Easy Decisions

There is a certain level of stress that comes with options.  If you are given no choice, then you just go about doing whatever it is you have to do.  Perhaps you'll grumble about it, but you won't worry too much in the process. But when you can select from a smorgasbord of options, there is an inherent worry that builds the more you consider the relative value each selection might bring with it.

Some options might be very good for you but leave you feeling uninspired.  Other options are exciting and enticing but are definitely a bad idea for your future health.  Then there are all of the gradations in between and the little twists and extra bells and whistles that can be added on top of it all.  Trying to figure out the best solution is probably impossible.  Yet we still let the pressure build as we try to figure it out.

And I was just talking about figuring out what to take from the buffet line for a meal.

I think you get the point.  Sometimes it is easier to accept what is placed in front of you and just decide what goes in your mouth and what does not.  Yes or no can be hard enough sometimes.

Well, we've got a few simple choices to make on the farm this year.  One of which has to do with whether or not we need to get some late winter food to our bees.  The answer for two of the hives is "no."  Why?  Well, there is no reason to feed a hive that has no living bees left in it.  So, it's pretty simple.  The next task for those two hives is to clean them up and prepare for some new bees this spring.  Though, I suppose we have choices there too - do we try to get those hives going again or not?

Interestingly enough, one of the hives still has bees and we did provide them with some additional food.  This was the hive we fully expected to die out as it was the weakest of the three entering the cold months.  Nonetheless, there they were, buzzing as we checked on them during a warmer, calm moment on the farm recently.  I really was expecting to find nobody home and then I'd just start cleaning that one up.

I guess not.  And I really hope they'll still be with us once the dandelions are in bloom.

Another "easy decision" has to do with the lean-to on the Poultry Pavilion.  There was a time not that long ago that we were thinking we might try to rehab the existing framework and just use that.  But, the rapid deterioration over the past couple years made the decision easier.

The best rehab will be to take the old lean-to down and put up new.

It's always amazing how much easier things get once it becomes clear that there is really one choice.  Well, I suppose we have a couple of choices here if I wanted to get persnickety.  We could ignore it and let it come down on its own OR we could help it to come down.  And, yes, we can make choices about timing too.  But once we took the whole series of options away that had to do with shoring up block walls and replacing this, that and the other thing... it got much easier.  And suddenly I find I have more energy for it than I did when there were so many roads we could travel.

It's a fascinating thing - how we react in moments when we either have a paucity or plethora of choices.  For example, I had a whole BUNCH of excellent words I could have used instead of "paucity or plethora."  I agonized for a whole thirty seconds considering those choices before coming up with that selection.  

And you know what?  I actually relished making that choice.  Certainly there was some low-grade pressure involved in the process.  But the task of exploring, considering and choosing was, on the whole, a good thing.  As I think on it, I think I would also have preferred to have more choices to make with respect to living bees too.  I find that I can accept and even appreciate some of the pressures that come with more menu options.

Most of the time.

But I am happy that we aren't going to try to fix that old lean-to.  Sometimes easy decisions that are pushed on you can be a good thing too.

Not to Bee

A few weeks ago...

Ok, I think it was a few weeks ago.  Let's be honest here, sometimes I have trouble figuring out exactly how long it has been since we have done certain things on the farm.  I am sure other "busy" people have this happen to them too.  

But, as I was saying...

What seems like a few weeks ago, we finally decided it was time to check on the status of our bee hives.  We entered the cold months feeling pretty good about all three of our hives and thought we had a pretty good shot of having at least two out of three survive to see another season.  It was the first fairly warm (and calm day) of the year and it would have been a perfect time for the surviving bees to take what is known as a "cleansing flight."  So, I went out expecting to see a few of our friends leaving the hive to do their thing.  What I found instead was...

Nothing.

No apparent activity.  So, I got brave and knocked on one of the hives.  That's usually enough to get a bit of a buzz out of them.  And, I got no response.  After a bit more inspection, we found that we had lost all three hives again this winter.  Now we go about the process of cleaning out the hives and collecting evidence to try and figure out what happened so we can try to prevent it the next time around.  I suppose the good thing is that there is honey to be collected - and we do like honey.  But, this is not how we wanted to go about getting it.

We will certainly get them going again in 2022.  We like having them around too much and we appreciate the pollination services they provide!  But, knowing we can get new bees this year doesn't do much to take the sting (sorry) out of this past year's losses. 

Hopefully, our native pollinator populations had a decent time of it these past few months.  We have done what we can on our small farm to provide appropriate habitat and locations where they should be able to successfully over-winter.  But, nature is like this - sometimes a population gets everything it needs and has no problems with disease - and sometimes there is a challenge that makes it less easy to survive.  The difference is that humans often do things to tip things too far to the "challenge side" of the scale.  Our meager efforts at the Genuine Faux Farm aren't likely enough to counter the weight of that challenge.  So, how can we be surprised if natural pollinator populations don't just bounce back because we want them to?

Can you find the bumble bee?

And, I guess we haven't been surprised that our bumblebee populations (for example) have become less robust since we first started the farm.  And, I guess meaning well isn't always enough - but I sure wish it carried a little more weight than it seems to.  It's enough to make me wonder why we care so much and why we try so hard.  It's a normal reaction.  If you feel like you'll probably lose, no matter what you do, you have to wonder if you should even put in the work.

Still, we will approach 2022 on our farm with the eternal optimism that is necessary for people like us who still think they might be able to make a difference.  We'll plant borage.  We'll leave areas undisturbed for habitat.  We'll let the dandelions bloom.  There will be sunflowers, and zinnias, and marigolds and basil.  We'll plant more clover and we'll do the things that seem to help our pollinators.  We will do it because we HAVE seen some successes over the years.  We will do it in hopes that more people will join us in trying to make a difference too.

Our farm will have wild spaces.  We will do what we can to make it an oasis.  A pollinator paradise.

And we may still lose each battle.  But that doesn't mean we'll stop fighting the war.  Because hope is a powerful motive.

Bee Prepared

We were enjoying the nice warm (for November) weather over the last week - and so were the honeybees on the farm.  I noticed significant activity by the two hives closest to the hen pasture one day and thought I should go get the camera.  But, I had things to do and by the time I got out there ready to take pictures, the activity had subsided somewhat.

But, even with the reduction in activity, there was still plenty going on.  

I am not certain how much foraging the worker bees can do in late October and early November after we've had multiple freezes.  I do know that workers who were returning to the hive were not laden with great amounts of pollen.  On the other hand, it is likely that there was a substantial need for water that must be brought to the "in-hive" worker bees and the queen.

When temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, our honeybees prefer to stay at home.  If they allow their bodies to get much colder than that, they cannot function and will die.  So, they use the heat of the colony to stay warmer.  And, since outside food sources are no longer plentiful, the bees have to begin subsisting on what they have stored for the cold months in their hive

The other thing that's been going on with our bees has been the late Fall "eviction" of the drones from the hive.  Once evicted from the hive, they die and often leave a carpet of bodies nearby.  If you look closely at the photo above, you will see evidence of this on the ground cloth.

Drones don't do any work for the colony and they require food and water, both of which are becoming far less plentiful  In order for the colony to survive, they treat the drones as "deadwood" and prune them off.  Once food and water become more readily available in the Spring, they colony will hatch more drones.

Thus far, our honeybees seem to be relatively well prepared for the coming months.  Here's hoping they will survive and we can see them active again next year.

Burst of Energy

I have to admit that I am not terribly sad to see the snow melting at the farm right now - even though it means we enter the first "mud season" of the year.  In fact, the beautiful weather this past weekend (and likely until mid-week) has given us a bit of a boost that both of us really needed.

I've always kind of joked that I am "solar-powered," typically doing better on sunny days to get things done than on cloudy days.  That may not be as true during the hottest months of the year, but it sure seems to be true when the days are shorter.  Speaking of that, have you noticed that the sun is rising and setting closer to true East and West than it has been for some time.  In Iowa, that usually means you have to adjust your eyes as you drive East in the morning or West around sunset.  So, that can be an inconvenience, but I'll take the promise of longer hours of light that it brings and run with it.

Dead Outs

We took the time this weekend to check out our bee hives (three of them) and can honestly say this is probably the first time we have been able to do that since it got really cold.  If you'll recall, the bees appeared to have a pretty good year on the farm.

Sadly, they had a pretty bad Winter.  Each of our hives is what they call a "dead out."  There were no live bees in any of the hives, but there was a fair bit of honeycomb and honey in two of the hives.  Ah well, these things happen and we'll learn for next time.

So, part of the process on Sunday once we discovered the hives had no live bees was to pull out the frames that had honey and get them into a freezer so we could go through the process of saving the honey.  You see, with no live bees and warming temperatures, that honey was going to attract some problem critters, so we needed to deal with it.

Fortunately, we have multiple freezers on the farm, so we have options.

Defrosting

Actually, the timing of all of this couldn't be much better.  You see, we had emptied two of our freezers and unplugged them a couple of months ago.  It was so cold that we didn't worry about those freezers all that much.  But, now, suddenly, we needed one of the freezers to put the frames with honeycomb into.  

I went to check the freezers and found that they were just beginning to defrost.  Wait too much longer and things were going to get a little ugly - phew!  Glad we took care of it today.

Actually, I had cleaning the freezers on my 'to do' list for the coming week.  But, it's just as well we got it today because it is easier to just take the chunks of ice and toss them out than it is to mop up the water in the bottom of a chest freezer.

One Year In

And, last year at this time, we were still in the process of turning the house into something that looked a bit more like the owners actually cared.  One year later, we're still happy when someone says the house looks good.  And, one year later, we still have some finishing touches to do on the outside of the house.  

Hey!  It's a house.  It requires maintenance.  At least we don't have scaffolding standing next to it right now.

Two Years Ago

And now I remind us all of what the farm looked like exactly TWO years ago.  Yeah.  That's the year the drifts by the north bush line got tall enough that I could stand on them and see OVER the high tunnel.  That's a good bit of snow.

I put that there as a reminder that March is actually still at least partly the purview of Old Man Winter.  Before we get too excited that Spring has sprung, we'd better give ourselves a little reality check before the temperatures fall back to the averages in about a week.  

Still, that doesn't mean we can't take this nice little shot in the arm and use the burst of energy that seems to have come from it!

Welcome Returns

We both heard our first Killdeer on the farm yesterday (Sunday) and I heard and saw one of our Cardinal friends out by the barn.  We drove down to Sweet Marsh and watched/heard some Sandhill Cranes fly overhead. And, yes, the Canada Geese had to honk at us too.

The bitter cold streak we had was pretty hard on the wildlife.  It was about two-thirds of the way through that bitter cold that I noticed a little sparrow sitting on the snow near the corner of the granary.  I expect it to fly away as I approached, but it did not.  That's when I realized that it was no longer living - frozen in a repose that it would not rise from.  

I knew the cold was breaking when the Sparrows and Juncos started exhibiting more energy.  The Chickadees started calling more often and the Horned Larks suddenly disappeared from our landscape, just a day before we heard the Killdeer's song.

Right now, I just don't see what the Horned Larks can possibly like about the weather they chase back northward.  But, they have my respect.  It takes a special little bird to find subsistence and comfort in the frozen places of the world.

And now, if you don't mind, I am going to go BACK outside.  It isn't terribly breezy and there's sunshine out there.  And maybe, just maybe, I'll hear a Robin sing and tell me it's been a good day.

One can hope.

Trying to Bee Good

It's Sunday - so it seems like a good day to do something on the different and enjoyable side of things.

It is also August 2 - so it seems like a good day to say "Happy Birthday" to my Dad!  Happy Birthday Dad!

The last couple of weeks have been full of 'unplanned events' that have been getting sandwiched between (and sometimes over) the planned events.  Nothing abnormal about that since that seems to be the way life goes.  But, Friday had an unplanned event that resulted in the two of us doing something new.

Prior Honeybee Swarms

We have experienced a few swarms on the farm in the past.  I recall a year when we both heard a humming/buzzing noise that appeared to be coming closer.  Happily, the flying ball of bees did not run into us as it went by.  That event was so far away from any of my previous experiences I have a hard time recalling any other details about it.  We were told there were a couple of wild honey bee hives in the woods about a half mile away from our farm when we first moved here (2004) and I seem to recall this was about 2006.  Since that time, the wild hives have died off (and that's another story). 

The second swarm we experienced was at a time when we had John Axon keeping some bees on our farm.  The agreement was that we wanted them as pollinators for our vegetables and he could do what he wanted with respect to honey.  We noticed an old wooden box we had built had a big ball of bees in it and called him up.

John told us he would be out when he had a moment and that we didn't really need to do much other than check in periodically with the bees to make sure they didn't move before he got there.  When he said that, I wondered what he thought we would do IF they decided to move.  What do you think?  Stand in front of them with our hands out trying to make them stop?  Get a large butterfly net and try to catch them all, hoping they weren't strong enough to carry us away?

Of course, we knew what he meant.  He wanted us to watch where they went if they decided to move and if we couldn't locate them he wouldn't bother coming out.

When John got to the farm, he just took a hive over to the bees, put some gloves on and then scooped the bees into the hive.  As he dropped them in, you could hear them hitting the bottom of the box.  It just seemed foreign to us that you could scoop up living creatures and basically pour them into a container.

The 2020 Swarm

We got our own honeybee hive last season rather than try to find others to maintain an apiary on the farm.  We don't intend to collect honey from these hives on any regular basis.  Maybe a little for us when the hives are doing well.  And, for the first time on our farm since we've lived here, we had a hive survive the winter months. 

Since we were pretty uncertain that we would have success, we had also ordered new bees, kind of expecting we would have to replace the 2019 group.  We didn't have to, so we started a second hive.  And, for the first time with our own bees, we harvested a small amount of honey for ourselves.  We consider that a nice accomplishment.

Well both hives are pretty healthy and one must have been feeling a bit crowded, so a swarm split off with their own new queen.  We found them balled up on a couple of Silver Maple branches near our vegetable cleaning station.  The weight was enough that the branches were hanging straight down towards the ground. 

Essentially, other than the branch and a few leaves, this was a ball of bees.  Somewhere inside of that ball was the queen.  We did not exactly want them to leave our farm, nor did we want them to decide that this particular tree or area would be the best place to set up shop.  So, we did something else that was new for us.  We tried to capture our first swarm of bees on our own.

Catching a Swarm

Tammy made a quick call to a friendly, local beekeeper for some advice.  He was working, otherwise I suspect he would have come out to help us.  But, the best help was just to give a calm, no-nonsense reassurance that it was not going to be a terribly difficult job.  After all, if you were not raised with bees, you were likely raised to believe that bees were a stinger just waiting for a target.  This person told Tammy that he has caught swarms while wearing short sleeves and sandals (no beekeeper suit).  Take that comment however you want.

But, there was one particular issue.  We did not have a hive to put these bees into.  All of our supers were in use.  So, Tammy had to go get something to put them in.  Once she returned, we set all of the things we thought we would need into the bucket of the tractor.

Then, we cleared away some of the branches that were going to make access to the swarm even harder.  The bees were mostly concerned about their own business and did not mind when I was right next to them taking pictures nor did they mind as I trimmed branches away. 

The plan was to get the new box set up as much as we were able and then bring the tractor to the hive, placing the new box just under the swarm.  Since Tammy has the bee suit, she got the job of cutting the branches that held the swarm and directing them into the box.  Rob had the job of monitoring the tractor.

The swarm was quite heavy and it hit the box with a nice 'thump.'  The branch had a little kick back to it, so some bees rained all over the tractor hood and on to the driver of said tractor.  While that was a little startling, we both knew that as long as we didn't swat at them and didn't make rapid movements, they really weren't at all concerned about us.  In fact, I was able to gently brush the bees off of me with no problem whatsoever. 

Actually, it was kind of neat to see them up close and personal (after that initial surprise).

The next trick was to put the rest of the frames back in the hive along with a 'feeder frame.'  Once the feeder frame was in, Tammy poured some sugar water into the feeder frame to give the new colony some food to start with.  There were numerous bees on the outside of the box that she scooped into the interior.

Once that was done, Tammy worked to put the lid on and make sure the whole box was lined up properly. We used some bungees to strap the hive tight so it would not shift as we moved it to the new location.

Many of the bees in the swarm were airborne during this process.  If you want to know what that sounded and looked like, here is a video we took during the process.

Once things were secured, we slowly drove the tractor to the new location.  Some of the bees that were flying around followed us.  Others hung around the tree for a while and eventually dispersed.  We'll never know if they decided to go back to the old colony or if they found the new one.

Once at the new location, we were able to lower the bucket close to the pallet that was going to hold the new hive.  They are now in their new location and we'll check on them over the next few days to see if they decide to stay.  We hope they do, because we don't mind having the extra workers on the farm.  Now, we just have to keep working on feeding them.

Pollinator Week?

This year, national Pollinator Week was 'celebrated' June 22-June 28.  And, perhaps some of you noticed posts in the social media or maybe there was a mention in your news outlet of choice.  But, if you looked more closely, you might find that those who were yelling loudest about pollinator week this year were those businesses that do the most to harm our pollinator populations.  Foremost among them is Bayer Corp with a "Blue Ribbon Bee Keeper Award" and a seed giveaway.

Do not confuse 'pollinator' with honey bees... honey bees are only one kind of pollinator!

Who Do We Trust With Pollinator News?
Bayer was among the forerunners of companies that researched the development of neonicotinoid insecticides, which have been shown to harm pollinators of all types (this link is from the Xerces Society, whom I trust to provide balanced and factual resources).  In fact, the Xerces Society provides a searchable database for research regarding the dangers of pesticides for invertebrates.

What does Bayer do?  They provide this little web page giving lip service to bee health.  Essentially, Bayer makes a claim that their products are necessary and that neonicotinoids do not harm pollinators... well.. just honey bees actually.  Read what they have there and notice that they provide a link on the words "research shows."  It's the only link in the text.  And where does it go?

To a website hosted by an organization that is sponsored by Bayer, Syngenta, etc etc.   And it does NOT go directly to any research.  THIS is why you bother to check out your resources and why you bother to read things carefully.  Otherwise, you might begin to believe that Bayer really does care about pollinators.

Why is this lawn overgrown?

Why National Pollinator Week Wasn't Viable This Year
Most organizations that are truly concerned about pollinator health have backed off of promoting the national 'pollinator week' for two reasons.

1. The national week has been co-opted by companies like Bayer.
2. Most organizations who are truly concerned about pollinator health were concerned that there were other important things going on that needed national attention during the scheduled week.  Things like Black Lives Matter and the Covid 19 pandemic.

The good news here is that organizations who truly promote pollinators realize a national week isn't really all that important when it comes to the effort to protect them.  What the national week did was give a nod that it's a big enough issue to get a little recognition.  It's more than recognition that the pollinators need.

Here is some of what is in that overgrown lawn

What Matters Is What YOU Do
I have heard the argument that large businesses and people with the most money and power have so much control that it doesn't matter what each of us does in the grand scheme of things.  Ok, I'll grant you that I don't have much power in this world on my own.  But, I have enough power to make a difference.

On our fifteen acre farm, we have habitat for a significant number of invertebrates of all types.  We have two honey bee hives.  We know we have orchard bees and bumble bees and Monarch butterflies and hummingbirds.

We leave parts of our lawn unmowed so the clover can bloom and the critters can eat.  Then, we mow it down so we can get another bloom later in the year.  We plant flowers that provide a food source for pollinators and we try our best to have a bloom period that lasts as long as we can get it.  We let the dandelions bloom.  We don't try to tame every square inch of our farm.  And, we keep learning and doing our best to change as we figure things out.

What we do matters to the tens of thousands of creatures that live on the Genuine Faux Farm or pass through here.  If we do our part here and you do your part where you are, we can make a difference.  And, if we actually take the time to start pushing for real changes that will support pollinators world-wide, we might be surprised how things will turn out.

Another Farm Walkabout

We took another walkabout with the camera in tow on Tuesday.. or was it Wednesday?  Does it really matter?  We took another walkabout with the camera.  That's good enough!

Things seem to change so much as Spring progresses that it seems as though we almost need to take the camera on these tours daily.  Since that is unlikely to happen, we'll just share when we manage it.

Public Service Announcement
Are you a registered voter in Iowa?  If you are, you should have received something that looks like THIS in the mail.

 Fill out the form in this mailing and mail it back to your county auditor so it is received in Friday's mail delivery.  This will put you on the list to receive a mail-in ballot for June 2nd's Iowa primary.  We have an opportunity to have a say in who runs for federal Senate and House seats as well as Iowa Senate and House seats.  If you didn't receive one of these or you have lost it, you can go here to request a mail in ballot. 

And Now, For Baby Oak Leaves!
Aren't they cute?!?

The oaks on the farm are taking their own sweet time with their leaves this year.  We are VERY ok with this because we may be past most of the atrazine spraying in our neighborhood for corn... because most of the corn is done.  Why does this matter?  Well, we seem to have trouble with Oak Tatters on our trees in years when the pre-emergent herbicide spraying happens concurrently with the point the leaves on these trees unfurl.  Here's to a hopefully good year for the oak trees!

Take a Deep Breath (but not too deep, you might snort a bee!)

Actually, I don't usually notice a whole lot of honeybee activity in lilacs.  On the other hand, there are often some smaller bees and other interesting insects in our lilac bushes.  I've also noticed that there is a snake that enjoys the lilacs by the southwest corner of our farm.  If you don't like snakes and you come visit the farm, I'll check before you go down there.  But, trust me, this snake isn't particularly fond of humans either and it prefers to be well hidden when we go near.

What are these bushes?  Well, the tag (which I am amazed I just found on my desk from years ago) says it is a Pearlbush.  It is pretty.  So, we just call it a "pretty bush."  Good enough for us.

Speaking of Bees (we were?)
We added a second hive of honey bees to the farm yesterday.  They moved in next door to the hive that over-wintered successfully with us.  Tammy and I both welcomed them to the farm and expressed our feeling that there were PLENTY of things for both hives to visit on the farm.  I tried to take a representative with me to the apple trees, but it didn't stay with me the whole way.

So, I just let it be.

Middle Earth is Planted
Not that you can really tell - but the plot we call "Middle Earth" is now fully planted.  Beans, potatoes and flowers.  Since the beans and potatoes are seeds that have yet to show their faces to the sun, we'll just point out the lovely fence that is intended to keep Mr. Chucky McChuckster Woodchuck out and the line of flower seedlings. 

Have a great Thursday everyone!  If.. in fact... that is what today is.  If it isn't, don't bother telling me because it won't actually make a difference.  I still intend on having a good day.  Doesn't matter what you call it!

The Buzz

The history of bee hives at the Genuine Faux Farm is not replete with success stories.  In fact, we have not had a hive survive the Winter until... this one!

Last year was the first year Tammy tried her hand at managing the bees herself (rather than having someone else do it).  Before you tell us it must be something we did, I think she will confirm that we still barely know what we are doing with them.  We suspect it had as much to do with the location we selected and a mild Winter than anything else.

About the only other thing we can think of is that we did not harvest honey from this hive last year (other than the little bit that they deposited on the pallet under the hive itself).  After all, their main purpose is to serve as pollinators on our farm.

We have always taken pollinator habitat seriously on our farm, so you can't really argue that this is the sole difference.  Perhaps we have finally built a system that provides food for bees for a much longer period of time?  I've tried to ask the bees and I believe they are thinking about it. 

Why do I say that?  Well, the response I always get when I ask them a question is "Hmmmmmmmmmm."

Tammy was able to get the hive open this past weekend and she put some extra food (sugar water) into the hive just in case there is a bit of a shortage for a time.  But, we noticed the Nanking Cherries blooming today and we're seeing the violets and ajuga blooming in the grassy areas.  It won't be long until the dandelions go nuts and some of our flowering bushes and trees burst into bloom.

Hang in there bees!  The smorgasbord is on its way!

Pasque Flowers

It's late April and the Pasque Flowers are beginning to give us the treat of their early blooms.  We first 'discovered' these wonderful perennial plants several gardens ago when we lived in Minnesota.  We realize that most perennial Pasque Flowers that are sold in nursery's are the European varieties (pulsatilla vulgaris) where as the natives to the United States may be found as Pulsatilla patens  or Anemone patens .

For those who like wildflowers, I would like to point out that the first link takes you to a page on the US Forest Service website and the second to a site dedicated to Minnesota wildflowers.  I was able to view the first page when I started this post on Saturday and it was unavailable today.  I am hopeful this is a temporary situation because I have found so many of these websites put out by our government agencies to be of use over the years.

A couple of years ago, we grabbed a batch of pasqueflowers and put them out in one of our fields that had shown poor production for our annual crops.  We are reaping benefits this year with some very nice blooms on the Pasques. 

We managed to pick up some different colors.  You might even notice that the first photo shows three different colors.  I suspect we threw three different plants there (they were pretty small at the time).  We may split them later... or not.  They really don't seem to mind.

The other nice thing about Pasque Flowers?  They can handle a little snow and cold.  Even if that snow comes in May (which was when the picture above was taken).  Obviously, I am NOT talking about this May.  Please not this May....
 

Another thing we like about Pasque Flowers?  The flowers extend out to these 'fruits' or 'seedheads' and they look pretty nice too.  The plants form nice mounds that look pretty good for most of the year as well.

But, the best thing about them?  It's seeing the first bit of green pushing up out of the soil - daring us to hope once again.