How's Your Winter going?

[Michael Palmer]

Got some snow I hear. And cold. But Hazel and Alder are blooming? A bit of pollen on warmer days?

Bitter cold winter here. 2 feet of snow in November, and -24˚F in January.

Our bees just got their first flight in three months. Glad I was wearing my hat. Stinky!


https://www.frenchhillapiaries.com/new-gallery/

 

[Cuttingedge]

Same here. Yesterday and today we saw lots of activity.

 

[Walrus]

Got some snow I hear. And cold. But Hazel and Alder are blooming? A bit of pollen on warmer days?

Bitter cold winter here. 2 feet of snow in November, and -24˚F in January.

Our bees just got their first flight in three months. Glad I was wearing my hat. Stinky!


https://www.frenchhillapiaries.com/new-gallery/

That is a lot of poop. Currently 9 Celsius (48 degrees F) here and quite rainy. I'm off to check nucs tomorrow to see if any need feeding. Plenty of pollen from catkins and snowdrops

 

[Poly Hive]

Checked nucs yesterday and fed two. Found the disc on one had lost its pin and rotated to the close position due to the weight of the knob built in to it. The bees were understandably irate due to thirst as much as anything I think.

Some are looking very good which is great as they are booked already for beginners. Just so enjoy getting people started out.

PH

 

[Hivemaker.]

Got some snow I hear. And cold. But Hazel and Alder are blooming? A bit of pollen on warmer days?

Nothing much, Mike, we don't really have winters in the UK... and always something in flower for the bees all year round.

 

[B+.]

Nothing much, Mike, we don't really have winters in the UK... and always something in flower for the bees all year round.

We had 5" snow here last week but it's all gone now. Crocus and snowdrop almost in flower but the hedgerows are still completely bare. A few willows about ready too.
The further north you go, the less advanced the conditions

 

[BMH]

How strange. In North Wales (Flintshire), we have snowdrops fully out and in full bloom, crocus and daffodils out and just starting to bloom.

Catkins seem to have been out for ages but very few open yet and hedgerows are in full winter mode.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

How strange. In North Wales (Flintshire), we have snowdrops fully out and in full bloom, crocus and daffodils out and just starting to bloom.

Catkins seem to have been out for ages but very few open yet and hedgerows are in full winter mode.

catkins have been open here for quite a while, snowdrops were open New year's day as usual.

 

[Curly green fingers]

10 c yesterday the garden was full of bee's , cleansing flights,poop everywhere .
It was nice to see the older bee's Gidding the young out . Catkins haven't opened at home yet but are open in the valley.
All's looking good only one colony on fondant . ( The bucks in the valley ).
So leaving a super of honey on each means no feeding only one.

 

[BMH]

catkins have been open here for quite a while, snowdrops were open New year's day as usual.

Sorry, the strange comment was in relation to the snowdrops not being open in Bedfordshire.

 

[mazzamazda]

We have a full on Eucalyptus flow. Strange to manage with cold nights, slightly too much space and the hive retracts, too little and the queen is under pressure.

 

[Finman]

.
60 cm snow and more coming.

2.5 months to wait that I can see pollen.

 

[B+.]

Sorry, the strange comment was in relation to the snowdrops not being open in Bedfordshire.

I think a lot of that is dependent on how deep they are planted. Snowdrops do seem to prefer a hard frost and can often be found flowering with snow on the ground

 

[Poly Hive]

Nothing much, Mike, we don't really have winters in the UK... and always something in flower for the bees all year round.

Might be true for you Pete but certainly not true here. Yes there are snow drops out, yes there is hazel (I know for sure as I am sneezing) and yes there is gorse but its 4C here. So despite us not having the NA snows we certainly have Winter. The massive difference between us and pretty much the rest of the planet is we have a wet damp cool maritime climate. They don't.

PH

 

[Michael Palmer]

.
60 cm snow and more coming.

2.5 months to wait that I can see pollen.

First pollen in 2018...April 22

 

[beeno]

Hi all, First day out in force after the cold snap. A tiny bit of whitish pollen coming in but not as yet any orange from Snowdrops in the balmy south!

 

[Stiffy]

Blue and great tits calling and investigating nest boxes for the past week. Flowering cherry in bloom and first blackthorn seen in flower today, very patchy still but first signs of spring in the balmy (er) SW.
S

 

[Popparand]

Temperature here up and down like a yoyo. Bees out and about today. Not much coming in but hazel catkins just about to burst. HM doesn't seem to have stopped laying since October!

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Half the UK average rainfall this winter probably make up for it this summer

 

[mike99]

Checked today and there are lot of bees flying around the hive. Lovely to see.