I just wanted to use this picture of the hawk in the snow I wish I hadn't gotten the over Wintering bag worm hanging off that little tree with it though.
Anyway the sun finally came out and pushed the temps into the lower 50's a slight bit although the wind was still cold. The bees were flying some but only about six hives appeared to be really coming out and showing a lot of activity. Three other hives had a few bees coming and going while two hives had zero activity that I observed.
Finally even though I didn't have my suit with me I couldn't stand the not knowing so I popped the top and was greeted with a dead out. You could see where the girls had even eaten a large part of the sugar feed I had for them but I suspect they simply did not have the numbers to keep warm.
Salem colony was the last small swarm I had captured back in late August in a very small trap that I hadn't bothered to collect up yet because I thought swarming season was well over. It was never very large nor did it have the time to build up before Winter like it should have but it kept trying so I didn't stop feeding it.
Jamestown, my oldest colony, was also not showing any outside activity and this one really concerned me because it is an actual producing hive and kicked out the honey well last year. I very carefully opened the top and saw BEES!!!! A pretty fair amount of them hitting the sugar so that hive at least joins the still alive group.
This leaves me with 8 hives I am sure are still doing well so far and 2 hives I am unclear about yet because they only showed slight activity and I didn't open their tops to take a peek.
It really wasn't warm enough for them to be out yet but I suspect it was more a matter of need than comfort at this point. A few of the hives definitely suffered some heavy casualties as their entrances were clogged with dead bees the workers were removing.
I split another overflowing truckload of firewood and cleaned the furnace out completely then went and checked the ground. I doubt there is any way I am going to get back to my felled trees to cut anymore wood for at least another few days. The top few inches of the ground is like chocolate pudding with a hard pan under it. Slick and gushy.
The good news is I seem to have gotten the drip stopped on my plumbing repairs and things are almost completely back to normal once again.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
Hey! I know where some more ground is just like that! I can't even walk around here without sinking and slipping much less driving. Temps are going to be near 50 all week, maybe we will dry out and firm up some.
ReplyDeleteSD - Ya it's bad here I am going to wait another day or two before I try getting out in it. I backed my truck up with the load of wood and made ruts in my yard even. Somethign else to take care of now.
DeleteSorry about your bees. If it's any consolation last week I ordered everything to start beekeeping myself next spring (two hives), based solely on reading about your experiences. So at least in the overall family of smallholders, the score is still one up. Thanks for taking the time.
ReplyDeleteAnon - Oh it's ok, as I said it really didn't surprise me much as that hive was basically doomed due to it's late date. I had left that little swarm trap out because I really didn't expect anything to move in that late.
DeleteGood for you in getting bees. Small Holders are the future
Maybe they will make it, so many people around here have lost bees, the farmers who spray and use gmo seeds are putting a hurt on them with government permission, no it is government encouragement. I heard that bees in the cities actually do better because they aren't exposed to agriculture.
ReplyDeleteToo muddy to do much here but at least it is warm to work on some stuff.
SF - Oh the one hive is totally dead out. The others I need to check on today. Interestingly enough the bees around the cities and suburbs especially those who have hives inside buildings did much better during the 2012 drought. They generally over Winter better because they are better protected and often have heat from the building to help them as well.
DeleteI saw a documentary on bees and they had a bee house in Europe that has been giving me some ideas that might be the way to go for over Wintering bees.
Nice picture of the hawk. I would not have known that was bag worm if you had not told.
ReplyDeleteI have not opened my bees but see activity at all three hives. I just left the honey from the goldenrod on the hives and have not fed them. Hope that is not a mistake. Sorry you lost a couple but 8 hives is still awesome. I am hoping to catch several swarms and increase my colonies this spring.
MB - I usually take very little of the Goldenrod honey myself and try and leave it all for the girls. This year however I had so many new hives I took the top surplus supers off the big hives and gave them to several of the smaller hives in hopes of getting em through Winter.
DeleteI suspect the one that died out was not from food loss but was just not large enough to generate the heat it needed.
Sorry to hear about that colony. That was one of my concerns when I was reading of your dreadful cold - how the hives were going to fare. Glad to hear many did well.
ReplyDeleteTB - Ya I was worried sick about them but all the others seem to have made it through fine but that one.
DeleteOf course we still have 2 more months of Winter at least yet to go.
PP,
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your bee hives. Praying here the rest of winter is kinds to the rest of your hives.