Restoring our native prairie has been one of the most exhausting and frustrating experiences. Read on to see what's happened in the past 3 years and where we are headed next. We chose to restore the 12 acres of tilled field to native prairie in order to restore the land. Our farm has been cropped … Continue reading Native Prairie Restoration Years 1-3
This article is part of our "trees for bees" series where we feature trees/shrubs that are excellent pollinator forage We raise honey bees in the sand prairie of Minnesota. It's a harsh landscape and many of the traditional "bee plants" struggle, so we look to native trees and shrubs to provide a lot of our … Continue reading Gray Dogwood – A Native Shrub For Pollinators and Birds
This is the story of how we went from owning 1 cat to 7 in just three months. Sometimes, the most exciting things are surprises.... We'll start at the very beginning - 8 years ago we adopted our first cat. She is a silver/gray siberian forest cat. Big and hairy. Our children were young and … Continue reading Is there such thing as too many cats?
This article is part of our "trees for bees" series where we feature trees/shrubs that are excellent pollinator forage Smooth Sumac and Staghorn Sumac are common "roadside" plants in North America. They are pioneer plants and quickly spread by rhizomes to colonize erosion prone areas. They are unique looking shrubs, grow without maintenance, tolerate drought … Continue reading Staghorn Sumac – A blessing to bees and humans
Black walnuts are native to the United States and grow in almost every climate/soil type. They produce edible nuts that drop in the fall. The exact time is a matter of weather. Last year, they fell in October. This year, the trees started turning yellow in late August, though it was unseasonably cool toward the … Continue reading Black Walnut trees – gathering, cracking and eating!
