Un-Welcomed Guests

What a month it has been for Bee Haven Acres. We have been under attack. Our casualties are multiplying daily. It seems the deadliest of our foes is a family of foxes that has made their den in our woods. We have lost more than half of our chickens in the past 3 weeks. And, several of our ducks have perished....the saddest being our mama duck who was taken along with her 8 precious eggs while sitting on her nest. At this rate, we will have no birds left by June. A neighbor has volunteered to help us trap this sly fox family. (I did not take this picture)


We have also been inundated with tent caterpillars. They are all over everything and have taken their voracious appetites to our 100 baby blueberry bushes. So far, hand-picking them off of the blueberries has saved the bushes. Our next line of defense will be an organic, environmnetally friendly product that contains Bt (a type of bacillus bacterium that kills the caterpillar).


Last, but certainly not least, is a big old Pennsylvania black bear who has decided to frequent our Cottage Garden in search of delectable bird seed. He has bent our shepherd's crooks to a 90 degree angle and destroyed a couple of our bird feeders in this process. Our biggest worry with this unwelcomed guest is that he might eventually disturb our beehives in search of delicious honey!