JAOM Fermentation Question

I have a quick question about the fermentation process of the Ancient Orange Mead. I followed the directions as they were stated (for the most part, I zested the oranges instead of keeping the peel on). I pitched the yeast at room temp, which was around 71 and put it up in the cabinet. After 20 hours, I'm seeing activity in the blow off tube, but not an active ferment like I see with my beer. Is this normal, or should I be worried?

No worries. Mead and cider do not ferment like beer. You may never see any krausen or much of anything else.

I have a JAOM that's been going for the past 3 months.... Any reason why it hasn't cleared by this point? I still see bubbles. A few weeks ago i added a small amount of yeast nutrient to speed it up, but it still hasn't cleared. Any ideas?

Patience grasshopper. This isn't like apfelwein. Mead takes time. My first batch never cleared even after 18 months.

B1B - Thanks, I was worried I got a bad batch of yeast or something.

Speaking of clarity, I used "organic" apple juice instead of the Treetop. As such, it was cloudy juice from the get go. I'm assuming I shouldn't expect this to clarify once fermentation is over. Is that an accurate assumption?

That is not 100% true, yes some cloudy ciders will never clear. But with enough time and maybe some finings, you can clear some. So you might as well let it age with the potential to clear. If it doesn't end up clearing, oh well now it will taste that much better with age.