Such as wild boar visiting your urban farm! YIKES!
Now we don't have any iron clad proof or photographs of the wild beasts, but we have had a spotting and pick up of one such deceased aforementioned, who came into contact with a vehicle about a mile from the farm, near the now dry river bottoms which make a nice little highway for wildlife to travel upon. So we do know they have moved into the area and have easy access to the back of the farm now - thanks in large part, to the drought.
Seems this particular guy, or gal, has a sweet tooth. The evidence they left behind was similar to the incident on down the river bottom's trail at the Trinity River Audubon Center in southeast Dallas. Knocked over honey bee boxes......
This is actually the second time I've found one of our bee boxes knocked over. There wasn't any damage to the boxes, and most of the bees survived - including the all important queen bee. But this meant another unplanned trip to the boxes by The Texas Honeybee Guild's bee keepers to upright the boxes, inspect for damages and locate the queen - to see she was in the proper box.
When temps are in the upper 90's, dressed up in a full bee suit is not the coolest attire I can think of to wear, but Brandon suited up and took care of the girls - harvesting a bit of honey in the process.
YUMMY!
It looked a little darker than the first harvest, but tasted very light and fresh.
We'll see about that - hopefully, it will rain soon and they will just find their way back home where they normally live - which, I don't think was originally on my farm. Until they move, or are removed, I just hope they stay at the back of the property and don't discover the gardens - that, could be another real disaster! We're having enough challenges in the gardens without them rooting around!
Farming and all its challenges...
Marie
Eat Your Food - Naturally!
Wild animals can be a real bother to a gardener. We have had elephants come into our garden in Kenya in years past. No joke. They go wherever they want and they eat everything!
ReplyDeleteYIKES! Elephants!! And I thought we had troubles! LOL - Thanks for the comment. Hopefully, like I said, they'll just go back where they came from....
ReplyDeleteIn our other neighborhood, about five miles from where we live now...the houses were $300-600,000 and had impeccable landscaping, but wild hogs from the nearby preserve were coming through the front lawns destroying everything in their path. They are also scary and can hurt you or your family pets. The city didn't know what to do. Finally, the got trappers to come out and get them --- to do what they wished with them once caught. I think someone also offered a reward for each one that was caught. When they are hungry or thirsty, they'll be around. Now that they known about the honey, it might be difficult to keep them from coming back. I hope for the best and keep us posted!
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