While camping February 26 on a remote beach in the southern part of Baja on the Sea of Cortez, I found this old abandoned toilet among bushes! No bees and no honey, but lovely intact comb. How's that for an amazing find...whether in Alaska or Baja, bees are there! I hope to return some day to this Baja site for another hive check.
Back home again on March 5, I find our home bees still hunkered down for winter. Although I hear a quiet buzz after a soft knock on the outside of the hive, no bees are flying during these cooler days. The dandelions began to bloom while I was away so honey flow is not far off.
I and many others are looking forward to seeing how much honey is left in our top bar hive after winter and harvesting it for a taste. Although that will be really cool, I'm mainly looking forward to learning how well the bees did during this first winter, getting the new Warre hive set up, hanging a swarm collector in a tree, and observing the spring behavior of bees in an established hive. Now that March has begun, it won't be long for the new beginning. What a fantastic year of learning and observing our bees--it all began one short year ago on April 15, 2011.
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