Winter Buzz

There's not a whole lot going on right now.  It's late December and we've had some below zero weather.  About a month ago, before it really hit, I cut some 2 inch insulation for the bees and covered the hive.  I cut a piece for the top too.

There have been a lot of die off bees at the hive entrance.  I've also seen a lot of dead on the floor of the hive.  But I can still hear the bees in the hive, so I think they are doing okay.  I'm hoping for another really warm day so I can take a peek inside.

Scientists Discover Molecule Linking Neonicotinoids to Honey Bee Viruses

Italian scientists think they've found the molecule that links honey bee immune systems with pesticides . . . let's hope they're right.

http://www.nationofchange.org/scientists-discover-key-molecule-linking-neonicotinoids-honey-bee-viruses-1382712918

A World Without Bees

Here's an article from Time Magazine about the storm of troubles facing bees today.

First Harvest

At the NCBA Beginning Beekeeping Class, they cautioned us not to expect to harvest any honey our first year.  I pulled out five heaping frames today.  I am so excited, and so proud of the bees.  It's been a great year for bees in Fort Collins.

I went up to Copoco's to get a gate valve and a food grade 5 gallon bucket, a scraper, and a a bucket filter.  It's not worth renting/borrowing an extractor for just 5 frames, so I tried scratching open the supers and letting it drain out.  But since it's September and already cooled off a bit, the honey isn't viscous enough to drain out.  We've got loads of flies this time of year too, so I decided it was best to scrape out the comb and honey all together.  It will destroy a lot of work by the bees, but I want the honey that badly.

The scrapped out honey and wax makes a lump that looks a bit like creamed corn.  The golden honey drains out pretty quickly.  After it was mostly drained I took the wax that was left and left it in a strainer overnight to let gravity do it's work.  This separated some more honey, which I ran through the bucket filter to combine with the rest of the honey.

I got some half pint and jam jars (4 oz).  It's one of the lightest honey's I've ever seen, nearly water white on the color grade.  And it tastes AMAZING.  I think because I don't have to over filter it or heat it (because I'm not planning on selling it at this point), the honey is very raw.  And FRESH!!  It was in the hive just a few hours ago and was capped in the last week or so.  It's AWESOME!!

Levi & Rocket's Honey 2013

I wanted to start beekeeping because I know honey bees are in trouble.  Being a gardener and someone who appreciates the earth, I want to help them.  I really love being able to grow and preserve food for myself.

To keep bees is to see the hand of God.  The more I work with them, the more they teach me.

Winterish

We've had a fairly cold week, and a few inches of snow.  It's actually our first week with a hard freeze.  I've been a bit concerned with the bees, and I haven't had a chance to do an inspection because it's been either too cold or very overcast.

Today I jumped at the chance to do an inspection when I heard it was in the 60's.  Sure enough when I got out to the hive, the poor girls were crowded around the small opening of the entrance reducer.  They're still working hard and coming back with loads of pollen.  I pried out the entrance reducer before I got the smoker going just to give them a chance to unload.

The two top supers showed significant improvement.  It's been at least two weeks since I moved the empties out and took off the third one.  There's a lot of newly capped honey.  It even looked like they were laying down more comb.  And there's still a lot of uncapped nectar, which I don't want to take out of the hive, since I can't harvest it.

I wore a white suit today for the first time today. They seemed to be a lot more relaxed.  I smoked them pretty good, but the white suit seemed to really help.  I don't know if it's sting proof, but i suppose I'll find out sooner or later.

I wasn't able to get the frames out of the hive bodies.  they are so caked with propolis, when i tried to pry them loose, it was actually the hive frame that cracked first.  They seem really healthy.  I looked down into the top hive body and it looked completely full of honey.  I looked under the bottom hive body too, and it looked really clean too.  I didn't separate them since I had no idea where the queen might be.

I'll have to do some more research, but I think they are looking good heading into winter.  I'm planning to wrap the hive with some kind of insulation, perhaps styrofoam, to help them keep warm.  I'm really pleased to see how well they are doing and so proud of their hard work.  It's been a fantastic year to start beekeeping in the Rockies!

Rocket got one too

My dear sweet helper dog got a sting too!  This was actually earlier this summer.  I  felt pretty bad for her when I noticed she had a swollen eyebrow.  She's been a champ about it though!

The Stinging Saga

Ahhhhhh!  I got stung again today!

I was just out looking through the supers.  I wanted to get out the empties that I'd put in for the girls to clean up after the harvest.  It was late, and dark, but I went out anyway.  I started reorganizing, and was able to clear out a whole super's worth of empties, or at least frames without comb drawn out.  But the girls were not in a very good mood.

I could hear the guard bee swarming me, and they were crawling on my veil.  Actually, I had two inside the helmet.  So I ran off and was able to pull it off before I got stung.  I shook them out and put everything back on since I still had to put the hive back together.

I went back over and the bees were definitely mad.  I put the supers back on and could hear another bee very close.  It had gotten quite dark, so I could barely see her crawling on the front of my veil.  I tried to brush her away and then froze, realizing I might have a third bee inside my hood.  Sure enough, when she got to the white veil seam she walked OVER it . . . meaning she was inside.  I bolted, but struggled with the knot so I couldn't get it off.  I felt her bump my face just below my eye and then the sharp burn.

I knew it was going to be bad because it was centered in the soft tissue just below my lower eyelid.  Ahhhh!  Having already seen some beekeeper face stings, I knew it was bad bad news.  I raced in and pulled the stinger out in a matter of seconds.  Pinched and rinsed, washed my face and took some benadryl.

I was pissed.

I went outside and put the helmet on AGAIN.  I put the inner cover and top cover and the brick back on as fast as I could and put away all my gear.  I got an ice cube and laid on the couch.

My latest sting at about 30 minutes . . . still smiling

Still smiling 4 hours after a bee sting to the face

 By the time I went to bed, my eye was nearly swollen shut, and I was realizing I was having another bad reaction.  My breathing was fine, and it was hot, but not especially painful.  So I took two more benadryl and ibuprofen, and was quickly asleep.

Swelling 12 hours after being stung in the face by a bee

When I did finally wake up, the mirror confirmed for me that benadryl isn't strong enough for any of my allergies.  My eye was completely swollen shut.  The skin hurt from being stretched so tight, and it was hot.  Awesome.  It's not like you can call into work and say "I got a bug bite and won't be in today."  So I took a shower and a double dose of Zyrtec and went.

I was actually pretty amazed that people that aren't in my department don't really look at you in the face when you pass them in the hall, so no one . . . no one . . . said anything in passing.  However, the people who do look me in the eyes were all shocked.  I looked bad enough that people didn't give me a hard time, they were actually very compassionate and concerned for me.

I was grateful that I really didn't feel that bad . . . aside from having a fat head.  I took another double dose of Zyrtec (4x for the day) but it didn't really seem to help either.

24 hours after being stung in the face by a bee

This warped smile was 24 hours after the sting.  It was beginning to really itch as the swelling went down and I started to get some feeling back.

Bee sting at 36 hours

 The next morning I looked worse again.  I think being laid down was the biggest factor.  I decided to double up on Allegra to see if it would help.  It's the most effective for my grass allergies.  And more ibuprophen.

I don't mind the stings so much, and the swelling isn't even that bad.  It's that it takes 3 or 4 days for me to get back to normal.

Still swollen at 60 hours

4 days and still a bit swollen

 So I guess the moral of the story is to be sure you don't have any open folds in the back of your veil.  I'm pretty sure that's where they were coming in from.  I need to figure out how to tie it tighter or perhaps wear my coat over it.

That and it's probably time for me to get an epipen.  This definitely isn't anaphylactic shock, but I do react much worse than most people.  I can see how multiple stings or a freak sting inside the mouth or throat could put me in really dire shape.  Better safe than sorry.

Super 2

It turns out that this has been a spectacular year to start beekeeping.  After having added the first super, i was disappointed that the bees didn't seem to be moving up into it.  There was very little wax being put down, and I was afraid that they had slowed down.  But recently there has been steady progress, and then suddenly they had 7 frames drawn out with nectar already in it.  So I put together two more supers and put the second one on today!

I'm so proud of the girls.  It's not even August yet, and they've nearly filled their first super.  We're gonna have honey this year for sure.  I can only imagine how many supers they'd have filled if they hadn't spent so much energy producing all that honeycomb.

They have gotten pretty aggressive because the hive has so much honey in it.  I got stung and swarmed a few days ago trying to clean up all the cross comb.  I didn't realize it, but my sweatshirt had probably 20 stingers in it, which was why i was getting swarmed.  And I had one get up under my veil.  I didn't feel her until she was crawling up my neck onto my  cheek.  I immediately got away from the hive but ended up getting stung right in front of my ear.  Lucky for me, there wasn't much skin there to swell.  So I've learned to keep my veil tighter . . . and smoke the little buggers.

The story of honeybees and their importance in sustaining life

Honeybees in peril.  They're kind of fragile little things . . . if you hadn't already noticed.

http://www.naturalnews.com/041194_honeybees_neonicotinoids_pesticides.html

Reduce No More

Thanks to Carolina for taking a look at the blog.  She noticed that I still had my reducer on and told me that it was more than time to take it off.  I had kind of been thinking that since all the hives I'd visited were missing their reducers.  But the girls have been so busy and I haven't had a day that I was up early enough, or remembered late enough, or dry . . . blah blah blah.  I took the reducer out today.

Reducer removed for summer!

I also took a peek at the frames in the super.  There didn't appear to be any new comb, which is a bit distressing.  So I took them out one by one and there was a bit of new wax.  There was a lot more activity, and i could also even see some nectar already in the half built comb.  This made me feel a lot better.  The hive body seems to be stuffed, so I'm glad the girls have FINALLY moved up and are drawing out the super frames.  Honey for ME!!!  I'm feeling pretty blessed that it's such a great summer for the bees.  I hope mine turns out half as well.

Queen Marking

I was pleased to be able to attend a "Queen Marking" class today with Carolina and Crystal.  I really just wanted to be able to do something with the NCBA and ask some questions of some experienced beekeepers.

The "not-supposed-to-be-irrigated-tick-hive"

As it turned out the "non-irrigated hive" was being irrigated, so we had to walk quite a ways around the field to get to it.  It wasn't long before we found the "Tick Hive", as the "non-irrigated hive" has been dubbed, was aptly named.  Shortly after having opened the hive, Carolina squished a tick that was crawling along one of the frames.  (I found one crawling on my arm later when I was sitting in church)

Inspecting frames

This hive had been recently re-queened, because the package queen wasn't performing very well.  Carolina showed us the shotgun brood pattern that still existed.  She also pointed out eggs and larvae for those who hadn't seen them.  It was also good to see that she noticed a potentially alarming sick larvae.  It was kind of crystallized in the comb, which could be a problem, and something a beekeeper should keep an eye out for.  We didn't see any others, so it's likely just an anomaly.

Crystal, happy to answer "new-bees" questions

Carolina and Crystal are great to work with.  They are both really knowledgeable and so willing to answer questions.  I shot a bunch of video which I hope to have a chance to cut down soon.

Carolina at work

And then we started the queen marking since that's why we'd assembled to begin with.  Part of the reason to mark your queen is to be able to understand who is in your hive.  Marking the queen identifies her by year, and let's the beekeeper know if a new queen is present.

The international color code is:

White:  for years 1 or 6

Yellow:  for years 2 or 7

Red:  for years 3 or 8

Green:  for years 4 or 9

Blue:  for years 5 or 0

Carolina had actually brought green model paint since we would be practicing on worker bees.  With a plastic marking tube she managed to corral the queen.  It simply a matter of gently pushing the foam plunger to the mesh end of the marking tube and carefully trapping her with her back exposed.  Carolina explained the best tool to use to apply the paint is the stick end of a match.  They hold just the right amount of paint which applied directly to her thorax.  I think we waited a minute for the paint to dry before releasing the plunger so she could at least move around the marking tube.

Capturing is the hardest part

Most everyone tried capturing worker bees and marking them.  It was interesting to see how the distressed freshly painted bee, called for help and was attended to by other unpainted workers.  They don't seem to like it, but as long as you don't use too much paint, it's not particularly harmful.

Don't squish her!!

We put the hive back together, and Carolina added a SEVENTH super on top of the rockstar hive next door.  It's a fantastic year for bees and they are flourishing!

A super frame FULL of nectar

Super Seven!

Thanks so much to Carolina and Crystal from the NCBA!  It's been a joy to get to know you and learn from you both!

Super Day

I took the time to get back into the hive today.  I just pulled the top frames to check the brood pattern.  They looked great.  There were lots of larvae on a few frames and a few others had babies emerging.  They seem really healthy!  I was also pleased to see how much comb had been drawn out in the last two weeks.

As I continued pulling frames, I was ecstatic to see two or three frames that were nearly full of capped honey!  I could tell before I even got them out that they were pretty full because they are so heavy!  They are beautiful to hold up in the light and see the bright color. 

I am so pleased with the bees.  They are working so hard and doing so well.  Their spot under the lilacs seems just about perfect as it keeps them shaded, and keeps their flight path in our front yard.  They go right up into the sky in the space between our trees and the lilacs.  Even with 30,000 of them coming and going you really don't notice them.

New super frames being added

I also realized that they only have about three frames to go, so I already need to put on my first super!  And it's not even July yet!  I'm pretty sure we'll have honey to harvest this year!  I went and got the queen excluder and the super frame.  I installed them with 5 small frames.  I'll check the super again before we leave for the Beartooths, and see if they've started on them.  If they have I'll add the rest of the super frames.

A shallow super on top of our growing hive

 

Gulley's Hive Tour

I noticed on Facebook that Gulley's Greenhouse was having a hive tour.  It's a great chance to look into someone else's hive and ask some questions of a more experienced bee keeper.

Traffic at the hive entrace

I took my veil and hard hat and was joined by about five other people.  Everyone suited up and the beekeepers seemed like a really nice husband and wife team.  They had about six hives on the west side of the greenhouse property.  I'm always surprised to see hives in such close proximity.  It seems to me that it's an easy way for disease and parasites to spread.  They had yellow and blue hives, sitting in pairs.  And they had them elevated on cinder blocks.  It was just about bee-thirty, so there was a lot of activity.

It's interesting to watch people who are brand new to bees and their understandable caution.  The older couple and the two young girls stood off a bit.  But already being comfortable, I got right next to the hive so I could see in.

Healthy "bull's eye" brood pattern in a plastic frame

They pulled the super and pried off the queen excluder.  I couldn't believe how dirty it was!!  My hive being brand new is still so clean.  These hives were a sticky dark mess!  I'm sure this is how mine will look eventually, but I was very surprised.  The bees were healthy, happy, and busy.  The comb was very dark, having a lived in look.  They pulled out a frame and it was good to see the bull's eye pattern of brood.  A healthy queen will lay primarily in the center of the frame, and the workers will fill around the corners with honey and pollen.  It was a good reminder that I need to check my kids next time I'm in the hive.

I also noticed that their frames fit really tight.  I almost have enough room to fit an eleventh frame in my hive bodies.  It was also interesting to see that he was using a 10 inch knife instead of a hive tool.  I like how beekeepers are inventive and resourceful caretakers.  I also asked what they use for smoker fuel, but after seeing how poorly the grass and leaves lit and smoked, I might keep buying the commercial pellets.  Even though they don't last very long, they smoke great, and perhaps I can find something to supplement/extend the smoking time.

Dark honey scraped open

When he pulled a second frame from the edge, it scraped on the one next to it opening a lot of honey.  It was dripping down onto the bees before he could even get it out.  It was a really dark honey, unlike mine which is nearly white in comparison.  Of course they were pleased to share and we all had a taste!  It was delicious!  It definitely had a different taste than mine.  It was a deeper rich honey.  Mine is so light and delicate.  I can't wait to be able to harvest more than a taste!

Honey to taste!

It was so great to be able to ask some of the questions that I have now, since we're half way through the first season.  They said that they only leave 4 frames per body for the bees to winter over.  That seems like way too much to take to me, but I am definitely not the experienced beekeeper.  It was also interesting to hear that they lost about 80% of their 15 or so hives last year.  Last year was especially rough for the bees last year because the fires were so intense.  Smoke makes the bees gorge on honey in the hive as they fuel up anticipating having to flee the hive.  But this also makes them a bit lethargic and they don't forage.  It's a definite recipe for colony failure so I'm glad we're starting this year instead of last.

It was also good to hear that they put the bottom board back in and insulate the hives for winter.  There are just so many little things that you begin to wonder about as you go through the year.  Beekeepers seem to be a really friendly bunch and are always willing to share their knowledge. The plight of our pollinators is something everyone is taking seriously and everyone is working towards educating people.

After the tour, I went back into the greenhouse to find some more Salvia and purple stuff.  My bees are on it and the Lavender all the time.  I got a bunch of stuff and some orange things too . . . since it compliments the purple house.  It'll be nice to get it onto the flower beds and see what the bees think!

All of these pictures are from Gulley's Facebook page.  So thanks to them for posting.

The Girls are BUSY

The evening rush at the hive entrance

It's so amazing to see just how hard bees really work.  They are busy expanding into the second hive body.  There is a constant stream of air traffic coming and going from the lilacs.  I took some pictures at "Bee Thirty" which is about 530pm in people time.

They seem to be happy and thriving.  So I'm very pleased with this colony so far.

My Bees are Famous!

They've only been here a month, but my bees are already famous!  I saw a post of facebook about some hives that had been seized in Illinois, with a photo of a rather familiar looking queen.  I double checked, and sure enough, it was one of my photos.

Illinois Seizes Bees Resistant to Roundup

We're Famous

Newbees

As promised, here's a picture of the of the newbies.

1. is a young bee.  They are slightly smaller and fuzzier.  They also seem a little bit grey to me.

2. is two tiny holes in the capping that a baby bee is chewing through to get out.

3. is a bee that has just chewed through her whole cap and is emerging into the hive.

So awesome to see!  It's exciting and brand new for me each time I open the hive.

Adding a second hive body

I also added my second hive body today.  The bees have filled out 8 of their frames, so I decided it was time to go ahead and double their space.

Grey & Black Mold inside the Outer Cover. (Notice the condensation from the Inner Cover)

I'm also going to try to deal with the mold today.  This can't be good for the bees.  The top feeder I'm using has caused a great deal of evaporation.  The water then condenses on the hive lid, and being in such close proximity to the sugar water, it's been growing mold on the sides of the feeding and the lid.  I've cleaned the feeder, and left the lid out to dry for a while, but the mold has persisted.  So today I'm going to scrub the lid and bleach it to hopefully kill the mold.  Then I'm going to paint it.  This way if I do get mold again, it will at least be easy to wipe off.

Hopefully this will not become a health issue for my colony.

Babies!!

I did a hive inspection today and noticed there were NEW BEES!!!  The babies are hatching!  I first noticed them on a frame because they looked a bit smaller and a bit grey.  Bees lose hair as they age, so the babies are definitely fuzzier.  To confirm that what I was seeing was actually new bees, I looked closely at the comb to see if I could see any cells that looked like they had been recently uncapped.  I was very surprised to see a young bee actually chewing her way out!!  It was really exciting to see one being born, and then another and another!

It's really amazing to see the life cycle of these tiny creatures.

I'll try to get pictures next time I'm out there.  I had chicken on the BBQ so I was trying to hurry . . . and not get stung ;)

The Sting at 72 hours

Bee Sting at 72 hours

I woke up this morning, 72 hours after being stung and could barely walk.  The swelling had gotten worse again overnight and the aching was terrible.  We had to get to The Studio for preregistration, so I limped around the house and got some ibuprophen and got ready to go.  We took an ice pack too, and I sat with it elevated and kept the ice on it.  This really helped the swelling and with the swelling went the ache.  Then it started itching!!!  This was the first of the itch . . . much akin to having your extremities rewarm after being out in the cold too long.

So it would seem that I'm perhaps moderately allergic to bee venom.  I'm very grateful it's nothing like real anaphylaxis.  That would be terrifying.

So the moral of the story is:  Don't approach the hive from the front wearing shorts.  Doh!

I got STUNG!!

Bee Sting in the first hour

It was only a matter of time, but I got my first sting from one of my days today.  I was walking up to the hive, wearing shorts and sandals, when one came barreling out of the entrance and ran right into my leg.  She stuck to my ankle and I quickly tried to brush her off, but she was still stuck. Before I could get her off she had stung me.  I moved away from the hive as quickly as possible and had the stinger removed in a matter of seconds.

The sting really wasn't that bad, but by evening it was swelling and aching as if I'd been hit with a hammer.  A half dollar size welt/bruise seems to be pretty normal for a bee sting reaction, but my swelling and redness was in the softball size realm.

Bee Sting at 24 hours

It seems that the swelling is causing most of the pain.  This is the ankle that took a serious shot in a bike wreck a few months ago, which makes me wonder if perhaps the effects of the sting are being amplified.  In either case, the sting really wasn't so bad, it's the swelling induced aching and stiffness that's been miserable.  I'll keep you posted.

Queen Sighting

Chillin' on the smoker

After having read more from the NCBA's Mentor Blogs, I decided I should probably check the bees sooner rather than later.  They burned through 8 cups of sugar water in less than 48hours.  Knowing that they don't have a lot of comb built, I wanted to check to be sure the girls aren't crowding the queen out by hoarding syrup.

Newly capped brood & pollen

Inside the hive I found more and deeper comb that I'd seen last weekend.  And as you can see above, a lot of the brood has been capped.  If you look closely you can still see a few larvae.  This was exciting for me to see, as I've been waiting for it to happen.  It also means I'll have my first new bees in the hive soon!

I also wanted to find the queen, if for no other reason just to get a look at her.  I'd been advised that I'd see her by the behavior of the bees around her.  I inspected frames and saw new eggs and new honey.  I am even pretty sure I saw a drone.  Then on my second to last frame, THERE SHE WAS!!

Carniolan Queen Bee in the hive

And I thought, "Oh yeah, how could I miss her.  She's the big black one that all the others get out of the way for."  After I had spotted her it was easy to see how the other bees tried to keep out of her way.

Apis Mellifera Carnica Queen inspecting comb

I could tell she was inspecting the comb for empty cells to lay more eggs in.  She wasn't having much luck, so I'll probably wait a few days before I give them any more syrup.  Hopefully this will slow their storage, and give them time to keep building comb.  It was a huge relief to spot her and a I feel confident I could find her again.

Carniolan Queen Bee

Her big black body made me think of the Xenomorph's in "Alien".

NBC Nightly News - Bee Shortage

NBC News had a story on last night about Colony Collapse Disorder and how the Bee Shortage Threatens Farmland.

First inspection . . . EVER!!

Carniolan Worker Bee with Pollen

 

I'm so happy to see significant activity at the hive entrance.  The bees are bringing back loads of pollen.  It's really interesting to see how some of it is really orange and some of the pollen is a much more pale yellow.

I stand and watch the hive from about 5 feet away at the edge of our lilacs, and it feels like you're in the airspace of a busy airport as the bees lumber right past your ears.

I was finally able to get my veils and my smoker came, so I've been anxiously awaiting a warm dry day that I'd be able to do my first hive inspection.  I smoked the entrance and the feeder, then cracked open the hive and gave it a few puffs before closing it again.  They reacted angrily, but I think it was really more to the disturbance of air, than they actually recognized me as a threat.

I was thrilled with what I found in the hive.  None of the frames were completely filled out, but the girls had made a good start on 6 of the 10.  I'd say they probably have 4 completely full if you could consolidate them all.  Pretty impressive considering these are all still package bees.  They won't have reinforcements for at least another week and a half.

Larvae in the comb

It's really important that you can confirm that the queen is laying eggs and the colony is off to a good start.  In this picture (click it for a larger view) you can actually see larvae growing (lower left half)!  This was a huge relief for me just to know things are going well so far.

The bees were super tolerant and even though my smoker died, I was able to pull out each frame and inspect it without any guard bees getting angry.  And I took the time to take pictures.

Eggs, Pollen, and New Honey

In this picture you can see orange pollen in the comb (in the middle).  Below the pollen you can see the shine of new uncapped honey.  They bees will wait for it to dehydrate before capping it off to preserve it.  If you look closely above the pollen, you can see eggs in comb!  This is another great indicator that the queen is doing well.  In fact, that might be her at the top left three bees down.  Carniolan queens are notoriously hard to spot because they have slightly darker bodies and are nearly the same size as the worker bees.  When I first saw her in her package my first thought was "Really?! I'll never be able to find her again."

I'm sure as I'm able to spend more time with them, she'll reveal herself either in photos or in the behavior of the bees.  I try to work quickly to keep from stressing them, but I do check them every day, mostly because I'm excited about them.

Springtime in the Rockies

I feel bad for the girls.  They are getting a proper introduction to springtime in the Rocky Mountains as we've gotten nearly another foot of snow (the bee package came from CA).  It's melting fast, and there are ice crystals in their feeder.  I've seen noticeable dead loss at the entrance. I think the bees are pushing out their frozen sisters.

I peeked under the feeder and they were still moving, but definitely looked cold and miserable.  I think the snow will be gone in the next 24 hours, so hopefully it will warm up quickly.

Red Helper "Bee"

I got flowers at home depot and got them all potted and a few outside to help feed the bees, but they are all in the airlock now, to keep them from freezing as well.  Rocket doesn't mind, she likes playing in the snow.

Springtime

Here's he freshly painted and assembled adirondack chairs.  At least I got the garden tilled again before it got wet.