Hi Mike & All, >When such statements are made it would be a convenience if your were to >also >reference your geographical location since that has such a strong bearing >upon the sustenance of statements like this. This is why I include in my signature my exact location that I live, that location is within a 30-40 mile distance from where I keep the bees I keep. I used to includein my signature what I yhought was other relavent information about me and my location but I had to omit some of my signature because of its length even though I have seen on this list signatures that are longer than mine was and patted ones back real hard. for instance in my case I would leave in my signature a link to a weather site that would show my current weather and five day forcast to give those who actually read my post a chance to see how my weather is doing at the time the post is being read, seeing that beekeeping is actually local weather instead of just location. For this post I will leave my signature as I used to have it so members can judge for themselves if it is to long or not, maybe it was but I don't think so. really I guess we are lucky in some instances that we get a signature at all with some posts that gets through, left to wonder who and where did that come from. I am up front and straight forward with all I write and do. >Ian wrote: I have yet to hear of a beekeeper who doesn't wrap their hives >in >cold >winter conditions. > This is not true, even here on this list just within the last two weeks Bill T. of Bath Maine stated that he also does not wrap the hives he keeps. Now I would think that in Maine it will get preeetty cold even for Alaska standards, maybe in some or most years colder than some parts of Alaska, which is nothing more than a block of ice sticking out in the bering sea, the arctic ocean and The Gulf of Alaska. Why should I wrap a hive that is made out of drifted snow cut out in blocks, fashioned and looking like an igloo. d:~)> I hope a little humor does not hurt or offend anyone. I do belong to the Alaska lierers club. . .. c(((([ Keith Malone Chugiak, Alaska USA Caucasian Bee Keeper [log in to unmask] http://takeoff.to/alaskahoney http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Norlandbeekeepers/ Check out current weather in my area and 5 day forecast; http://www.wx.com/myweather.cfm?ZIP=99654 _________________________________________________________________ Tired of slow downloads and busy signals? Get a high-speed Internet connection! Comparison-shop your local high-speed providers here. https://broadband.msn.com :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::