Still Praying For Heat...

Bees are in tomorrow and it's still not warm enough to where I want to be outside, let alone for the bees to fly.

One starts to wonder if all the late cold weather this year will begin to add even more colony losses to the already significant toll taken over winter. According to the Apiary Inspectors Of America (AIA), who commissioned a survey of many of the nations commercial beekeepers, the overall losses this winter were slightly over 35% of the hives. This represents a 10% increase over last year.

So the news isn't particularly good, but with tomorrows arrival of three bee packages, I'll be back up to six strong in my bee yard. On top of that, I usually pick up two or three good swarms from folks panicking over the horror hanging in their back yard fruit tree.

One way or the other, I'm sure we'll get a honey crop of some sort this year, but to my way of thinking we need to do something to get either the government or private industry or both to kick the bee loss research in the rear.

Let's get this thing figured out so that Jesse here (one of my many grandchildren) will have some honeybees to keep when the time comes! As you can see, he's pondering just who should be stepping up for the task.

Meanwhile, out the office window I hear the neighbors blowing the newly mowed grass off their driveway. I'm stunned that the grass has even grown enough to mow. Wasn't it just snowing a day or two ago? Must be the Global Warming. Keeps it warm enough for the grass to grow while it snows!

Signing off,

Bees Keeper