Turning the corner... Shortest Day

[BrianO]

Firm believer in " Glass Half Full " Philosophy !

Shortest day, from tomorrow on Evenings getting brighter and from early January Mornings then follow and start getting brighter.

Beginning to plan for the Starter Gun, wont be long now, end January , February Winter earlies and Bees starting to forage properly..... provinding Mama Nature does not have a kick in the proverbials in store for us !

So much to do... gotta make supers, crown boards, sort out stands for second apiary .... The excitement is building again !

Bring it onnnn !!!!

 

[Brian Bush]

Firm believer in " Glass Half Full " Philosophy !

!!!

Good for you Brian, I love an optimist.
Definition of a pessimist? 'Someone who wears braces as well as a belt!'
Definition of an optimist? 'A man who wears neither and leaves his fly zip undone!'

 

[Curley]

:
Definition of an optimist? 'A man who wears neither and leaves his fly zip undone!'

I think that might be defining something else entirely!

But yes - nice to start planning the year ahead.

 

[Plenty of honey]

Couldn't agree more, I was told when I started beekeeping. "use your winters wisely" wise words in themselves I think!! Just never enough time, we just have heaps to do!!

 

[oliver90owner]

Yes, but.....

The winter has not really started yet, or not that I have noticed.

Optimist or pessimist should only be applied to current observations. Ludicrous, in beekeeping terms, to look too far ahead. You take the weather as it is. Seen too many early starts to spring, followed by an almost complete reversal, to do anything other than respond to the actual, not 'pie in the sky' hopes for the ideal.

Try being a realist instead. You will get on far better than someone who puts distant dates in their diary and then cannot control the weather!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes, but.....

The winter has not really started yet,

Not here, either.
Another day of drizzle and 13˚
February is when we get our cold snap.
Mid March last year was a time of jubilation at the amount of willow in bloom......then the weather rained and rained on it and the bees went back to sleep.
Good idea to make hardware but look out the window for the best time to deploy it.

 

[madasafish]

Yes, but.....

The winter has not really started yet, or not that I have noticed.

Optimist or pessimist should only be applied to current observations. Ludicrous, in beekeeping terms, to look too far ahead. You take the weather as it is. Seen too many early starts to spring, followed by an almost complete reversal, to do anything other than respond to the actual, not 'pie in the sky' hopes for the ideal.

Try being a realist instead. You will get on far better than someone who puts distant dates in their diary and then cannot control the weather!

Too true. I expect snow in Jan/Feb/Mar so I am delighted if it does not happen...

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Too true. I expect snow in Jan/Feb/Mar so I am delighted if it does not happen...

If I recall correctly it was 1969 when snow fell on the first of May in Coventry in sufficient quantities to stop the buses from getting up the hills out of the city centre

 

[Brian Bush]

If I recall my folkore correctly
It snowed on St Bede's Head in Cumbria on Midsummers day!!
I have been snowed in in Aviemore in August!!!!

 

[mbc]

The end is in sight..............

..............................................but only because my flies are undone

 

[Brian Bush]

 

[BrianO]

Yes, but.....

The winter has not really started yet, or not that I have noticed.

Optimist or pessimist should only be applied to current observations. Ludicrous, in beekeeping terms, to look too far ahead. You take the weather as it is. Seen too many early starts to spring, followed by an almost complete reversal, to do anything other than respond to the actual, not 'pie in the sky' hopes for the ideal.

Try being a realist instead. You will get on far better than someone who puts distant dates in their diary and then cannot control the weather!

Jaysus !!!! Put a damper on it why dont you !!!

You just knocked over my " Half Full " Glass !

I am not letting you away with that ... Still, regardless of your Slap In The Face With A Wet Fish... a sizable chunk of the winter period passed !.

Still only slightly over 2 Months.... 10 Weeks approx untill start March...

Hallelujah.... Brothers and Sisters I see the Light !

Sure there is a grand stretch in the evenings now, really notice it today ...

Sun set yesterday at 16.07 and today will be 16.08 an extra minute .. Can do a lt in a minute !

 

[oliver90owner]

By all means stick your head in the sand and trumpet out the other end. Your choicebut keep it to yourself, I would sugget.

I've seen bees taking in pollen on Christmas Eve and then next foraging strongly in the second week in February. It was surprising but that was the extent of that winter, really. One or two mild frosts before Christmas and a few frosts late Feb into March. But I also remember the winter of '63 and a few others where my spuds were chopped off by about a foot of snow in very late April (some of the spuds were near a foot high, as well!) Also days on end when we needed to stop diesel waxing at work.

It wasn't so long ago (4 years?) that the extra fuel payments were in force for several weeks on the trot. Some have limited memory or none at all. The shortest day is the same every year whether it turns out to to be a hard or soft winter. We could likely do with some hard weather to curtail some soil pests, among others.

We will get what we get and there is b****r all you, or anyone else, can do other than accept it or move to a warmer clime for the winter.

Counting chickens before they have hatched comes to mind. Try living in the real world!

 

[BrianO]

By all means stick your head in the sand and trumpet out the other end. Your choicebut keep it to yourself, I would sugget.

Jeez ... not looking for a row.. just a light hearted post and light reply !

Some people here could pick a fight in a Buddhist Monastery ...

Think you need to lighten up ... its Xmas !

Not trumpeting anything... Oh Knowledgeable Seriously Grumpy One !

 

[BrianO]

Just caught the end of your post had missed this Gem...

Counting chickens before they have hatched comes to mind. Try living in the real world!

Brilliant !!!

I was wrong when I called you Grumpy ... that brings Grumpiness to a whole new levell !!! .

I do realise RAB you are extremely knowledgeable..

Outstanding in your own Field and in your own Mind.... ( and in mine ! ) a True Legend In your Own Lunchbox !!!

 

[Swarm]

I was taught that winter begins Dec 21st and lasts until March 21st, when spring starts. Winter has only just begun.

 

[Firefly]

I was taught that winter begins Dec 21st and lasts until March 21st, when spring starts. Winter has only just begun.

 

[B+.]

I was taught that winter begins Dec 21st and lasts until March 21st, when spring starts. Winter has only just begun.

According to wiki, the winter solstice is today (22nd Dec). I am sure there is some interesting astronomical explanation for this being a day later....probably some correction due to the orbit not being exacly 365 days. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of these things could enlighten us?

 

[Hivemaker.]

According to wiki, the winter solstice is today (22nd Dec). I am sure there is some interesting astronomical explanation for this being a day later....probably some correction due to the orbit not being exacly 365 days. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of these things could enlighten us?

In the Northern hemisphere the winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, because it is tilted away from the sun, and receives the least amount of sunlight on that day.

However, the earliest sunset does not occur on the solstice, because of the slight discrepancy between 'solar time' and the clocks we use.

The shortest day of the year often falls on December 21st, but the modern calendar of 365 days a year - with an extra day every four years - does not correspond exactly to the solar year of 365.2422 days.

The solstice can happen on December 20, 21, 22 or 23, though December 20 or 23 solstices are rare.

The last December 23 solstice was in 1903 and will not happen again until 2303.

Google .......http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/sci...-know-about-the-shortest-day-of-the-year.html

 

[B+.]

The solstice can happen on December 20, 21, 22 or 23, though December 20 or 23 solstices are rare.

The last December 23 solstice was in 1903 and will not happen again until 2303.

Thank you HM