Last day of November Nectar

[Dane Bramage]

We had a very warm day for this time of year here yesterday; 62°F @ 45°North on November 30th.

The bees were out en masse and I captured some pics of them getting nectar and gathering pollen from these plants (need ID) that are currently blooming.

This is one of the plants in bloom:


& here are some close-up images:

       

I miss that sound (buzzing bees) and am already looking forward to Spring.  :-X

Cheers,
Dane

[Shawn]

It is suppose to warm here tomorrow so Im going to feed some syurp and dry sugar. Kind of neat you are still getting natural food.

[GJP]

Oh to be back in the northwest again!  My hives have about 2" of snow on them right now and I haven't seen a bee fly in weeks.  Temps have ranged from highs in the low 40's to lows in the single digits the last three weeks or so!  That's what I get for moving back to Wisconsin!

Greg

[Cindi]

Dane, hey that's cool.  We are rain, rain and more rain....I think that those are some kind of onion species, not sure though, bet Ann will chime in really soon and let ya know.  Beautiful and wonderful days, Cindi

[reinbeau]

No, those aren't any member of the alliums, the blossoms look like buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), a common wetlands plant around here, I have to say, though, I'm stumped, not being familiar with Dane's native plants.  The buttonbush is a wonderful nectar plant for us, too, and is fairly long blooming, although it's long gone around here!

[Dane Bramage]

The weather here has really been a pleasant surprise for the past few days.  The bees sure have been enjoying it.  They've been all over those plants.  I didn't notice this last year... as I recall the weather was much more conducive to snowboarding than gathering nectar/pollen then.

Thanks for trying to help me ID the plant Anne.  :)  If it's like any of the other plants around my place, native is the only thing we could eliminate.  lol!  It surely doesn't look native - almost tropical.  And it is flowering (only) in late Nov - early Dec.  These are used pretty extensively as some sort of ornamental/landscaping plant (bush or shrub?).   And they are pretty big ~ 10-12' tall.  Here's another picture of one around the front of my house, hopefully gives a bit better perspective:

Those leave are really large too.

[KONASDAD]

the leaves sort of look like castor bean leaves...

[Kathyp]

dane lives in a swamp  :evil:

it sure has been mild.  hate to jinx it, but i can't believe this weather.  it was  colder this time last year!

http://www.ocs.oregonstate.edu/page_links/climate_data_zones/data/asos/zone_2/por1207.txt

knock 5 degrees of highs and lows for me at this time of the year. 

[Brian D. Bray]

dane lives in a swamp  :evil:

it sure has been mild.  hate to jinx it, but i can't believe this weather.  it was  colder this time last year!

http://www.ocs.oregonstate.edu/page_links/climate_data_zones/data/asos/zone_2/por1207.txt

knock 5 degrees of highs and lows for me at this time of the year. 

Yeah, he's lucky.  His micro-climate is more like the Okefenokee, in Portland, OR yet..

[reinbeau]

the leaves sort of look like castor bean leaves...

I think you're right, upon reviewing pictures of castor bean plants on Google.  I can't find one with white blossoms like that, though, but the leaves are definitely similar.  According to this wikipedia article, the male flowers are yellowish-green with creamy stamens, maybe that's what it is.

[Dane Bramage]

dane lives in a swamp  :evil:

it sure has been mild.  hate to jinx it, but i can't believe this weather.  it was  colder this time last year!

http://www.ocs.oregonstate.edu/page_links/climate_data_zones/data/asos/zone_2/por1207.txt

knock 5 degrees of highs and lows for me at this time of the year. 

Yeah, he's lucky.  His micro-climate is more like the Okefenokee, in Portland, OR yet..

One of the rainiest parts of the country, and in a swamp, and I'm lucky?  hahaha!  Gills and webbed feet!  Nahh, it's really not that bad.  Bees seem to like it, and even my Icelandic Sheep do pretty well (they enjoy all those wetland grasses and absolutely devour blackberry leaves).

the leaves sort of look like castor bean leaves...

I think you're right, upon reviewing pictures of castor bean plants on Google.  I can't find one with white blossoms like that, though, but the leaves are definitely similar.  According to this wikipedia article, the male flowers are yellowish-green with creamy stamens, maybe that's what it is.

Castor bean?   :-\  OMG - I can't believe I was actually able to find what this one is on-line.  I tried this plant search (totally lost on the nomenclature!) = no luck at all.  But I found it at the Portland Zoo's list of plants, luckily.  and... here it is ~> Fatsia japonica: JAPANESE ARALIA, JAPANESE FATSIA  syn. Aralia japonica, Aralia sieboldii  - Family: Araliaceae

Description
Imagine an ivy plant on hormones! Fatsia has huge, up to 12 in (30 cm) wide leaves that are deeply lobed and slightly serrated. Petioles, or leaf stems, are quite long, and hold the leaves up and out with the plant growing to heights of about 8 ft (2.4 m) and about half as wide. The upright stems are covered with prominent leaf scars and mostly unbranched. The weight of the leaves tends to make the plant list to one side or another. Flowering season is fall, but plants must be mature to bloom. Flowers are white, held on a white stalk in small terminal clusters and followed by small, fleshy black fruit. Neither adds much to landscape appearance, and may be almost overlooked. This plant is mainly grown for its outstandingly attractive foliage.

Apparently an excellent source for late Autumn nectar!   8-)

[poka-bee]

Dane, your sheep look so cuddly & clean for living in the wet! Do you shear & spin or sell the wool?  I had one of those plants before we put our new house on, they look sort of Jurassic Parkish when mature!  My girls were sleeping yesterday but last week were bringing in baskets of pale yellow pollen.  More pics of sheep please? :)  J

[Cindi]

Dane, whew!!!  Get a load of all these pictures that I got from the internet.....

http://images.google.ca/images?q=fatsia+japonica&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

I am wondering how this plant is cultivated, of which I am going to do some research.  If it is by seed, I may ask to you gather some of the "seeds" or whatever it is for me.  Don't worry about it too much, right now, but I may lean on you later this winter for something from this plant.  I'll let you know.

It sounds beautiful and most intriguing.  I haven't seen it growing around here, may not be known as indigenous to my area.  I'm going to check it out though, I'll keep this thread alive. Oh ya, those were some very beautiful and handsomely looking sheep you got, I am very envious!!!   Beautiful, most wonderful days, great health and life.  Cindi

[Dane Bramage]

Dane, your sheep look so cuddly & clean for living in the wet! Do you shear & spin or sell the wool?  I had one of those plants before we put our new house on, they look sort of Jurassic Parkish when mature!  My girls were sleeping yesterday but last week were bringing in baskets of pale yellow pollen.  More pics of sheep please? :)  J

Thanks poka-bee!  :-D  They have a nice dry & sheltered place to hang out, though I think they'd prefer to be running around the wetlands eating everything all the time.  I do use their wool.  It's really excellent quality, from what I know (which isn't much!, lol!).  This breed is typically sheared twice/year (spring & fall, & are currently due =  :mrgreen:).   Here's a couple more pics:
Theodin, the ram


Lilja & Lara, the ewes

& their "baby" pics
 

:-D


Hi Cindi!  Let me know on that.  If the seeds are viable I'll collect a bunch and send them to you.  I hope they are... no idea on how to take cuttings/clone this beast.   ;)

Cheers,
Dane

[Dane Bramage]

quick update...  it was 31°F this morning (brrrr!) & still only 47°F now, though fully sunny & the bees are out and on the Fatsia japonicas again!  Well, suppose to get to 51 today so hopefully they don't freeze their little stingers off!  ;)

[poka-bee]

Oh Dane, they are such cute lambs!  I especially like the dark one, so shiny, the natural color would make a beautiful sweater, shawl or snuggy blanket!  The Ram is one handsome guy too. So are you making a flock?  How many do you eventually want to have? I just love hearing about others animals, why they have em & what they want (or decide) to do with them!  Cindi & I are the "nosy twins"!  ;)  J

[Dane Bramage]

Thanks poka-bee.   :-D  The black one's wool is especially soft, great for hand-spinning.  We're hoping for lambs this spring.  Probably singles this (their first breeding) time, but they are prone to twin.  I'll probably keep the flock numbers down pretty low.  I don't have the acreage nor facilities to set up proper (separated gene-pool) breeding, etc.,.  These are very hardy and easy-to-care-for breed, true triple-purpose (wool, milk, meat).   All that and they keep the blackberries under control!  They are all really friendly, though the ram head butted my dog when he got a little "alpha" with him.  heh - I think they got that sorted out.  ;)

[adgjoan]

Great looking goaties, Dane.  I just read this on bee source.  Have you ever heard of goats eating tobacy?

one of the best and cheapest preventatives you can get is a "chaw" approx. a tablespoon of chewing tobacco twice weekly. It will remove practically any worm a goat will ever have, help keep flies and other parasites off, and make the coat smoother and shinier.

PS....They love it.

Joan in Ky

[Dane Bramage]

Great looking goaties, Dane.  I just read this on bee source.  Have you ever heard of goats eating tobacy?

one of the best and cheapest preventatives you can get is a "chaw" approx. a tablespoon of chewing tobacco twice weekly. It will remove practically any worm a goat will ever have, help keep flies and other parasites off, and make the coat smoother and shinier.

PS....They love it.

Joan in Ky

Thanks Joan.  :)  I have read about using nicotine for parasites.  I'm leery of using any toxin like that, especially a potent neurotoxin.  I also read that for it to be effective it would have to be given in doses large enough to cause liver damage.  Unsure on all that (got links to any tests/testimonials?).  The (organic) parasite-control procedure in effect here is garlic, diatomaceous earth & rotational grazing.  We'll definitely keep an eye on how it works (fecal tests).  I wonder how much tobacco the sheep would eat on their own when encountering it free-range?  If they were drawn to it I could see it being beneficial. 

Cheers,
Dane