February’s Farm Notes 2021
February fit the old adage for March here at Fourteen Acre Wood. In like a lion, out like a lamb. We’re still a bit behind in rain/snowfall, and February did it’s best to try to help with that. We did get a several inches of snow over this short month, however it’s what came with the snow that created a few extra challenges. The absolute coldest week we have seen in our 22 years here poured in from the artic and as you all know made its way to the Gulf of Mexico. We bottomed out at -12*, but it could have been worse.
Frozen Gold Fish Pond
The chickens spent most of their days inside the coop watching their feed get devoured by dozens of hungry winter birds. Food wasn’t the only issue, keeping water in a liquid form was impossible. Even the Silkies heat lamp couldn’t defrost a massive chunk of ice. This situation required three waterings a day. For the big coop we borrowed two of the three nest boxes. One for a bowl of feed and the other for a large pie pan with a small brick in the center for water. It worked and the girls still kept laying eggs everyday despite the cold.
A Few Hens Braving the Cold for a Moment of Sunshine
Inside, I think we might have gone through a quarter cord of wood in one week!! We didn’t lose our electricity or have any blackouts, like many others did, but were ready in case that did happen. Now, we don’t usually keep the woodstove going 24 hours a day, but when we do we try to utilize that energy for more than just heat. Eggs and sausage in the morning, baked potatoes and stovetop veggies in the evening. Speaking of veggies, farm goal #1 for 2021 is to preserve at least twice as much food as 2020. The frozen carrots and strawberries ran out in January. There is currently only one bag of green beans, one quart of tomatoes, one quart of soup veggies and two quarts of beets left.
Now for the bees. The last thing you want to do during a cold spell is get into your hives. You simply have to leave them alone and hope the insulation does well enough to keep them alive. This is where the story of March’s lion visiting in February ends. The lamb appeared.
Remember that -12* day? A week later, nearly 70*. I put on my boots and trudged along puddles of water, mud and what I could only describe as Missouri permafrost. I didn’t have to make it all the way into the bee yard to see that our bees were alive and well!! Later in the day, Dan took a closer look to see we had lost one hive, which is actually quite good even after a normal winter. This second distanced visit also revealed that our bees were robbing the emptied hive. It is even possible that some of the bees had survived the winter, but would have been quickly destroyed by robber bees. Another thing about robber bees is that they are in no mood for intruders. After I received a quick smack by one on the shoulder followed by a quick smack on my forehead, I knew it was time to get home! Although some beekeepers believe it is simply a coincidence that honey bees often “smack” you before stinging, most believe it is a warning that is best to heed.
Here in a few weeks we’ll probably start spring inspections of all the hives in all three yards.
Onto March and spring planting!! We hope you enjoyed this month’s farm notes.
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Audrey L Elder
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