Winter Blues

Winter has been long and blue this year! The photo above is a typical scene from our front windows at breakfast time. The blue-light and the snow have persisted. We have probably set new records this year for the most number of days with snow on the ground. By my count through the end of February we have had 77 days of snow cover since October 1. These were not consecutive days, but total days with many separate snowy days.

It has also been FAR COLDER than we can ever remember. For November the Average temp was 37.7, December was 21.1, January was 25.6, and February was 26.7. January and February normally have average temps above freezing, but not this year! Compared to average: Nov = -2.6°; Dec = -4.7°; Jan = -7.8° Feb = -9.1°; Brrr...

March is usually the month of our heaviest snowfall. Where is spring?

As for the Bees, as it warmed up briefly to 50°F today, we saw some bees from the feral colony we captured last spring. The other two look like they are goners.

The birds (chickens) don't seem to mind the cold as much. They consume more feed in the winter and produce fewer eggs, but we are still getting plenty with an average of about 2 Dozen eggs per week over the winter. Based on the going rate for the feed, we figure these eggs are costing us about $1.60 per dozen. Not bad considering the store price for organic free-range eggs is about $3.50 per dozen.