"Yeah but I been a working man, dang near all my life."

-Posted by Isaac

Notice how Merle holds that cigarette with this picking hand-- a lost art.

I've done a bit of working the last two bitter weeks and this old Merle song has popped into my head. My thinking was that I would regale you with some of my superhuman efforts to keep bees alive. This involved crowing about my past and how you've got to step up your game when times get tough. The tough get going, right? I was going to make myself into some kind of working man hero with that song as my backdrop. "...gotta buy my kid a brand new pair of shoes..."
But yesterday I walked by the barn and noticed this:

Skis n' Bees

 And I realized something... who am I kidding? Most of my life has been play. In fact, just about all of it. There was one small and horrid stint of teaching school. I can say that felt like real work. But for the most part, throughout my life, when the cold comes and when the snow falls in blankets, when things get tough... the tough get going...
                                                                  skiing.

King of the Hill

 I've been busy feeding bees, yes, but we can't deny a few hours (every day) for fun.
The Crown Hill Nordic Center has been practically empty. Come on out! You'll have the trails to yourself.

I just don't know how they manage to stay in business.

So the weather got nasty didn't it? Just a week ago the mercury was reading -19 F at our place. Kind of tough on bees. Does this remind you of anything rather recent? Like, hmmm, about a year ago...

SINNERS REPENT!

It only furthers my conviction that God has it out for the Bible Belt. And our Bible Belt bees.

But we won't let any little thing like the wrath of God stop us. 

We're going to save our girls!

I've been feeding a select few of the hives most of the winter, but this past week everybody got a patty. This was homemade stuff, about 800 pounds of sugar and a lot of mixing.

This time of year the bees are brooding. They need to keep that precious next generation warm...at 90 degrees or above. A tough task when just outside the hive, winter howls, -35 windchill.
I don't know how anyone survives. It's a miracle, really.
But to make the miracle happen, bees need calories! And that's my job. (The big working man pats his back.)
Here's a pick-up load:

Unfortunately you can't just drive up to the hives and dump them in. In fact, my 4x4 is in the shop (Of all pleasant weeks for that to happen!), so it's been a lot of walking.

The bees are doing good, I'm glad to report. Still hanging in there, and I'm happy to pay them a visit. Even though it has, at times, almost resembled actual work.

"Gotta buy my kid a brand new pair of shoes."

"And sing a little bit of these working man blues..."