May 2016 Newsletter

MAY 2016

May At The Farm

The warm weather is finally here! The Petting Farm is getting busier every day. As the temperature rises, our sidewalks fill up with chalk drawings and the animals move outside to enjoy the sunshine. Our daily hayrides have started up and pony rides will be starting soon.

The summer is quickly filling up with field trips, birthday parties and special events. The Petting Farm is a great place to celebrate a birthday or host a family picnic. We have party and field trip packages that can include hayrides, animal feed and pizza for your guests. Make sure to book your event soon so we can ensure you get the date you want!

New Roof

We want to thank everyone for being patient with us while Zeeb Barn was under construction. The new roof looks beautiful and we couldn't be happier with it. A lot of hard work went into the job and we want to thank everyone who was a part of it. Our new roof is eye-catching, as are the newly painted cupolas on top. If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check it out when you visit!

Thank you to Sherriff-Goslin Roofing for giving our barn a much needed facelift!

BEFORE

AFTER

Honey Extraction Event

Our honey extracting event in April was tons of fun! Beekeeper Jane taught visitors how we extract honey from our beehives. We had so much fun learning the process, helping and tasting the final product.

We were thrilled to get some wonderful jars of natural honey out of the event. Raw honey is much tastier than store bought honey and has a lot of wonderful health benefits. The Petting Farm has new bees for the coming year, which you can read more about below. We are hoping to have even more honey from our buzzing friends next time we do a demonstration.

Bees Arrive At The Farm
The Petting Farm has live bees in our Pole Barn for the 2016 season. You can view the inner workings of the lives of bees inside our observation hive as well as watch from outside as the bees leave their home to pollinate the flowers around the farm. They are fascinating to watch and its always fun to learn about how they work whether you're young or old!

We picked up our new bees and suited up in beekeeper uniforms to relocate them into their new hive inside our Pole Barn. To transport the bees safely, we sprayed sugar water for them to eat. The bees were so busy eating the delicious sugar water while they crawled over their hands that they could be put safely in the hive without anyone being hurt. Bees can actually get so full that they can't sting!

Be on the lookout for a bee that has a larger thorax (abdomen) than the rest of them that is marked blue,she is our our queen! The queen bee is the only reproductive female in the entire hive. The other bees are very protective of her and will often cluster around her to attend her. She can lay around 3,000 eggs a day! She is very important to the health and success of the hive.

P.S.

Throughout the season, the farm will be getting a few new family members. Be on the lookout for updates on upcoming potential arrivals like piglets, baby goats (kids), ducklings and chicks! We will update our website and Facebook with announcements and pictures so make sure you stay tuned.