Hey Woody,
Who is your owner?
From, A 5th Grader
I don’t have an owner. I share a house with Jessica and Kevin. We actually share everything, even the couch. They are pretty helpful, and Kevin makes my breakfast and dinner everyday. Here is a picture of me and Kevin checking in on the hives.
Thanks for getting in touch.
I’m off to walk the yard,
Woody
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Hey Woody,That dog you mentioned has a video on YouTube now!
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She is fabulous! Go Klinker! (and glad to see she lost the suit)
Thanks for sharing.
I'm off to walk the yard, Woody
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Dear Woody,
My Aunt says honey will help my allergies. Is that true?
Well, honey helps to control histamine levels in your body. Histamine is found in food and in our body. In our body it works as a neurotransmitter. One of it’s main roles is to work as part of the immune system and cause inflammation at the site of a wound, infection, or anywhere cells other than your own body’s natural healthy cells are found. The inflammation is actually the first step of the healing process to get rid of the unhealthy stuff. When your body’s immune system identifies an allergen, like pollen, your body releases histamine in an effort to try to combat the offending substance.
neurotransmitter: helps your body’s cells talk to your brain and vice versa. Check out https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chnt1.html
immune system: your body’s system of fighting of disease. Check out http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body_basics/immune.html
A small amount of histamine helps to fight off pollen. When you have allergies, however, your body sends out way to much histamine which leads to a lot of inflammation and unpleasant side effects like itchy eyes, sneezing, congestion, and hives. Honey helps to regulate the amount of histamine your body releases. Allergy sufferers will notice a difference after taking a spoon full of honey for thirty days.
You can learn more about the benefits of honey through the links on our Links Page. Hope your allergies aren't too bad.
I’m off to walk the yard,
Woody
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 Courtesy Wilson Family
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to share a cool picture that Jessica's Aunt Jeanne sent. It's an image of some of the beehives at Jessica's grandfather's farm back in the day.
Thanks, Jeanne!
I'm off to walk the yard, Woody
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P.S. Since we are on the subject of the farm, I wanted to share a picture of the pumpkins that grew in the yard this year. They grew right about where Kevin dumped the seeds of the pumpkins we carved last year. Not quite the size and number as the ones grown on Jessica's grandfather's farm (check out the picture below). A lot of pumpkin fair awards were won with those pumpkins.
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| Courtesy Wilson Family |
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Woody, Where are you? Are you okay because your website hasn't been updated in a long time. Are you okay? A concerned fan
Yikes. Didn't mean to worry anyone. I've actually been trying to take easy. Slow down a bit. I have even started to supervise Kevin from the back porch. I don't need to follow him around anymore. I'm learning to take it all in.
I can share with you the latest news. Kevin just pulled about forty pounds of honey from the hives. It has a wonderful dark color but tastes floral. Here's a picture.
I'll try to keep you all up to date on the latest. Happy fall to you.
I'm off to walk the yard, Woody
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Woody! There is a LIVE colony of bees on exhibit at the MoMA! See here...
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Talk about a bizzzzy mind!
Thanks for sharing.
I'm off to walk the yard, Woody
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Hi Woody,
What do you feed your chickens?
a West Boylston Student
Kevin feeds our chickens a bunch of stuff. Here's a list...
- chicken feed - a mix of grains and plant proteins
- grass
- bugs including live bugs from outside and dried mealworms from the bird feed store
- weeds from the garden
- greens from the garden
- oyster shells - provide minerals to help chickens make eggs with hard shells
- lots and lots of water
That's about it. Thanks for the question.
I'm off to walk the yard, Woody
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Hi Everyone,
Today I wanted to thank a new friend for sharing a great link to a beekeeping resource. Taylor, I really appreciate your interest in my website. It looks like you are finding out a lot about bees on your own, too. I wanted to share the link you found with all my other friends, so here it is everyone...Kevin and I both checked out your link and found it very useful. It has some really great information. I know everyone else finding the link on this page will find it helpful.Keep up the great work, Taylor, and say hello to your librarian, Mrs. Garrison, for me. I am so glad you guys got in touch!I’m off to walk the yard,WoodyP.S. Today, I will walk down to the hives with Kevin. We just got a lot of snow. We need to check to make sure the snow is not blocking the entrances to the hives. The hives need air and the bees need to be able to get in and out. So, after a snow storm, it is important to check the bees and move snow away from the entrances if needed. We’re heading off to do that right now. Hope you have a great day.
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How Can I get rid of ants without harsh chemicals or poisons?
This is hard. Ants are pretty cool, but the fact is they can spread germs in your house - especially the kitchen. So you need to get rid of them. You can do it without harsh chemicals. Here’s what I learned watching Jessica last spring when we had a whole bunch of ants move into our kitchen. At first she tried lavender oil, cinnamon, and cayenne. Ants typically stay clear of these things, but the ants we had last spring just shifted their highway a bit and kept coming. Jessica was pretty annoyed and the kitchen looked dingy with trails of cinnamon around. Her dad told her to try Borax, so Jessica did a little research and decided to try the following.
Great question. Here’s what I learned watching Jessica last spring when we had a whole bunch of ants move into the kitchen. At first she tried lavender oil, cinnamon, and cayenne. Ants typically stay clear of these things, but the ants we had last spring just shifted their highway a bit and kept coming. Jessica was pretty annoyed and the kitchen looked dingy with trails of cinnamon around. Her dad told her to try Borax, so Jessica did a little research and decided to try the following.
Great question. Here’s what I learned watching Jessica last spring when we had a whole bunch of ants move into the kitchen. At first she tried lavender oil, cinnamon, and cayenne. Ants typically stay clear of these things, but the ants we had last spring just shifted their highway a bit and kept coming. Jessica was pretty annoyed and the kitchen looked dingy with trails of cinnamon around. Her dad told her to try Borax, so Jessica did a little research and decided to try the following.
Great question. Here’s what I learned watching Jessica last spring when we had a whole bunch of ants move into the kitchen. At first she tried lavender oil, cinnamon, and cayenne. Ants typically stay clear of these things, but the ants we had last spring just shifted their highway a bit and kept coming. Jessica was pretty annoyed and the kitchen looked dingy with trails of cinnamon around. Her dad told her to try Borax, so Jessica did a little research and decided to try the following
Great question. Here’s what I learned watching Jessica last spring when we had a whole bunch of ants move into the kitchen. At first she tried lavender oil, cinnamon, and cayenne. Ants typically stay clear of these things, but the ants we had last spring just shifted their highway a bit and kept coming. Jessica was pretty annoyed and the kitchen looked dingy with trails of cinnamon around. Her dad told her to try Borax, so Jessica did a little research and decided to try the followi
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Figure out what the ants like to eat. It will take just a few minutes. Place different food right in their path. Jessica tried a piece of potato, a drop of sugar syrup, and a piece of chicken. The ants went for the chicken right away. Mix what they like with a little Borax. Jessica made an ant hotel out of a cream cheese tub and placed the Borax laced chicken inside. At this point she was a little Caddy Shack in her attempt to get rid of the ants, so don’t judge her signage. The hotel kept the cats from jumping up and trying the chicken too. Wait. Her dad and internet research all told her it may take a few days. The ants will carry the Borax back to the nest and slowly kill the colony, but the ants really loved this chicken. So many came to devour the chicken that the Queen actually appeared out in the open within two hours. Really. This took less than two hours. I was there. This trick with sugar or another sweet food probably would not have worked in this instance, and the ants would have kept coming. Kevin stepped in and got rid of the Queen. We haven’t seen an ant in the house since. No poison. No danger to me or the cats. And no more danger of the ants spreading bacteria in the kitchen.
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Give it a try.
I’m off to walk the yard, Woody
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Dear Woody,
I have a book on bees that my grandmother gave me. The beekeepers are wearing different looking suits. What do the suits do?
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 Courtesy C. Griswold
The suits help protect the beekeeper from stings. And I think if the beekeeper isn’t worried about being stung he can move more calmly which helps the bees stay calm too.
You may have noticed in pictures that not all bee suits look the same. Some have veils that extend all the way around to allow for more air flow. Some are light weight and easy to pull on and off, which is best for novice bee keepers with only a couple hives. Some are heavier weight which may be better if a bee keeper has to be out with a lot of bees for a long time. A bee keeper can choose to wear just a veil, a jacket and veil, or a full suit.
They may have different styles, but all provide protection from stings. You have probably seen pictures of Jessica and Kevin in their suits. They wear a pullover jacket with a veil. Here is a picture of my friend Caroline and her fiance Geoff at an apiary in Italy. They are wearing European style suits.
I'm off to walk the yard,
Woody
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