Tomorrow's just another birthday

Well. there he is Cletus the boar. He enjoys digging himself a very deep nest under the hay and straw. He also enjoys dumping out his food and water. So I am not really certain how much he is eating but he is still growing and doesn't look ribby so I'll leave it at that.

We have lots of snow on the ground and we are still digging out from last week. Lots of barns have collasped in the area under the weight of it. A North Country "handy" item to have is a Snow Rake, that you use to pull the snow off the roof. When we first came up here and folks would mention a snow rake I thought it was like going on a snipe hunt. You know something you tell newbies to waste their time looking for and you get a good chuckle out of it.

But signs on spring are pressing onward. I had chicks delivered last Sunday, the day before we had another foot of snow. But they are as cute as can be and are doing just fine. I got an assortment of Buff Orpingtons, New Hamshires and Delawares, and the exotic freebie is a Polish Crested.

I placed my order for package bees and a few extra Carniolan Queens for spring arrival. I hope to requeen a few hives or make some splits. There were quite a few swarms last year so I thought I might try to use the pheromone and capture one or two o start Nucs. I've been reading the Honey Bee Democracy so I thought I might use some of this knowledge before I forget it. But if the spring weather is bad it won't matter anyway. Last year was an excellent bee year.