Why the hell he wanted to get into the bee business is beyond me, he's busier than a cat with diarrhea now! Jim and I go over to Scotty's might fine shop (he was a contractor before he became a farmer?) every Monday night to hammer together hives, fit frames and BS about all manner of things. We have a good time just being boys.
Scotty and his daughter had a great time sledding on the old campaign signs we picked up for bee hive bottom use. Plastic Cardboard. It makes good sled, and campaign signs are everywhere. Scotty and Isabelle raced according to the names on the sign ... Mr so and so beat Mr. so and so. A fitting use of campaign signs! When you're done with the sign, you don't have to hear from 'em until the next snow! Hope it's a long time... Snow and Politicians!
So, bottom line, THE SNOW"S GONE. After a rain, we have 2 inches of snow mush...the dreaded Red Clay Monster is loose.Madison County has been out of school for 11 days. They decided to have school today.
I doubt, from my experience last nigh, the buses will have an easy time of it on the myriad of back roads in the county. David's Home Church Road is a short cut for me to Scotty's, and about 4 miles of it is dirt...excuse me, snow mush mud, dreaded Ga. Red Mud, slicker than deer guts on a doorknob...mixed with half melted snow.
The dirt road up from the Broad River was ice, with water under it, which snow tires would have bit right through it. The wimpy street tires on my twin cab, 2 wheel drive, 8 foot bed, Chevy Pickup truck, all 30 feet of it, wimped out. I cussed it like a mule, stayed out of the ditches, and made it up the grade from the river to the shop in one piece. All those old West Virginia driving tricks came back, especially the cussin'. I guess I should have kept my snow tires. Al Gore could be wrong...he is a politician, you know.
I took the hard road back to D-ville...in the rain. No since in pushing your luck sliding around in the dark. "Done that, ticked it off", as they say in Australia.
Now, you wonder, does that have to do with Scotty's trip to South Carolina? It's GARDEN TIME! Start the seeds in the green house and get out the seed catalogs. I hardly ever buy anything, but they are pretty to look at!
Time to change oil in the Troy Bilt, find the hoes, re-handle rakes, start looking for 'tater seed stock, start growing sweet potato slips. All manner of garden stuff got to happen in the next month. I jumped the gun last year in the Feb. thaw...and "mudded" in my "Arish taters" I ended up replanting, but it was a fun gamble ...to be the first on the block with taters.
My soil is fairly sandy and easy to work early, a blessing and a curse. Easy to work and hard to keep watered...lots of mulch and drip, and a good well!
So Scotty's in the greenhouse, I'm loading peat pots, the bees are asleep, but not for long...Jim said one of his queens was laying already, in the top super, she's moving up. Next warm day they fly, I'll add a hive body to mine, I guess. Bee work next Monday night...hope the road is better! UPS is supposed to deliver all the frames and foundation we ordered last night. I take ages to put frames together and add foundation to 400 frames!
Daffodils will be blooming in a month and SNOW'S GONE, for this week. Friday's weather is calling for: Sunny highs in the mid 40's, 20 % chance of rain in the afternoon with flurries. Now what kind of forecast is that? It's said by the said by the locals that " if snow stays on the ground for 3 days another 'un will foller soon". What in hell do people in Danielsville Georgia know about SNOW. Nada, Zip, Nothing. We don't have but one snow plow in the county, to my knowledge.
The 1's and 0's are working better now...maybe Bryan fixed the one eyed monster.
And that's the news from the Strugglesville Siding, Ga.30633, this 40 degree,cloudy day with... NO SNOW!
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