Painless Bee Hive Frame Making and Preping Human House for Sale

Mojo Supervises Bee Box Painting

There I was, surrounded by over 1000 frames to be made and the last of the boxes to be assembled, thinking what am I going to write for the blog this week?  Painting bee boxes and making bee boxes and frames for the bee hives pretty much sums up the bee world lately.

Most of you all are probably young or young in sprit and body if not years, and have no issues sitting or standing for hours on end with a power stapler in one hand as you assemble your boxes and frames.  Wish that were me.  I’m a tad older – mature, like a fine wine – and could probably use a new back if one were on offer.  So making boxes and frames used to be a literal pain.

Until, by chance, I discovered the joy of working from a one-foot high stool, and assembling the boxes and frames on the ground.  I started with a footstool I inherited from my mom, but have been using a tiny stool Ian (the husband) made.  It sits only a foot off the ground.

Handcrafted, folding, 1-foot high back-saver

This may sound odd, but it works.  I sit on the stool, then lean forward to make the boxes and frames.  This puts my chest up against my knees, and – the important bit – keeps my back straight.  The hand with the power stapler is working just beyond my knees, so there is no reaching.  Keeping the stapler close to my side seems to help as well.

I’ve found that I can do 200 frames in a few hours this way, and have no back pain.

I do get distracted, however.  Mainly by the beauty that is right in front of me.  Cedars, maples, and the song of birds.

The Workshop's View

Now it may look a little odd that the view from my workshop is in the trees.  That’s because I’m in what was once the hayloft of our barn.  We once had a herd of over 70 sheep and goats, now we only have my pack goats and a few retired Cashmere goats.  That left the hayloft wide open for use.  It’s not the most convenient location, but there’s lots of room, and, of course, the great view.

Looking in - air compressor on the ground.

This is what my workshop looks like from outside.  The air compressor says on the ground (I’m not totally mad).  Its hose snakes up to the loft area.  The light is on because at our off-grid farm the air compressor must run off a generator.  The initial surge the air compressor needs strains the genny and the compressor.  A simple fluorescent light solves the surge problem.

That’s the excitement this week at Brookfield Farm Bees and Honey, in Maple Falls, WA.  If you’ve any interesting ways of making bee gear do tell – we can always learn.

Beyond bee keeping, my time has been caught up in getting the house ready to put on the market.  You know, the usual things: that ding I put in the wall 4 years ago has to be fixed and the wall painted, the weeds I’ve turned a blind eye to must be tended to, that sort of thing

Here’s the pitch:  If you know of anyone looking to buy a home or a vacation home in the wonderful Mt. Baker area check this out: http://walking-wild.com/id65.html

Our cabin's living room

3 bedroom, loft, 1.5 bath, hot tub next to a sunny deck, wooded gazebo, ample storage, on a quite cul-de-sac in a gated resort community next to (literally) a national forest / wilderness area with some of the best hiking, snowboarding, skiing, kayaking, whitewater rafting in the U.S.  Community swimming pool (beneath cedars with snow-covered peaks beyond), tennis, basket ball, badminton, children’s play area and fishing pond.  It’s a winner.

So why don’t I keep it?  It’s a resort community, and although it is nice to have the roads plowed so one can get to the cabin in the snows of winter, I’m just not a resort community kind of gal.  Though I do really like the swimming pool.

When sell the house; I can build the house at the farm.  Pass it on if you know someone looking for a lovely cabin in a wonderful wilderness area.

Our "cabin"