This hasn't been a great winter for bringing bees thru here in
Alberta.  Losses of 50% in some yards is not uncommon, so when I
got a call from a landowner saying my hives were half under water
because of an ice jam in the creek, I thought, "Oh well".
 
I figured there was no rush to get there, because I would have to
walk in due to the mud and couldn't bring anything out, and besides
it was probably -- from the description -- a total loss.
 
Well, today I got the packages squared away -- having released the
queens -- and thought I'd like a drive in the country.
 
We got there alright, but had to go around -- the water was too high
on the ford, and we couldn't make it across the creek, so we had to
go back around, pulling a neighbour out of the mud on the way, and
finally got to the yard.
 
What a sight!  The four packs -- still wrapped in Kodel-- had
remained on their pallets, but they had obviously had water up
halfway their sides, and they were scattered around the area, still
upright, AND there were bees were flying from them *all*.
 
We opened and fed the yard -- 30 hives in total, and guess what:  We
had only four dead.  Moreover, the survivers almost all looked better
than the 2 pound packages I spent my week on.
 
As Winnie-the-Pooh says, "You just never can tell about bees".
 
<Happy ending>.
 
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>