer and dryer one more time just to be sure the smell is gone before removing them from the stockings. i have also bought a big felting needles+holders; i have found the balls sometimes grow some loose ends upon the first wash outside of the stockings, and need some help.
Also, BTW, we are supposed to get some smoky days starting tomorrow. it already seems kinda smoggy. p.s. i've also been working more on the air-crete. i'll have to post some progress shots on that some time soon.
I got around to hot-soaking my stinky wool over this 4th of July weekend. I started on the 3rd by soaking it in warm water in a barrel on the using a submersible heater i got on Amazon. The unit apparently is designed for a slightly higher amperage circuit than mine, and the breaker kept flipping whenever the temperature got above 140F. My propane boiler has arrived now, so perhaps next time i will try using that, however for this session it appeared 140F was warm enough to get the stink out. After drying, i can't say it is completely without smell, though the putrid rotten smell is now gone and it can be handled with bare hands without making them stink. I think the closest comparison now is to a somewhat clean though wet dog, or if you don't have pets, maybe a somewhat sweaty foot, though not super bad. I feel pretty good now about moving on the the felting stage now; it will get washed in the process and the smell should improve even more. It's worth noting that there are still visible specks of lanolin stuck in the wool. I think i am going to have to experiment more with how to extract and collect this at some point. Lanolin is valuable stuff as an standalone ingredient, and i would like to figure out how to get some out of the wool to try in some projects. It appears extracting and purifying lanolin is a bit more tricky than beeswax given lanolin hydrates in warm water, becoming a problem when incorporated in my normal recipe for boiling beeswax. i have figure out a work-around for this now, however i have still yet to actually succeed in extracting any lanolin from fleece myself and have been using store-bought lanolin for my experiments with beeswax so far. Maybe i need to get the water hotter? i read somewhere to add salt? i'm afraid to use soap because then i'll just have lanolin dissolved in soapy water. perhaps pH has a roll to play here: vinegar? wood-ash? i'm just guessing at what people might have done traditionally. i'm kind of amazed i haven't been able to find an actual recipe for extracting lanolin yet(and saving it). It seems like lanolin was an ingredient in all sorts of old skin-care creams and leather conditioners. I'm kind of scratching my head where is the traditional recipe to extract lanolin? Anyway, the metal-wire shelves made excellent drying racks for the wool - and i luckily returned home yesterday just in time to bring them under cover before the rain.
Also, i finally identified the flowers growing on my terrace which i suspected were some kind of fennel or dill. I was wrong in my suspicions however i'm happy to say they were not the poisonous hemlock either. It is yarrow, which is native, though foreign varieties exists as well, and traditionally has medicinal applications - so not bad to have around.
Trying to get going this morning, but couldn't resist posting some notes from my morning youtubing and associated google-searching: here's some more Louis Rossmann reporting on new developments in American law and legislation which will hurt consumers and creators: StopKillingGames: Jennifer Gibbons tells senators running Minecraft server is ILLEGAL(@rossmanngroup) California votes to ruin 3D printing right after voting to keep killing games(@rossmanngroup) (for some reason watching rossmann videos really gets my computer fans going. is there some sort of anti-rossmann conspiracy with youtube to make it hard to watch him?) I didn't do too much extra researching on this, since it's ongoing, and i post notes on anti-trust and related topics from time to time. I did come across an interesting video on a potential crop for the bottom on tinkerland. It's only a thought, and i most likely will go with something else(like flax), though i'm in the mode of thinking about future crops for the bottom field now. Miscanthus: the supergrass that heats towns and builds homes(@dwnews) uses in "fuel... building... and textiles". intersting, though i'm not sold yet. "potential application value in textile and other fields" I'm still continuing my experiment with flax and nettles, however it is good to know a bit about another alternative. I think i need to find a wetter spot for my flax: also i came across this interesting video - i think we have an osage orange growing on Tinkerland: Osage Orange: The Rot Proof Tree That Defied Extinction!(@BackyardEcology) also, i have noticed wild black and raspberries are in season now. i was thinking about propagating some of them to help as cover for developing my living fence-lines. here is a good list; i know many spots where we have these growing around the farm; i should try to propagate them to my reforestation project as cover: i should also go looking for mulberries to plant: red mulberry black raspberry wineberry Allegheny blackberry northern dewberry interesting, i didn't know blueberries were native: highbush blueberry Also, i have noticed the cherries seem to be in season now(though most wild cherries are not very sweet). i got to get going now. i got this wool to work on. also still playing the organ on sunday. it is HOT outside - don't forget to water plants today!
it looks like it's going to be a hot 4th of july:
