Happy New Year

Here's looking forward to a great 2012, especially for the bees.

The temperature was in the 50's today so I visited the bees briefly. I have seen a few bodies on the little porch. There were three today. I looked closely on the ground and did see some more, maybe 20 altogether. I think that's normal since bees are always dying and the ones still around are fastidious about the hive, so they drag them outside. Some posts in the Beekeepers Guild have mentioned some hives that have died off completely - they will see piles of bees outside the hive; nothing like that here.

I am surprised that some of the keepers will open their hives to have a look when they get a warm day. I have adopted the very cautious philosophy to leave the be until late March. I can live with the suspense and do not want to disturb their carefully constructed defense against the cold. They have everything sealed except the 3 entry holes and going in would break some of those seals.

I'm still thinking about the next hive to put on the back porch and intend to build it over the winter. I mentioned it in the December 11 post. It will be similar to the current hive but the roof will be flat and simpler since it doesn't have to protect against rain. Also, the entry has to be at one end since the hive will jut out from the porch wall; there will be a pipe(s) through the wall for access. I don't know how that works yet. I have to have the hive outside when the bees are installed since it takes a day or so for them to find their way. Then the entrances have to be plugged and the hive carried up to the porch and the pipes set for the entries.