Coyotes and spring

Last night at just about this time, it was dusk, and I looked out the kitchen window which looks down beyond the pond where the woods meets the lawn, and see two coyotes.  One of them went into the woods to the right, into the pines.  The other sat down beyond a small woodpile of useless hemlock and waited for the other one it seemed.  I think that was correct because finally the other one came out of the pines and headed down the hill away from his companion and me.

By that time, I was wondering if there was any communication between them.  I thought that because one night a few years back, I listened as two coyotes signaled each other.  First they were very far away, and they would answer each other from opposite sides of the little canyon beyond my house.  I listened to them get closer and closer until there was silence again.  I figured they found each other.  It was so beautiful.

So I opened the window to hear something like that.  But there was silence.  As I closed the window, the sitting and waiting pup heard me.  And he or she took off like lightening!  In the opposite direction from the companion.

I sort of figured, afterwards, that it was a mother and child.  The mother sat by the logs waiting for the other to do a bit of wandering on its own.  Perhaps the "child" was hunting in there.  The "mother's" attention appeared to be so very watchful.

Seeing and hearing wildlife is such fun.

2/12/17 - snowstorms and downtime

What I like about the winter is that it's a time when you can snuggle up with a book or a movie or a game and wile away the day guilt free!  If I get one or two chores done, know what's for dinner and had my shower, and make the bed, then I feel like I can do that for the rest of the day.  But that's about the only thing I like about the winter.

I'm a summer gal/lady/old lady/grandma lady...through and through.  This week, I began the process of 'thinking summer'.  I planted some seeds.

Someone sent a link about starting seeds outside in January and February in empty plastic jugs that have been cut in half and had holes drilled for drainage.  Then fill them with dirt, plant your seeds, water thoroughly and put the cover back on and tape it shut a bit and put outside.  I put them on  my patio table.  I need more jugs, but have one more to use this week.

Today I finished cleaning my last hive part and painting the outside of the last super.  Others are all done and waiting to go out in late April to be ready for bees to come in early May. I like starting the year with cleaned hive parts. It's easy to do if you lose your bees because it's starting fresh.  Not really what we want but it happens very often. If all the parts are outside being used, it's more difficult to get them all cleaned each year.

I'm excited about this year because I will start with two Nucs.  That will give me two hives where I can compare them and also use them to supplement the other hive, if needed.  It would be great to have two fully functioning hives.

I will treat for varroa mites this year and will not allow bee robbing which is what happened this year. I allowed my hive too many entrances and this gave robbers another avenue in.  Plus my hive wasn't strong enough to fend them off.

I just saw a notice in the Brattleboro Beekeepers Facebook page that some mushrooms are being used (experimentally) to control varroa mites!  That would be wonderful.  Another tool in the toolbox.  It seems that they just made a solution with it and let the bees drink. That would be easy for the beekeeper to manage.

Mid February is all about getting through it.  Today is our second snowstorm in a week...or is it the third? It might be the third.  But who's counting?