Beekeeping

A Big THANKS to McKenna Haynie and Stan & Alicia Moulton for their outstanding presentations!  Fabulous tasting, super-nutritious raw honey from your own bees is what this workshop was all about.  We learned how fun and easy it is to build your own beehives and harvest great honey with relatively little effort.

Following are a few links and notes from February's Mapleton Ready class on Bees.

Stan and Alicia Moulton are are multigenerational local beekeepers who love to share their talents & hobby with others.  See their bee art and products for sale on their website.  They will be presenting a beginning beekeeping class for Mapleton residents interested in getting started in beekeeping.  If you are interested in bees and/or equipment, you can contact them at info@thehoneycompany.com or on their website TheHoneyCompany.com

They also mentioned an excellent manual and DVD “Beekeeping in Northern Climates” from the University of Minnesota.  Here’s a link where you can buy it direct from the University: https://www.bookstores.umn.edu/viewProduct.cgi?productID=35524#.UxCWfvRdWKV.  Or you may google it and find it cheaper on eBay or elsewhere. 

McKenna Haynie (Age 8) Beekeeping Photos:  If you’d like to see Derek's daughter McKenna’s slideshow of her entire beekeeping experience from building the hives, installing the bees and harvesting almost 5 gallons of honey you can see them all on her simple website HoneyBeeOutfitters.com

Raising Chickens

A Big THANKS to Mona Ashton for her outstanding presentation on raising chickens!

Following are a few links and notes from February's Mapleton Ready class on Chickens.  Harvesting a seemingly endless supply of fresh eggs from your own backyard is what this workshop was all about.

Most of the information from Mona Ashton’s presentation on how to start and raise chickens is on her website CleanCoops.com.  The local Cal Ranch and IFA are also good sources for chicks and equipment.  You can also learn and find a lot online.  Read about how much fun the family can have raising chicks all the way to harvesting your own great eggs.  Learn about low-maintenance coops, that are attractive, too.  Learn how to maximizing egg production and keep the bugs down in your garden at the same time.

After this class two years ago, we got our first chickens and started enjoying our own fresh brown eggs with brilliant orange yolks every day.  Just a word of warning (or two).  Chickens don't respect property lines or fences.  They will follow the bugs wherever they go, including your neighbor's yard & garden.  If they don't mind their flowerbeds being scratched up by the chickens foraging for bugs & weeds, no problem.  However, they don't mind nibbling all the broccoli and strawberries as well.  So, be sure you use a coop or some enclosure to keep your neighbors happy.

The BIG One: Earthquakes

January's Mapleton Ready class focused on preparing for the BIG ONE, the major earthquake that we are overdue for in Utah.    Here are a few highlights from the class:

• Over the past 6000 years, there have been 19 major earthquakes large enough to rupture the ground surface along the Wasatch Front.  
• That averages out to a major quake every 350 years, some areas having longer intervals, others shorter.
• Hundreds of small quakes occur every year in Utah.
• Moderate, potentially damaging quakes (5.5 - 6.5) occur on average every 10 - 50 years in Utah. See what's happening currently at http://www.seis.utah.edu/
• It has been over 600 years since Utah experienced a major quake.  We are overdue!

http://geology.utah.gov/utahgeo/hazards/eqfault/index.htm

What is the Geographic Information System (GIS)? http://www.esri.com/what-is-gis/index.html

See the hazards in your neighborhood. http://gis.utah.gov/

Following are download links for Dr. McBrides PowerPoint Presentation and a PDF of the Utah Earthquake guide. Also a link to the Dateline earthquake program on iTunes.

Download Dr McBrides Presentation here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/72125334/Earthquake-2014.pptx

Download PDF of Utah Earthquake Guide here (53.49 mb): http://ussc.utah.gov/publications/roots_earthquake.pdf

Link to "On Borrowed Time: The Great American Earthquake" on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/on-borrowed-time-great-american/id156472479?i=155853837&uo=4

What can I do to prepare and protect my family for an earthquake?

• Move large objects (mirrors, TVs, bookshelves) from over beds.
• Securely anchor water heaters and appliances to the wall.
• Keep a flashlight next to everybody's bed. (dust & power outages make seeing difficult)
• Keep shoes or slippers next to everybody's bed (the floor will be covered with broken dishes, curios, mirrors & other sharp things that you don't want to step on in the dark).
• Have and review a family evacuation plan, including a safe meeting place.
• Practice "Duck, Cover & Hold On".  Don't worry about getting to a door frame.  Just get under or next to a sturdy piece of furniture and hold on tight.  If it moves, you move with it.
• Remember: following an earthquake, local emergency services will NOT be able to help everyone right away.  You will need to provide for yourself and assist your neighbors for several days, or even weeks!

Also, plastic sheeting can be very important in an emergency to seal off broken windows, doors or even encapsulate a portion of your home to help keep it warm. Plastic sheeting has been known to go for as much as $500 per roll or more immediately after a disaster, if it's even available. Right now you can walk right into most hardware or home improvement centers and pick it up for $15 to $95 depending on the size of roll.

Jones Paint and Glass (our new Stake President) has once again offered us a special discounted price on heavy duty 4 mil clear plastic sheeting:

12' x 100' (4 mil) . . $34.43

8' x 100' (4 mil) . . $22.95

They have a limited supply but will try and get more to accommodate everyone that is interested. As you know plastic is a byproduct of oil so when gas prices are low, like they are now, plastic too is a bit less. Likewise, when summer rolls around and gas prices increase, so will plastic. Now is a good time to stock up. Though usually not as good of a deal, Home Depot also has plastic sheeting in case Jones runs out.

To order call Jones Paint manager Justin Clyde at 801-812-5134 to be sure they have it in stock before you go. If they are out of stock you can get your name on a list for the next shipment. Jones Paint and Glass is located in Provo at 170 North 100 West.

To get the discount, which is better than even their best contractor discount, simply let them know you're with Mapleton Ready. A BIG Thanks to David Jones, Mark Butler and Justin Clyde!