November Hill farm journal, 176

 Our local weather forecaster says we’re having an early spring this year, and with an 81 degree day yesterday it certainly feels like we’ve fast forwarded all the way to early summer. 

The row of daffodils along the entrance to our big barnyard has been spectacular this year, and I hope to move the remaining bulbs from the front pollinator bed to the fence line on the other side of the barnyard gate to make a matched set in this area for next spring. 

I’m seeing maples flowering and the redbuds are getting close to bloom as well. The tulip poplars can’t be too far behind, and that is when the honey bees, already very busy, will go into high gear. I have 3 out of 5 colonies coming out of winter this year, and I need to clean out the two hives that didn’t make it so I’ll have space for splits. My most prolific colony, Hegemone, is likely to grow so quickly coming into springI will be able populate both my empty hives, and their genetics is definitely worth expanding. 

It also feels like time to do some cutting and stacking of old growth in the pollinator beds, and I know from past years that if I put it off too long the new growth will win the race and I’ll have to go in oh so carefully with my clippers. 

Horses and pony and donkeys are all good, and came in with fans yesterday afternoon because 81 degrees with still wintry coats on is just too much! They’re all shedding and have been, but not fast enough to be ready for that temperature. 

Our stream of birthdays that cluster in February, March, and April has begun, and this year we also have something else to celebrate: my daughter has been accepted into her top choice PhD program! We’re all so happy for her, and I am overjoyed that as it turns out, her top choice is also a local choice, so in at least some ways, life will roll on with my loved ones close by. 

Spring! I am very ready for it, and excited for all the things that will be coming up - in the gardens, and in our lives.