Little Bee Girl Waggle Dancing

Have a look at this little honeybee doing her waggle dance for everyone. We took this when we were moving a swarm of bees into a new hive. About 15 minutes into the move, she was so pleased she had to share with everyone that something nearby was making her very happy.

Waggle dances are the way honeybees tell each other when something really good is happening, like flowers in full bloom or pollen galore. The angle and direction she does the dance tell the rest of the bees where to fly to join in. Kind of like giving an address. She’s saying, “When you look at the sun, fly this angle away from it for this long, then look for the flowers.”

This entry was posted on June 18, 2010, in Bees.

Moving the Cows in January

Miss Amelia and Harmony in the field

This is a video of us getting ready to move the cows from the east pasture up the road to the high field. Miss Amelia loves getting a carrot. Harmony checks Joseph’s pockets for more. What sweet girls. Our neighbor Susan came down to pick up some eggs and took the video. 

It’s been rainy, no surprise since we’re in the Pacific Northwest. Still, we have no complaints because we rarely get snow, which is fine with me. Since we moved our giant beef cows to our friend Vickie’s pasture, our pastures are doing better. At least this winter we’re not getting our boots pulled off when we walk through mud. 

Evenings are quiet. We bring Missy into the barn, wipe her udder down and set the bucket under her to milk. When we’re nearly done we let Harmony in for what’s left and that’s always a fun time. We love these girls.

Come on over here and see what classes we are teaching on the farm…

This entry was posted on January 9, 2010, in Farm Animals.

Fall Farm Photos

I woke at dawn and nudged Joseph awake. Here’s what the first hour of our day looked like. 

The light coming in the bedroom window woke me up. 
  
From the window we watched the light roll through the orchard …

and then the sun began rising.
Joseph and I walked up to the field.
The mist still blanketed the garden.
Looking across to the south we could see the whole valley.
The cows waited for us to appear with bins of apples.
Miss Amelia always has a kiss for Joseph.
I watched Missy and Harmony eat apples while Max nosed in his bin …
and then I went to feed the happy chickens.
The sunflowers glowed in the early morning sunshine …
I saw an early rising honeybee gathering pollen from the flowers.
We walked down to the house as the sun tickled the cosmos …
We stared out toward the barn as we poured milk, cooked eggs and slathered honey on our toast.
warmly,
Jacqueline & Joseph
This entry was posted on November 9, 2009, in Farm Life.

Welcome

Welcome to the farm! It’s our hope that we can get two new posts up each week. Check back every few days and see what we’re up to.

To return to the main website, our archived stories, photos and class schedules:
warmly,
Jacqueline & Joseph Freeman
info@FriendlyHaven.com