Yes, even the bees get a special treat for Thanksgiving. At this time of the year they need fattening up for the winter and there is not a lot of fall forage out there. There are cosmos, Jerusalem artichokes, some sunflowers and asters, but let's face it, the sources of pollen and nectar are dwindling. So we mix up two parts sugar (4 c) to one part water (2 c) and blend in a pollen patty. As you can see, the bees are hungry and they immediately slurp up the smoothie with their tongues.
We are worried about our bees because when we checked them two weeks ago they had lost yet another queen. They had made three good queen cells so our fingers are crossed that one strong queen will hatch and help them make it through the winter. We've had really bad luck with our queens this year. I hope next year will be better.
I am drying the fennel and hops from the front of our house, but most of the hops grew way up beyond our reach. I need a trained squirrel to harvest them.
My amaranth fell over after the rain, so I've been stringing them up. I brought one head inside to see if the seeds will ripen.
I harvested some fennel twigs for school art projects.
After a lovely warm day working in the garden it was time for the human's Thanksgiving feast: squash, brussel sprouts, turkey with stuffing, cranberry jelly and my pumpkin pie made from scratch. I think the bees would have liked the German dessert wine we had with the pie. Happy Thanksgiving!
This past week we had our first heavy frost and a dump of snow. Some of our plants weren't ready for this abrupt drop in temperature, so we will lose some of the more tender vegetation.
Now that it's started to snow I am dreaming about ordering seeds and growing flowers. Today I learned that Carl Linnaeus conceived of a floral clock that marked the passing of time based on the behavior of the flowers at certain times on the day.
I am researching a project that my partner and I plan to work on that is about ecological time, so I was thrilled to see that a local Vancouver group of artists is working on a version of a flower clock that would work in Vancouver's zone. Proximity Arts has created a Wikipedia page on their project. I love it! I'd like to create a version of this clock using bee garden flowers.
Are you starting a wish list for your garden next year?
In my local library, we had a chat about this very topic and one person said she is going to grow ground cherries. Another said he will grow tomatilloes. I know I am going to try for some pumpkins and gourds next year and I am curious to try for the chayote squash that my neighbors are so good at growing. First I've got to taste one, though! What will you grow next year?
