# Spring is here !



## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Nice pics JW, we're getting more rain in the valley today, no bees flying


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

nice!!


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## GusK (Jan 24, 2013)

JW,

Nice pictures. Seeing the same thing here. I'm in a similar climate to yours. Here we have oxalis blooming, and late next month almonds, followed by various weeds, holm oak, then citrus.

Basically my hives, especially the new young queens that just started laying eggs this month, brood up all "winter," which leaves me with a huge mite problem well before our thyme flow in July.

We have stable temps here that gradually increase. Mid fifties is a daytime low in Feb... and slowly increases to 70s by April. All the while, the mite population skyrockets.

What do you do for mites? I avoid the synthetics, but have never been that successful with the natural miticides due to ever-present brood. 

It's difficult in warm climates. We don't have that winter shut-down others do.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

You might try 15 drops of oil of wintergreen and 10 drops of spearmint oil and Two drops of lemon grass oil to 2 gallons of 1:1 syrup. Feed it for one brood cycle only when supers are not on. That and make the colony raise a new queen and get a brood break by removing the queen two weeks before a good flow


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## biggraham610 (Jun 26, 2013)

jealous, just getting cold now. :waiting:

Nice Pics. G


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## Bee Bliss (Jun 9, 2010)

Bring on the cold! We want to go ice fishing!!! The only time of the year we can walk on water! lol :lpf:


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## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

Spring ?? Checking the calendar, Sunday is first day of winter it seems.

Factoid for you. Days are short, nights are long. That turns on Dec 21 the solstice and the days start getting longer, but, it's January 19 before night time cooling and daytime heating balance in the northern hemisphere. Till then, we are still getting colder, and that tide turns late January. This is not news to anybody that lives in snow / cold country, January is always the coldest month of the year.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

pretty much the case here grozzie, with historical averages starting to rebound at january 20. that's also about when the tree pollens start coming in on the days warm enough for foraging. i suspect the coastal areas have their own macro-climate.


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## Michael B (Feb 6, 2010)

Love the pics. Glad you guys are getting rain.....but when it rains it pours, right? Just tuning up the snowmobile. Wont see my bees for 3 months.


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## drlonzo (Apr 15, 2014)

biggraham610 said:


> jealous, just getting cold now. :waiting:
> 
> Nice Pics. G


I'm with you on this one G.. I want warm weather .. Hate the cold but need it for the bees.  

JW - May your hives burst at the seems and give you many gallons of wonderful Honey..


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

Dang that sucks. Supposed to have rain with some snow mixed in here tomorrow.


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## Lauri (Feb 1, 2012)

Spring? Well my big Tom Turkeys started fighting today. Something is up.


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## GusK (Jan 24, 2013)

Vance G said:


> You might try 15 drops of oil of wintergreen and 10 drops of spearmint oil and Two drops of lemon grass oil to 2 gallons of 1:1 syrup. Feed it for one brood cycle only when supers are not on. That and make the colony raise a new queen and get a brood break by removing the queen two weeks before a good flow


Thanks Vance. I use a similar recipe, minus the wintergreen, but usually just do a dribble. Will experiment some more. I'm thinking of trying a brood break with formic, and try to time it right for maximum effect on varroa, but with minimum hive disturbance. I also plan on raising back up queens simultaneously, just in case....


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Another 3 months to go after the winter solstice. 
In the mean time the weather pattern is very unstable thru out. Just take a look
at other countries now i.e. Japan, China, etc. Their wild winter weather pattern has an effect on ours
almost like the opposite end.
I will feel better when at mid-March again.

Yes, bees are flying and collecting local pollen when weather permits. Sometimes
mother nature can fool us all into thinking it is now early Spring or something. Crocus are budding and
goldenrods are dividing. But we are not into Spring by a long run. Sure feel like it though. Just don't let
mother nature fool you into it yet.


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## VickyLynn (Jun 20, 2011)

Well, in New England, as the oldtimers say, "When the days get longer, the cold gets stronger." 
On the only days that get warm enough for flying, it rains. lol


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

GusK said:


> We don't have that winter shut-down others do.


You can make it happen in spring.


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

"We don't have that winter shut-down others do."



Acebird said:


> You can make it happen in spring.


:scratch:


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## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

Mine were wide open yesterday too! Almost every returning bee was loaded down with pollen. It's a little early even for N. Florida. Late Jan-Feb. are normally our coldest times of the year.


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## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

Formic acid may work nicely for a mite problem in a warm climate as the treatment can be done any time the night temperature is above 50F. With some care, you should not see much if any brood loss or slowdown in the queen laying.

Oxalic acid vapor might work well too, as both can be done at any time and I would consider them "organic" -- both formic and oxalic acids are found in trace amounts in honey already, so you are not adding anything synthetic to the hive.

Peter


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

What color is the oxalis flowers that are blooming now? It seems that they only like to work
on the yellow flower type. I have pink, deep reddish pink, white, and yellow (that the bees like.)

Oxalis acid is a good idea. I have been thinking to mix the powder sugar with the oxalis acid for dusting
the mites. But not sure what is the amount to use with the powder sugar so it will be safe for the bees too.
What is the recommended amount to use with the sugar that is safe?

What about citrus acid at 99.9%? Is this safe to use on the bees too? I found some today.
I know that the mites don't like acids.


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## GusK (Jan 24, 2013)

beepro said:


> What color is the oxalis flowers that are blooming now? It seems that they only like to work
> on the yellow flower type. I have pink, deep reddish pink, white, and yellow (that the bees like.)
> 
> Oxalis acid is a good idea. I have been thinking to mix the powder sugar with the oxalis acid for dusting
> ...


The oxalis that is blooming now is yellow. It's a common, invasive weed here. Oxalic acid, however, is best applied as a dribble solution or sublimated (vaporized). I have used it before, three treatments, weekly, and there was still a high level of varroa. It was recently during the Fall flow, late September to early October. On the older hives with higher mite counts I used thymol crystals mixed with powdered sugar, placed on kitchen towels over the broodnest after the oxalic treatment. It really shook things up for the bees. Some hives ripped out brood and fanned a lot, others just propolized the seams under the thymol.


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

The South African Oxalis pes-caprae is an invasive weed in Mediterranean climates worldwide. Locally in Calif. it is known as "Bermuda Buttercup". It is mostly just a nuisance in my area, but in sheep pasture it can be a toxic poison (due to the oxalic crystals in the leaves). Interestingly, it is nearly completely sterile, and reproduces through bulbs produced on the roots. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_pes-caprae

A little worldwide weed is related -- wood sorrel -- a worthwhile source of Vitamin C in the early spring for those not living near our citrus orchards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_corniculata

California has native sorrels -- the Redwood Sorrel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_oregana
has delicate pink flowers and large "clover" leaves. It can grow in the deepest shade, I tell gardeners that they can plant it in the back of their coat closet.

The potted houseplant, Purple Shamrock, is an Oxalis from Brazil. Oxalis triangularis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_triangularis

Oxalidaceae is a small family -- about 6 genera are recognized. Oxalis has huge diversity in South America, and jumped to South Africa where the unusual bulb (for dicots) evolved and diversified into more than 200 species in the Cape fynbos. Oxalis tuberosa or "oca" or New Zealand Yam is a cultivated food plant of the Andes, that has been grown in New Zealand since the 1860's. It is presently undergoing a surge of popularity in the "urban hipster" community in the US. Starfruit (Averrhoa) is a member of the family, as is the Himalayan medical herb -Biophytum sensitivum. Many of the Oxalis family are quite poisonous.
http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb/orders/oxalidalesweb.htm


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## shinbone (Jul 5, 2011)

JWChewsnut - Fantastic photos! What is your camera setup?


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

http://youtu.be/jwuWVOF_zFs

Bees working the Quercus agrifolia catkins on a warm winter Solstice.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Yep, this confirm my findings that the bees only like the yellow oxalis flowers.
They so far have ignored the pink or white ones. Maybe the yellow provide better
pollen and nectar.
Since my bees like them as an early food source I'll go dig up some more to plant in my area. 
Yes, once they are established it is very hard to get rid of them. So bee careful on where you put them.


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

grozzie2 said:


> Spring ?? Checking the calendar, Sunday is first day of winter it seems.
> 
> Factoid for you. Days are short, nights are long. That turns on Dec 21 the solstice and the days start getting longer, but, it's January 19 before night time cooling and daytime heating balance in the northern hemisphere. Till then, we are still getting colder, and that tide turns late January. This is not news to anybody that lives in snow / cold country, January is always the coldest month of the year.


That is a valuable piece of information. I have always felt like Solstice was more of a beginning of winter than a mid-point. I'm sure our average temperatures will pretty much conform to that model. March is still the meanest month though. 

They call this the "temperate" zone. They should call it the "temperamental" zone.


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## GusK (Jan 24, 2013)

Today at the beeyard:

bee on oxalis









the beeyard









My bees "overwinter" in a warm valley, not in the cold mountains, so they are slowly building up from about 6 frames right now. Friends of mine with bees in the mountains see their bees go broodless; for my bees, that's a rarity. My new queens, mated in November, are about 3-4 framers, which will slowly grow to three deeps by April. The main breed of bee here is Carnica, mixed with some Cecropian (a mainland Greece bee, cousin to the carnica). From August their populations dwindle to a single deep, which is also due to some Fall splitting. No need for much reserves. If anything, too many reserves makes them too unnecessarily broody for the winter. Pollen gathering is a year round occurrence that fluctuates, despite the annual May to September mostly drought conditions.

I recently saw an almond tree with one branch full of blossoms. That's a month early.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Yes, Spring is finally here for you. Usually our almond
blossom means that it is early Spring here. 
Looks like you also take advantage of the nautral available 
resource like those big rocks on top of the hives. 
Mind to tell me what are the 2 brown standing cicular tubs?
Maybe they are the trash cans, eh.
Those oxalis have huge flowers. Must be very fertile soil you
have there. Our yellow oxalis flowers are 1/3 that size. Your
bees fit right inside the flowers but ours only cling to the outside
to harvest the nectar and pollen. Maybe it is time to give them some
organic chicken compost manure to beef them up a bit. How come you don't
plant some almonds around your hives? You still have lots of open space surrounding
your bee hives. And some dandelions and clovers can be grown on your bee pastures also.


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## NewbeeInNH (Jul 10, 2012)

I'm so jealous! We've had a warm December, but that only means the cold weather is yet to come!

The past couple days the bees have been hovering around the entrances. I see activity at 4 out of the 5 hives. The one I'm not seeing activity at is a one medium nuc started in August. If that doesn't make it, it would make sense to me, when I moved it on top of another hive for the winter I got the bees all riled up and I don't know if the queen may have gotten squished or lost in the transfer - hope not, it's too cold to check the hives, so just wait and see. But April seems a LONG way off!

You lucky beekeepers in warm climates. You don't know how much easier that makes your life. Except that mites, etc. have an easier go at it.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

NewbeeInNH said:


> You lucky beekeepers in warm climates. You don't know how much easier that makes your life. Except that mites, etc. have an easier go at it.


I would have guessed it is much easier to have bees and grow a garden in the north.


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

Acebird said:


> I would have guessed it is much easier to have bees and grow a garden in the north.


Please explain how a shorter growing season makes vegetable gardening easier?


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## treetrunk (Apr 25, 2013)

JWChesnut said:


> The South African Oxalis pes-caprae is an invasive weed in Mediterranean climates worldwide. Locally in Calif. it is known as "Bermuda Buttercup". It is mostly just a nuisance in my area, but in sheep pasture it can be a toxic poison (due to the oxalic crystals in the leaves). Interestingly, it is nearly completely sterile, and reproduces through bulbs produced on the roots.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_pes-caprae
> 
> ...


We called that "Sour Grass" as kids due to the flavor of the stems. Our parents always reminded us the flavor was from the dog peeing on it... Anyone else heard that? I still eat it!


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## NewbeeInNH (Jul 10, 2012)

BeeCurious said:


> Please explain how a shorter growing season makes vegetable gardening easier?


Because everything dies right away, leaving you with lots of spare time?


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

BeeCurious said:


> Please explain how a shorter growing season makes vegetable gardening easier?


It doesn't get as hot so it is more comfortable to work in.
You don't have as many irrigation issues.
There are less bugs, pests, and disease because of winter kill.
Invasive weeds are easier to control because of winter kill.
The soil tends to be more fertile.
The growing season can be extended with a green house.
Far to expensive to have a refrigeration house to keep plants from bolting in the south.

New Jersery is the Garden state not Florida.


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## Davers (Aug 6, 2014)

Loved the closeups. Here in N. Calif. the bees are flying at 55 F and bringing in the pollen from somewhere. There busy as bees


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Acebird said:


> I would have guessed it is much easier to have bees and grow a garden in the north.


I cooked a burger for lunch today, and added _fresh _- just picked - leaf lettuce and kale from _my _garden. :thumbsup::thumbsup:


When is the next time you will be able to eat fresh produce from _your _garden 'in the north'? 


My bees were also out enjoying the flying weather.


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> When is the next time you will be able to eat fresh produce from _your _garden 'in the north'?


We're actually having a Mache (Corn Salad) salad tonight that I picked yesterday. Without a cold frame or greenhouse... 

Nothing says "easy gardening" like digging footers and constructing a greenhouse!


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> I cooked a burger for lunch today, and added _fresh _- just picked - leaf lettuce and kale from _my _garden. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
> 
> 
> When is the next time you will be able to eat fresh produce from _your _garden 'in the north'?


We had casseroles of onions, and carrots, squash and potatoes. Most certainly could of had chard, kale, and beets if we wanted to leave them. Lettuce and kale is what you call a garden? We bought apples for apple pie because our trees didn't bear fruit but certainly apples make it to December. Did you make any blueberry jam this year? How did your garlic crop go?


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Did you miss my word "fresh", Ace? As in "just picked"? :scratch:
You just picked those squash "fresh" out of your garden - in New York state?? Yesterday?? 




> Lettuce and kale is what you call a garden?


It is what is growing *FRESH *in my garden right *NOW*. What edible foods are growing right now in YOUR garden? :kn:


Keep in mind this started with your statement of ...


> I would have guessed it is much easier to have bees and grow a garden in the north.


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

Acebird said:


> I would have guessed it is much easier to have bees and grow a garden in the north.


I have a couple of friends who are serious gardners that have moved to Hawaii and disagree.


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## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

Depending upon when winter relents enough to plant, I usually have early lettuce and radishes in late April or early May. Some years I get to plant in late February, so can have green onions if I want them a bit earlier along with the radishes and lettuce.

Peas are late May, and I won't eat kale or mustard greens, so although I might have some available they don't count.

Tomatoes are mid July and later most years, but we didn't get a real harvest until late August this year due to the cool summer.

Peter


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## Bee Bliss (Jun 9, 2010)

Brian feels it is easier to garden in the north. He didn't say you could garden year 'round, but that conditions seem to be more favorable when gardening.

That being said, I consider that a harvest from a garden can be enjoyed fresh or stored (like apples, squash, onions, potatoes, etc.) or preserved for later consumption by freezing, dehydrating or canning.

We enjoy apples and the pears lasted until late November. We did recently just cook up squash from our garden this summer. We have lots of frozen and canned tomatoes in the form of chunks, sauce, juice. A lot of cherry desserts have been made from the cherries we froze. Pumpkins and some squash were cooked and pureed and put into the freezer in canning jars. We have other vegies and fruits that are eaten fresh or preserved. Right now we have a mushroom kit that we will harvest from soon.

I consider this all as a harvest from the yarden whether eaten fresh or preserved for later consumption! A big bonus is honey that our bees harvest!


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## NewbeeInNH (Jul 10, 2012)

!!!Garden Wars!!!

Well, what else are you going to argue about while the bees are taking a vacation...


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Hey, if gardening is easier "in the north", one would expect Ace to have fresh garden produce available 12 months per year, right? 

I merely asked what FRESH items he had available for harvest. That shouldn't be too difficult a question, it seems to me. :kn:



I offered up that I had FRESH leaf lettuce and kale growing RIGHT NOW - and that I had harvested some that day, and Ace _dissed_:no: my greens with ...



Acebird said:


> Lettuce and kale is what you call a garden?


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

A fresh vegetable is one that is not processed. Everything that I listed was not processed so it is fresh and grown organically. Butternut squash last darn near the whole winter. I am working on the potatoes and onions.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Apparently it _*was *_too difficult of a question! :lpf:


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> Apparently it _*was *_too difficult of a question! :lpf:


I guess our salad greens are SUPER FRESH! 

We know what happens to most non processed perishables... They rot. 

Fresh, and long storage are not the same.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

BeeCurious said:


> Fresh, and long storage are not the same.


I'll take all your year old or older honey you don't want. It certainly depends on what it is. Week old lettuce out of the garden you can have. Butternut squash out of my garden in the middle of winter taste like heaven.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Acebird said:


> Week old lettuce out of the garden you can have.


Gee, Ace, according to your comment in earlier posts, WEEK OLD lettuce should be just fine for you. After all ....



Acebird said:


> A fresh vegetable is one that is not processed.


By _*your *_standards, that week old lettuce is "fresh". :lpf:

:ws:


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

Acebird said:


> I'll take all your year old or older honey you don't want.


I thought you had a "bumper crop"...


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

BeeCurious said:


> I thought you had a "bumper crop"...


Yeah, and it is holiday time and all my friends and relatives were drooling so it is half gone.


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

Acebird said:


> Yeah, and it is holiday time and all my friends and relatives were drooling
> 
> 
> snip.


Sounds festive!


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## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

Well -21 here last night, winter is here but I'm anticipating spring. I probably couldn't even pull the cover off my winter lettuce right now


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## doug reed (Feb 1, 2014)

treetrunk said:


> We called that "Sour Grass" as kids due to the flavor of the stems. Our parents always reminded us the flavor was from the dog peeing on it... Anyone else heard that? I still eat it!


Sure thing. Always enjoyed sour grass as a kid in San Diego. Still do. I never paid attention to it's attractiveness to bees. Guess I'll have to encourage those small patches that pop up every year.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Checking hives here in SC where it was 75 today. All hives have brood, some have much as three frames. 
Will need to monitor their stores ......


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## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

Looks like winter is back for North Florida this week. The bees have already started raising lots of drones, I would guess they will be pulling a lot of them back out before the week is over.

Gardening here in North Florida is not exactly ideal. We don't really get enough chill hours to grow many fruits and nuts and it gets cold enough to make citrus difficult. It's also hard to grow many vegetables during the middle of summer except things like peas and butter beans. We have to get the summer gardens is early before it gets too hot for squash and maters.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Got a couple of frosty nights to kill off the sour grass though the ones under the
eve of the house are still living. They'll recover when it is the real Spring again.
It is still too chilly here to do any gardening now.


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## marshmasterpat (Jun 26, 2013)

Even though mayhaws are swelling and few blooms starting and was told the red maples are swelling as well, maybe it is not spring yet. Dropping in 20s this week. And that is plenty cold enough for me.


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## whiskers (Aug 28, 2011)

So, suppose one takes these oxalis plants or rhubarb leaves also come to mind, dries them, and uses them as smoker fuel. Any effect on mites? Bees? Beekeeper?
Bill


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## whiskers (Aug 28, 2011)

So, suppose one takes these oxalis plants or rhubarb leaves also come to mind, dries them, and uses them as smoker fuel. Any effect on mites? Bees? Beekeeper?
Bill


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## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

The other day I had full sun on my hives with an air temp of 39 F. The bees were taking cleansing flights and if you watched closely, some of them would drop out of the air and die. Winter has just begun here which means spring splits are getting closer every day


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

But before the Spring splits we must get thru this cold first.
Sorry for the bees in the east coast though.

If the concentration of the OA is large enough then there will be a significant effects on the
bees and mites. Too bad you are only burning carbons. So don't sniffs it, o.k. But if you do surely
update us here.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

beepro said:


> But before the Spring splits we must get thru this cold first.
> Sorry for the bees in the east coast though.


Spring, eh? Only -25˚ this morning.


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## Dominic (Jul 12, 2013)

Michael Palmer said:


> Spring, eh? Only -25˚ this morning.


-28°C

Poor snow cover though, Christmas was pretty darn warm.

They say it's going to _feel_ like -40°C soon, too.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

9 degrees here at the moment, feels like -1 with the wind chill.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Spring, eh? Only -25˚ this morning.

Wow! We've been lucky. -5 F 10pm last night. +10 F by 5am this morning... a heat wave...


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Fruit tree bloom and drone activity here. Two months till swarming. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC3EUYWREfA&list=UUdeOrgFk3sLorf8olIvQeog


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Michael Palmer said:


> Spring, eh? Only -25˚ this morning.


Being in SC, I can't imagine (and don't want to experience) -25.......


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

odfrank said:


> Fruit tree bloom and drone activity here. Two months till swarming.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC3EUYWREfA&list=UUdeOrgFk3sLorf8olIvQeog


Stunning video. I'm more surprised that you actually have a colony that's still alive over winter than I am of their activity.:applause:


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

Dang Frank, you going to move all your hives to Warre?


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