Bob Harrison wrote:

>
> I just came in from checking hives. The weather today was 55F. with no
> wind. Very little brood and many hives with no brood yet. Very different
> than the last few warm winters. We had the coldest November & December in
> many years and close to a record.
>  I would be interested in hearing what other beekeepers are seeing in
> areas they have been able to actually look into hives and look at frames
> for brood.  I am not interested in hearing from armchair beekeepers which
> have only lifted the lid and seen bees covering 4 or 5 frames

Hello All,
 I'm in western Washington and we have had a mild winter. I put pollen patties
on 50 hives today. We will finish by the end of the week.It is still too cold
to pull frames around here.It was 20F last night and almost up to 40F today.
Bees are clustered tight with some showing signs of PMS. ( loose clusters with
some dead bees outside of the cluster area ) Populations from 3 frames to 10
frames covered. Most are 5 to 6 frames.
 Last year I had  30 queens flown in off shore because I had 30 hives that were
in 1 1/2  deeps at this time. So its not as good this year. Some of  the
situation is do to the genetics of my queens this year. More of the normal
carniolan behavior in winter.
 We don't even have buds yet on the maples , so we have a month to go until
that happens.
 I made 120 screened bottoms so far and will do 170 hives with the screens this
year.I will run 100 Russian ( Blue line ) and do 30 carnies from Poland.Maybe I
can bridge Varroa a little better without chemicals. I have some hives right
now that look good without normal chemical intervention. Mint oil , and I would
not recommend playing that game. It only works with certain set of
conditions.The bees need to have a high hygienic behavior. So what came first,
the chicken or the egg. So is it the mint and the bees clear out the paper with
the mint in one day and get it all through the brood nest or are they cleaning
out the mites on there own. Good question. I don't have the time to check it
out. 170 hives to stay on top of and 5 farmers markets a week to do during the
season.
 This may be a normal year for western Washington.. How spring comes in this
year is the real answer for the season. If its wet , it will be slow. 1/2
sunshine and it will be great.
 Note: Do not pull frames in  a cluster to check for brood.When they open up,
go ahead on a nice day . 55F + Look for pollen coming in and that will tell you
allot about what is going on in the brood nest. 32 years playing this game has
a few positive points. Not as many mistakes , you already made most of them.
Best Regards
Roy Nettlebeck
Tahuya River Apiaries
Tahuya Wa. 98588