On a clear late-winter day a man walks through a birch forest, his ash-framed snowshoes crunching over the crusty snow. Swinging by his side is his shooting pouch holding black powder, and in his left hand is a flintlock muzzleloader. He stops, takes out his black powder and loads the rifle while eyeing up the nearby targets.  As he aims there is a brief pause as if everything in the woods held its breath just before the ear-blasting pop from the rifle shot rings.  

Senescence is the decline in vigor that happens to all creatures great and diminutive as they close in on the life expectancy of their species. People my age suddenly find they require reading glasses to see the phone book. Though I suppose by definition anyone still using a phone book is old enough to need glasses, right?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to retire and become a snowbird—move south for the winter, maybe Florida or South Carolina, dodge the winter bullet? Heck, some of you might be reading this from those warmer climes, wondering about the winter you missed out on. 

In short, we’re coming out of the 2^nd warmest winter on record. 

Don't miss New York State Maple Weekends, March 23-24th and 30-31, 2019! Visit https://mapleweekend.nysmaple.com/ for details.

Driving through St. Lawrence County, no matter what time of year, it's not uncommon to see herds of livestock along the roadsides. The strong speckled bodies of cows stand together in groups, their hooves barely denting the frozen ground beneath them. Sheep gather around mounds of hay, some of them practically camouflaged under the piles of snow that accumulate on their backs.

February 21-27 is National Invasive Species Awareness Week, not to be confused with New York State’s Invasive Species Awareness Week, which happens in July. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer a Blissful Ignorance Week when it comes to creepy insect pests. But since I can only keep my head in the sand so long before my ears get itchy, what the heck—bring on this “Awareness” stuff.

The willows are weeping, but then so is every other flavor of tree in northern New York right now. The storm that hit the northeast on President’s Day brought significant ice to New York state’s northern tier, ice which has persisted for nearly a week now. If your birches are bent, spruces sagging or crabapples crooked, don’t let the ice get you down as well. As long as we don’t get a heavy snow on top of the ice load, many of these trees will straighten up over the spring and summer. Even if a tree remains stooped come July, judicious pruning can help straighten things out.

The winter weather may have taken its time getting here this year, but I think we can agree that the North Country has once again been transformed into the icy, frigid landscape we have come to know and love (or at the very least, tolerate begrudgingly).

With snow covering the ground, ice coating our walkways, and Jack Frost nipping at our noses, agricultural pollinators are probably the last things on our minds. However, for the dedicated enthusiasts among us, one question remains: where are the bees?