Quote of Day: Little House in the Big Woods
Now the winter seemed long. Laura and Mary began to be tired of staying always in the house.
Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House in the Big Woods)
Winter is starting to seem long to me. We had a nice sunny warm day last week and it seemed like spring was on it’s way. We went for a nice long walk to enjoy the weather. This week we got a bunch more snow and the temps are back down into the single digits. I know we still have many more long weeks of winter, but I start getting antsy for spring once we have one nice day. Since I haven’t ordered any of my seeds yet, I should be thankful we still have so much winter left. I’ll be doing that next week after I get my taxes finished.
Do you tire of being in the house during the cold winter months?
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Snug as Bugs
We’ve been keeping an ear to our ladies this winter. Mr Chiots heads out after each snow fall and makes sure the doors are clear of snow and he scrapes away and dead bees from the entrance. He puts his ear up the hives and listens for that buzzing of bees beating their wings to keep warm. Both of our hives are still buzzing away, one’s louder than the other.
During winter, the worker bees cluster around the queen and brood in the hive. They try to keep the temperature at about 90 degrees. The bees from the outer parts of the cluster will move to the inside as the bees from the inside move out. This way all the bees stay warm throughout the cold winter. On warmer days they’ll take cleansing flights, basically to go to the bathroom. We haven’t had any days warm enough for such flights yet, but we may have one in the next few weeks. We’ll be watching the hives to see what happens come spring.
We’re hoping to have a good honey harvest this coming summer if both of our hives survive. Learning how bees work really makes me appreciate the honey I put in my tea, it’s amazing what they go through to make it!
What kind of foods do you appreciate that take such intricacy to produce?
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It’s Time
I try to make sure I enjoy each season, instead of longing for the next one. However, once I take down the lights and garland I start getting antsy for spring.
What about you, do you have spring fever yet?
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Quote of the Day: Cloak of Winter
“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter
lies a miracle.”
The view from my kitchen window, big trees (oak, maple & cherry), surrounded by various ground covers & weeds. It is lovely this time of year with a blanket of snow protecting the gardens (and hiding the weeds).
What do you see from your kitchen window?
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Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful
Well, I wouldn’t say “frightful”, I love the snow and cold weather. It has been quite cold around here, temperatures in the single digits with wind chills below zero.
We’ve been getting snow every day, which sends Mr Chiots out to shovel and get some exercise. If we don’t keep the back porch shoveled it quickly become an ice rink that takes weeks to thaw since it doesn’t get a drop of sunlight.
All of this snow of course has it’s drawbacks when you have somewhere to go. They do a pretty good job here in rural Ohio keeping the roads drivable but every now and then they can get a little scary.
Since Mr Chiots lived for many years in Florida and I grew up in South America on the equator, so we really appreciate this weather. I love living where there are seasons.
What’s the weather like where for you: snowy and cold, or sunny and warm?
