the Buzz

Apologies! Just when I got myself fired up to really take on the dry season challenge, I was unexpectedly whisked away from the farm. and it's going to be for awhile :( The decision was so abrupt, I barely had time to transplant my cabbage, pepper, and kale starts to the garden. All animal and plant chores have been allocated to caregivers, a responsibility I did not hand over lightly. Leaving Stella was the toughest part, although at the last minute we found her a four-legged companion:

meet Daisy Abril!

Daisy is a 5 month old Boxer--she's small, but definitely a tough cookie.
Happily, the two pups hit it off immediately and it has been chases and wrestling ever since!

The other buzz on the farm is the real deal:

I wish I could take credit; alas, we are merely the landlords of a new industrious tenant family. A local beekeeper found our lemon orchard an ideal sublet for his bee colonies, who inhabit these drawer-like boxes along the perimeter of our farm.

From the day they first arrived, a marvelous humming filled the air around our house and garden. Obviously thirsty, the little guys crowd around water spigots and the animals' water buckets. Stella's curiosity got the best of her only once, with a swollen snout to remind her to buzz off ;)

I am still trying to sweet talk my way into some free honey, otherwise we are grateful enough for the summertime bee song, the widespread pollination, and the built-in security of bee hives guarding our property lines :)