Bitten By The Fence

Monday, July 2, 2012

Birds are already singing to me this morning through a fog that floats along the meadow border and cozy ups to the wood line. The view is less than clear through my tired eyes but there is something tranquilizing about the way the fog moves. It reminds me of the Maine coast, my favorite place other than Vermont.

I was away from the flower farm this weekend as I had committed to helping a friend paint her house in Barre. You have to understand that my dad was a great painter and wall paperer but when people asked if I would follow in his steps, I always looked the other way. I greatly dislike paint brushes but the weekend's excitement involved using an airless sprayer to apply paint to a hundred year old house with dry cedar shakes. I'll leave that story there and just say that my painting days are officially over but the house is painted and just needs a couple-three days to clean up the mess, over spray here and there, that kind of thing. It really does look good and neighbors have been very kind with compliments, horn toots and thumbs-up congratulations for trying to fix up this old house.

The flowers at the farm are coloring up nicely and the daylilies should be impressive from along Route 2 in another week or so. The bloom time for some seems very confused with some later bloomers already putting up loads of flower scapes. In contrast, some are behind but some are right on target. Beloved Country pictured above, is an example of a timely daylily at our place.

This morning I thought I would take a couple pictures of Beloved Country which grows in a row outside my office window. It was supposed to be transplanted to the flower farm but after a couple years now it appears to have been forgotten as it competes with high grass and a terrible weed named colts foot. I grabbed the Olympus and headed out, already late from spending too long on Karl's walk.

As I approached the row, I found a few blooms that looked like a picture but as I bent over for a close-up, my derriere came in contact with the electric fence which protects the honey bees from bears and other critters. Let's just say that expletives were plentiful. Reluctantly I returned at a different angle and snapped a couple more shots. Here's another one.

Beloved Country is right on target based on Gail's records. For the last two years it has opened on June 29th and it has not disappointed us. Bloom time doesn't matter to many but to those people thinking in terms of a special event, a birthday, or remembering the loss of a friend, the date is important. Weather changes over the past few years have made some flowers change their bloom time but Beloved Country has held firm. Keep it in mind if you need something that is 34" tall and has slender bloom scapes that wave in the breeze. We like it--bet you will too.

Gotta get moving here. I have committed to spending the day with Alex and we are going to begin in Hanover and West Lebanon, NH. Gail and worker bee Michael will be at the flower farm so if you're driving by, stop and say hello.

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where honey bee flights have commenced in great magnitude and the now-absent fog has left a series of spider weds and cobwebs everywhere. Slender strings of web with drips of dew suggesting another hot day! Be well, be cool!

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm
And remember: We always help you grow your green thumb!

Flooded Bees

Friday, May 27, 2011

The sun is trying to break through this morning and although it's only 9:30, I feel as if I have been up for a full day. Last night at 7 PM the National Weather Forecast made an emergency announcement for parts of Vermont. It included a tornado warning and indicated that the storm was currently in Roxbury and was traveling east at 40 mph. Roxbury is 10 miles from Northfield which is 12 miles from Montpelier which is 20 miles from Vermont Flower Farm. Even though these are "crow flies" distances, I figured the storm would be here between 7:45 and 8 PM. The storm arrived in full fury at 8:10 and continued with pouring rain. When you see rain coming off your standing seam roof and shooting out 12 feek away from the "V", you know it's raining. I nodded off at midnight, three hours after the electricity went off. At 1 and 3 AM when I awoke, the storm was still pounding but the high winds never materialized.

This morning at 5 I headed for the nursery. Traveling down Route 232 suggested things would not be good at the nursery. The road was covered in places with gravel, running water and tree limbs and logs. Still no electricity. Around the corner at Creamery Street the traffic was stopped as trucks challenged water crossing Route 2. My neighbors Gerry and Duane were walking down Rt 2 looking at the water and the damage and as I rolled down the window, Gerry commented that things were not looking good for my bees. Duane, a beekeeper for years thought they were history since the hive had almost been under water. I moved on.

As I stopped to open the gate, the nursery looked different. To my left looking towards the village I saw our port-a-potty floating in a pond that was 6 feet deep. The daylily field, the hosta display garden, one rototiller--all were under water. As I walked the "shore" I could see that the water had dropped 4-5 feet since the rain had stopped and that was a good sign. Then I noticed the snowmobile bridge from the village. It now bordered what used to be my fence line.

Everyone is not fortunate to have good neighbors but Gail and I are really lucky at our house and at our nursery. Gerry pulled off his boots and walked into the water to help save the toilet as we both joked about the new vocational prospects we shared. I tied the port-a-potty to an apple tree and got on to the next chore. My neighbors were there to help.

Out back my pump house was 2 feet from the roaring river. I gathered my tools and for the sake of time, sawed off the pipes, disconnected the 220 electric and dragged the pump and tank up the bank to the tractor. Another problem averted for the moment at least. Then I moved all my equipment higher up the hill and headed to check the bees.

The water mark on the hive gave no hope that the bees were alive. The only hope was that they got into the second story and somehow by miracle the queen had climbed as the water in the hive rose. Not a good sign for a beekeeper in his second day. I lifted the top and found an angry mass of bees that had either climbed or floated to the top. I replaced the top and headed for home. Maybe, just maybe there was hope. I needed to find them a new location.

My neighbor Kim was on the road as I pulled in our drive. I asked if he could help me move the hive. He headed for tools and I grabbed a flashlight and headed down stairs for strapping material to screw the hive together for transport. Thankfully, our cellar was dry. Back at the nursery we blocked the entrance and then screwed strapping to each side of the hive to keep the supers from shifting. The sound of bees was noticeable and they were no more pleased with the day than me. As we loaded the hive on the truck, one bee nailed Kim on the leg as we left for home.

10 AM now. A helicopter just flew over surveying damage. The phone is working and people are calling for reports and whether the road is open and does the store have coffee ready yet. Some folks amaze me. Gail is packing the truck to head to the nursery and begin putting things back in place. I'm going to rest for a while and go down later when the water drops. The hosta garden I have worked on for 4 years will be missing some plants as the water cut a new course and I suspect all my latest plantings--almost a hundred this week, are probably gone. But here's the news about this all. Yes, we may have lost our bees and some flowers. The tiller will have to be drained and cleaned up but it will run again. The pump house will need to be restored but for now, there is no need for water anyway. Our retail area is in great shape and all other equipment is fine. Route 2 will probably reopen by late today or tomorrow and things will get back to normal. Like some in the area, we didn't loose that much. Admittedly I hate doing fencing and there is at least 400 feet that is missing and needs replacement. But there was no loss of housing or property or life like in other parts of the US. Karl the Wonder Dog was up all night during the storm but he is fine now and is sleeping soundly. As I have heard some Vermonters say "We done good." There's a ton of work to do but farmers are resilient. They have no choice, they have to be.



Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where it's 67° and calm. Another storm is approaching for tonight but for now, we are ok. Hope you are too.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm
On Facebook as Vermont Flower Farm and Gardens and also as George Africa
On Twitter as vtflowerfarm

Short On Pollinators

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Another wet morning here on the mountain with up to 4" of rain predicted by tomorrow about the same time. We need rain but this is a little too much too fast and I expect the runoff will cause the river to rise quickly--something that gives me a big headache. We pump water from the Winooski River and the pump is located 25 feet above the riverbed but the river is narrow there. We went through a similar situation last year and I had to pull the pump to avoid it being washed down the river. Not difficult to do but a bear to carry a pump hitched to a pressure tank up a steep clay bank. Gail will be watching the situation and will call if things begin to look challenging.

I cannot remember a spring when the apple trees, both native and domestic, have been so well covered with flowers. Although they have begun to fall due to yesterday's rain, they have been beautiful every place I have traveled.

The part that bothered me again this year was the profound absence of bees. One morning I went out and looked at this sargentii crab and around and around it I walked looking and listening for bees. I finally spotted a lone bumble bee and then two hours later returned to find a large number hard at work along with some smaller bees I am not familiar with. Nowhere was a honeybee to be found so something obviously happened to the neighbor's hives down the road. Wild honey bees have been absent for years so even the sight of a domestic bee is heartwarming to someone who understands the need for pollinators.


Rowan Jacobsen's book, Fruitless Fall, is a book I continue to promote because very much like my favorite Silent Spring it mentions chemicals and what we are doing that cannot easily be returned to normal. As you think about buying some lawn food or bug killers, give the issue of pollution and the demise of beneficial insect and animal populations a second thought. Just the thought of white nose syndrome in bats and the loss of hundreds of thousands of these beneficial mammals should makes us wonder how we have upset certain balances. ???


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where I'd still like to find the nesting site of the pair of mature osprey who forget to say thank you on a daily basis as they eat trout from the pond.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Gardens
Vermont Flower Farm Our great site which contains pictures of hostas that look better today than the real plants that have been nailed two Mondays in a row by heavy frosts. Stop by and make your own judgment