I attended an incredible bee class at the UofMN saturday.
 We are fortunate to have great research and instruction in our state.
 People came from as far as New York to attend.

  i'm not thrilled about snow in April, however, it does mean i few more days of sap run before the buds come out and its over.  so that's ok.
 i suspect the first planting of sweet corn will be on schedule; April 25th is my target date

Spring!!! syrup, bees, seeds

    for me, spring starts when the sap starts to run
    it started today
     bees to feed
    seeds arrive daily
  life is grand
      

It was nice and warm yesterday, so I went out to feed the bees before the cold snap.
All colonies are alive and doing well.  All boiling out the top, so the timing was right for giving them sugar cakes. 
   Our sales of honey have gradually increased.  We need more colonies.  I hope all will survive so we can split them in the spring instead of buying more.
  We grew buckwheat in the fall, partly for manure crop, and partly for the bees so they could go into the winter healthier and happier.  At this point it seems to have paid off.

Jeff’s pumpkin bar recipe

2 cups whole wheat flower

2/3 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar; not packed

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon; heaping

1/8 tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ginger

1/3 cup oil

2/3 cup apple sauce

4 eggs

2 cups baked pie pumpkin (nistler farms pumpkins preferred)

½ cup baked squash (yes, nistler farms too)

large pan for bars

375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes

great vine crops this year and incredible demand right up to halloween(today).   at one point i thought we harvested way more than we could sell, however, the demand was so good right to the end that i think there isn't even one full bin out in the shed. 
   these two lovelys i could not part with at any price.  for a while i was bringing them to market just for people to look, maybe touch, maybe.  at one point, a fellow vendor, who shall remain nameless, sent a "customer" to offer me 50 dollars for the one on the right.  they were somewhat surprised that i didnt accept the offer.  certainly something we do and enjoy should be above, or maybe outside of, commerce.
  it was pretty funny at first, however, eventually, i had to hide them in the cab because there were so few pumpkins left to sell that people gravitated to these and then were sort of mad that they couldn't buy them.
  i won't carve them.  i suspect they'll last a few weeks on the kitchen table.
still have squash and pie pumpkins for november.
the season moves on; birch, dogwood, spruce tops, broom corn for a few weeks, then Christmas trees.
 

It's that time of year
 pumpkin emergencies abound