I arranged time to visit the bee yards after a strong front moved through the area with winds gusts recorded near 90 mph.  I was surprised, given the lower than normal nectar flow last season, that I didn’t here more on the lists about wind toppled hives.  I checked 2 yards at the foot of the ridge, which for some reason, -perhaps due to the terrain, winds can get particularly strong throughout the year.  It can be a calm day in the ridge where I live, but windy as heck in this valley,  so use of wind breaks are essential here, but still not of much help during violent winds.  

I had about 8 hives blown over and a few more roofs blown off.  It was cold and windy when I checked the hives, so I didn’t move any combs -only to replace wind scattered combs into the hives.  I didn’t have my bee gear with me, so setting up the hives that seemed to be without bees and minus roofs innercovers and bottoms went without incident.  Only when I laid my ear directly on the top bars and knocked on the side was I greeted with wonderful smell of alarm odor, as well as the voices from the family of bees.  I proceeded to do the same to the other hives, and was greeted more intensely by some bee families than others, and some were kind enought to see that I hurried along, and made it back to the truck in a timely manner.   

So far, I am very happy with how the bees wintering is going.  As a rule, if the bees make it till the upswing of the season, -when morality seems to increase within the bee family, -which is seems to me, starts about the time the STEELERS win the Superbowl, -they will make it till spring.  In years in which the STEELERS fail to make it to the superbowl, the upswing day is marked by Groundhogs day, which falls on the 2nd. of Feb. 


Best Wishes,
Joe


      

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