Its Earliest Sunset Day!

[Beesnaturally]

To give a little cheer in these gloomy days: tomorrow it will get darker just a little bit later.

I like to think this is the day the bees decide to start building up again. Just a bit, cautious at first: but by mid Jan there will be more bees hatching than dying. The show will be on the road again.

 

[Podilia]

The gloomy days of fog and icy rain have been changed by the clear sky, sunshine and frost. This night is going to be the coldest one -14C, the sunset was coloured in pink. This is the continental arctic air. 10-15 cm of snow is covering the ground, nature is sleeping.
This morning was especially interesting. Several missiles crossed the sky from the east to the west. The sound was like a fighter jet. I even saw one the "cigarettes", it was flying not very high but very fast just above our neighborhood. The air defence boom-boomed somewhere. The alarm was cancelled at 11 am. Electricity is limited as usual. Show must go on and some good people say it's going on until 20 of January.
For our bees this is the period of the deep quiet "slumber". Usually the activity begins in February. But I remember the time when the new year holidays warmed up to +12C. I think cold is better for good wintering here because they are not active and don't spend much resources on useless activity.

 

[Erichalfbee]

For our bees this is the period of the deep quiet "slumber". Usually the activity begins in February. But I remember the time when the new year holidays warmed up to +12C. I think cold is better for good wintering here because they are not active and don't spend much resources on useless activity.

Good to hear from you @Podilia
You are often in our thoughts. I hope some day soon you can enjoy some quiet slumber.
The shortest day this year is the 21st and the long night after heralds a new dawn and new beginnings, I wish you peace and hope for 2025.

 

[mbc]

To give a little cheer in these gloomy days: tomorrow it will get darker just a little bit later.

I like to think this is the day the bees decide to start building up again. Just a bit, cautious at first: but by mid Jan there will be more bees hatching than dying. The show will be on the road again.

Crossover, when more bees hatch than die, usually occurs sometime towards the second half of March, from my many years of observations of bees on the west coast of Wales.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Cross over for me I’ve found is when the willow is producing nectar and lots of pollen