She's Rooted Home

Author: Tara Philipp

  • Our Journey To Becoming Backyard Bee Keepers

    Our Journey To Becoming Backyard Bee Keepers

    How we got started with our first backyard hive and what we’ve learned along the way.

    I thought all they wanted to do was sting me.

    Never in a million years did I think our family would own a hive! I was scared of them! I thought all they wanted to do was sting me. Not to mention the thought of a whole hive swarming.

    One taste of local honey.

    As we started paying more attention to where our food comes from, we shopped more locally at farmers markets. I wasn’t much of a honey person at the time, but one taste of local honey and I was sold. I came home and made Chad try the honey. He actually was grossed out by honey after learning as a kid that its bee throw up! Finally after trying it he was hooked too.

    We were still worried about being stung.

    We started watching documentaries and endless youtube videos to learn more about how bee’s make honey. It wasn’t long before we decided we wanted a hive of our own. We were still worried about being stung, but knew we could buy bee suits to protect us. So we purchased a local rescue hive and all the gear.

    There’s something so peaceful about opening a hive.

    Chad freaked out a lot more than I did when it came to opening the hive and still does. There’s something so peaceful about opening a hive and watching them work together to make this magical food, we all love and call honey. I think that’s what makes it less scary to me.

    The lifespan of a bee and how much honey they make in their lifetime.

    We learned how to start a smoker, how to open the hive, look for ants or other invading insects, how to feed the hive during the winter, spot the queen, the difference between a worker and drone, the lifespan of a bee and how much honey they make in their lifetime. We also learned how to collect honey from a rescue hive and how to separate the wax.

    This has been our sweetest and calmest hive yet.

    Working with rescue hives was a little tricky because they would one day swarm and leave us with an empty hive box. Probably because a lot of the rescue hives where found an hour or two away from us, with much more flowers to feed on. Later we decided to purchase a hive through tractor supply and this has been our sweetest and calmest hive yet.

    Our bee keeping journey has been filled with a lot more learning experiences, then honey.

    We have enjoyed a spoonful or two of honey from each of the hives we’ve owned, but a happy and healthy hive has always been most important. It takes time to build a strong hive. Our bee keeping journey has been filled with a lot more learning experiences, then honey.

    I couldn’t imagine not having our hive.

    If you are considering backyard bee keeping, I want to encourage you! Start watching as many documentaries and youtube videos as you can, until you are ready to dive in. I find myself getting more and more comfortable with our hive, each time I open it. As with anything it’s a learning curve, but so worth it. I couldn’t imagine not having our hive.

    If you’d like to learn more about the supplies needed to become a backyard bee keeper.. I have another post with all the supplies we use, coming next week.

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  • How To Feed Your Hive During The Winter

    How To Feed Your Hive During The Winter

    Hive update: How to feed your hive during the winter months.

    Feeding your hive

    During the winter when there is little to no nectar sources, it’s important to make sure your hive has enough food and water to make it through to spring.

    I picked up this bee feeder at tractor supply, you could also make one with a little help from Pinterest.

    Using organic raw sugar or organic raw honey, mix with water and place in the bee feeder. These honey jars had crystalized honey at the bottom of each jar that was almost impossible to get out. I poured hot water and mixed them until the crystalized honey dissolved and added them to the bee feeder.

    After you have added your sugar water or honey water mixture to the feeder, top off with more water and secure the lid.

    The only issue I ran into when adding the bee feeder to the hive entrance is that I had to remove the entrance door. This can be easily fixed with a little DIY on your part. Simply find a piece of wood that would fit in the entrance of your hive and make a new door/opening for the bees.

    We aren’t expecting anymore snowfall and living in the Southern California desert our weather is warm enough that I can get away with placing the hive entrance over (as seen above) to block out some of the wind. You could always cut the hive entrance door in half and remove it when the feeder is attached.

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  • Meet The Farm & Family

    Meet The Farm & Family

    Meet the farm and family at She’s Rooted Home.

    Meet the girls

    As I call them! Our chickens have had many homes around the yard as we discover where they thrive and are also safe from predators. We have gone through many chickens over the years but could never imagine the farm without them. They are the ones who started the farm! Tractor Supply chick days are definitely a weakness of ours.

    Meet One Leg

    She lost her leg in a terrible accident one night after venturing off into a trap that was set to catch the predator that continually came into our yard. Sneaking off with many chickens, roosters and ducks.

    She lives in our small backyard, where she finds all the yummy bugs and usually gets first dibs on all the scraps. Occasionally a hen or two will venture into this space for some girl time, but she’s the go to girl when introducing new chicks to the older hens.

    Meet Pinecone

    So far he has been a gentle rooster. Slowly gaining his confidence and dominance over the older hens. You’ll likely find him making his way onto the patio to wake us in the middle of the night (2 a.m. is not the proper waking hour) or sleeping on top of the coop, ready to protect the flock.

    Also the girls

    These are Tara’s babes. Although most of them are boys, she still calls them her girls. The ducks you see here are babies from her first set of ducks. Princess, Heather, Grape-y and Duck Duck Goose. Loosing them was the hardest experience on the farm yet, but with fingers crossed we hope to add two more crested and two more grass ducks this spring.

    Meet Snippers

    The oldest on the farm. He’s not a very good farm hand and you can usually find him getting into more trouble than preventing it, but he is a sweet & loving boy. He’s definitely a talker and isn’t afraid to bark at any little noses to let us know what’s going on around the farm.

    Meet Stripes & Ratatouille

    Or Tully for short. These sweet babies are a new addition to the farm. They are fun, loving and mischievous. They enjoy playing with yarn and nerf gun bullets daily. Other than the couch clawing and constant litter box cleaning we are enjoying their sweet personalities.

    Meet the hive

    It almost feels unreal that we own bees! Never in a million years did Chad and I think ‘one day we want to own a hive’ but here we are! As the farm grew, we spent more time at the local farmers market buying locally sourced foods. Chad wasn’t a honey person until he tried local honey and it wasn’t long after that, I convinced him we needed a hive of our own.

    Unfortunately rescue hives don’t care to much for the desert and would swarm, looking for a new home with more flowers. The hive we have now is small but our queen is sweet and very responsible. Only bringing one the workers she can account to feed. Over time I know it will become a big and beautiful hive!

    Meet Chad

    He loves his family fiercely and always jumps on board to all of my crazy ideas and dreams for our lives. He currently loves buying fruit trees and is looking forward to spring. You can usually find him digging more holes for all the trees he buys or playing with the kids. Most weekends consist of Lowes or Tractor Supply trips for extra parts or feed as a family.

    Meet Tara

    She loves all things! Crocheting, knitting, gardening, finding new projects to work on and adding babes to the farm. You can usually find her getting things done. Whether that’s feeding the animals or family, chores & cleaning or working on another handmade project/gift she’s one busy bee.

    Meet Laila

    She loves picking wildflowers and collecting eggs. When mom or dad need a helping hand she is always the first to come running. Turning on hoses or feeding the animals. She usually helps make sure her brothers aren’t getting into too much trouble when playing. She enjoys anything handmade and is always my biggest helper when making something from scratch.

    Meet Easton

    He loves being super sneaky and mischievous, always playing with tools that he is to young for. You’ll usually hear his name called when you can’t find something. He is famous for dropping tools and running off to the next adventure, without any idea of where he lift the last thing he was playing with. He also enjoys cooking and is the best little chef in town, Mac n’ cheese anyone?

    Meet Aspen

    This sweet boy loves food and being held by mama. You can usually find him putting everything in his mouth or chasing mama around the house, when he is not on her hip. Most of the time he hangs out in the stroller while we get work done around the homestead, but will soon be chasing brother and sister around the yard. Im really looking forward to being in the garden this year with him running around eating homegrown veggies.

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  • Artisan Crochet Christmas Tree Ornament

    Artisan Crochet Christmas Tree Ornament

    This simple artisan crochet Christmas tree ornament is a perfect addition to your wrapping. Don’t forget to add a little fresh pine or rosemary.

    I love that this crochet Christmas tree is made in one piece, so there’s minimal ends to sew in. This ornament works up fairly quickly and is a perfect filler to any gift. Simply include it in all gift baskets or add as a topper to your wrapped gifts.

    You may adjust this pattern if you are unfamiliar with a foundation crochet stitch. Although with a quick youtube search I am confident you won’t go back to chains.

    This pattern is worked up of foundation chains, chains, single and double crochets. Finished off with a boarder to add structure and elegance. If you want to get really fancy or are looking for ways your children can participate, add bulbs.

    Grab some embroidery thread and hand stitch colorful bulbs to the tree. Find a small pom pom marker and let the kiddos get to work. After they have made a few pom poms, bring the ties to the back. Let them tie and clip the strings.

    DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN HERE!

    Artisan-christmas-tree-ornamentDownload

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  • Simple Crochet Bonnet For Beginners

    Simple Crochet Bonnet For Beginners

    Learn how to crochet a simple child’s bonnet, perfect for beginners.

    After creating my Crochet Basics- A Beginners Guide To Crocheting course I was inspired to create more simple crochet patterns for my crochet beginner friends. The best part about creating beginner patterns is watching my daughter work through them. If she can crochet these pieces at 7 yrs old, then I know you can!

    To create a bonnet you are basically crocheting a rectangle and folding it in half. The number of chains you begin your bonnet with, will depend on the age of the child that you’re making it for. For example a newborn baby bonnet will have less chains than a one year olds bonnet. If it’s possible measure the baby’s head as you go to insure that the bonnet will fit.

    The stitches needed to create this simple crochet child’s bonnet include chains and double crochets. You could make this bonnet using single crochets, but keep in mind it will take you longer to finish and you’ll have to increase the amount of rows.

    Closing up the bonnet is very simple. You may fold it in half and either slip stitch or single crochet down the fold piece. Don’t worry if that seems too complicated, grab a yarn needle and close up the back by hand sewing the two pieces together.

    Creating the ties is very simple, you will create a long chain and weave it through the first row of the bonnet. I added a pom pom to the back corner of this child’s bonnet for a little extra cuteness but this is totally optional.

    ***NOTE: I used a size H or 5.0MM hook and wool/yarn that I already had on hand for this pattern.

    DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN HERE!

    crochet-bonnetDownload

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    NOTE: My children don’t care to have the drawstring around their face. They complain of not being able to see, as the drawstring creates a small circle around their face. Instead I turn the bonnet upside down. This brings the drawstring around the back of the head, tying at the chin.