What did you do in the Apiary today?

[user 6228]

Sat and watched the rain while drumming my fingers.

shouldnt complain I guess, we've had so little recently

sat and watched the SNOW fall

 

[Russel]

I expect it will be very expensive to have each product properly tested if you intend to make a business out of it.

PM'd

 

[borderer]

Moved five hives, for a friend, 20 miles to his new apiary site in the snow. By lunch we had experienced winter, spring, autumn and back to winter.

 

[Black Comb]

8 degrees here today. Both home hives busy but, like all this previous week, none bringing in pollen. Is there a dearth?

 

[Poggle]

sat and watched the SNOW fall

My mum lives in Hook, Hampshire. she called me to say she had a blizzard going on, that was about 1pm ish.

John

 

[Erichalfbee]

8 degrees here today. Both home hives busy but, like all this previous week, none bringing in pollen. Is there a dearth?

Snowdrops were early here and are mostly over.
Hazel washed out by the rain. Willow not yet out.
There are lots of crocus but they don't open unless it's sunny and it hasn't been sunny and warm at the same time for ages.....apart from Friday when bees were all over it.
Neighbours have banks of winter heather just coming in though

 

[alexander]

yesterday my bees (along with some huge bumbles) were filling up with pollen on my dads winter flowering honey suckle. Pleased to see them out and about. Nothing doing today though.

 

[hallshoney]

got up early and made 4kg of fondant hefted all hives this afternoon i have 6 that are very light.

 

[Beanwood]

OK, so it was yesterday, but...
learned how to manage an artificial swarm using another brood box or nuc, and also how to use a horsley board - brilliant in it's simplicity

 

[victor meldrew]

Gritter wagon has just passed my house
VM

 

[madasafish]

Frog spawn frozen overnight...

Snow all gone..

Just windy,cold and wet... even the bravest bee is going nowhere yet..

 

[Brian Bush]

Spent a rainy Sunday working on my new, modified, full size 14X12 WBC hives. It has become a labour of love. All the boxes and lifts are made from re-cycled wood. Wood put through thicknesser, tongue & grooved. glued and screwed.
I have spent about 50 hours on them so far. I now need to put internal battens in the lifts, sand and paint them. The roofs are ready for painting and the addition of insulation and aliminium covering.
The bases are requiring a little more thought to the modification as I am using standard OMF floors.

 

[oliver90owner]

That is one advantage of the WBC format - the boxes were historically of much lighter construction and needed little, or no, external protection.

 

[BILL.HEARD]

Sunny and cold here this morning, a few bees out collecting water.
Have just been replacing floors (solid) nothing to report on the debris, all hives still with plenty of stores.

 

[Poggle]

I now need to put internal battens in the lifts,

Awe NUTS!!!!!!!!!!! I read that as "Put INTERNAL BATTERIES in the lifts"......I got all uneccessary for a minute about people going over the top with their hives

 

[Goodwood]

Been a busy week or so with loads of bright yellow and dark orange pollen being carried in
Snowdrops seem to be being ignored at the mo - with a big flowering Camellia buzzing with bees. Maybe gorse coming in. Watching the activity through a perspex crown board the bees are devouring the fondant at a rate of knots too, and have built a big raft of brace comb the height of the eke.
On advice from my mentor I have therefore added a super - to go to brood and a half. I have trimmed the super frames slightly to get the spacing right with small space bars and placed it on top of the existing brood-box. Some of the frames have honey and pollen remnants from last season so hopefully the girls will enjoy the extra space and the cleaning up.
Wrapped the whole brood and a half in 50mm insulation just in case winter keeps going for another few weeks.One thing I did notice was a dark grey patch on one of the old super frames - can anyone give some thoughts to this? Type of mold? I am hoping the bees will sort....

TIA

 

[Silly Bee]

Lazy wind here today.Brrrrrrrrr

 

[victor meldrew]

Lovely sunny day , temp around 7c, bees never the less are bringing in the pollen .
VM

 

[itma]

+2C at 1pm. Rain not quite horizontal.
I had to be out.
The bees didn't. And weren't.

 

[fiftyjon]

At the weekend told my bees not to use next door's spa bath/hot tub.