SNOWMAGETTINGIT!

 Super Bowl Sunday and Maxine was shocked to awaken to our first major storm of the winter.

The cold snap a few weeks ago put the hurts to 3 of my hives.  Today I preformed a honey bee nercropsy on each of the hives to determine the cause of death.  Each hive had honey, some more than others.


 As temperatures drop, the bees draw closer together to conserve heat. The outer layer of bees is tightly compressed, insulating the bees within the cluster. As the temperature rises and falls, the cluster expands and contracts. The bees within the cluster have access to the food stores. During warm periods, the cluster shifts its position to cover new areas of comb containing honey. An extremely prolonged cold spell can prohibit cluster movement, and the bees may starve to death only inches away from honey.

 I bundled up and put the snow shoes to tour around in the storm with the dogs.

 When you've got the proper gear, its not too bad out

My buddy Jace came by and ran the blade down the lane.  But, from the looks of things I won't be going any where soon.

 I knocked a 10" thick layer of snow off the side of the hoop house and it sprang right back up.



 
We've got a few more inches of snow in the forecast  yet.






I'm thinking snow day Monday!







13" of snow later... Thankful for our neighbor Dustin, who dug us out!