Hello to All,

I appreciate what Aaron and Lloyd have said about the weather.  The
weather has been tough on us here in the Mideast. We had rain to stop the
sourwood flow around the fourth of July. Cloudy and rainy for about a week
after the fourth then a hot and dry summer in the 90's until just before
September when we had about 3/4 of an inch, just enough to excite the
ladies into laying; the goldenrod flow had been already blooming for
almost 3 weeks with very little moisture in the ground. Since the first of
September we have had about an inch of rain until yesterday's passing of a
cold front. The asters bloomed awful late. Needless to say, our bees have
consumed most of their spring honey and with such a small fall flow folks
that did not feed are left with light hives and small clusters going into
winter.

My own opinion is that this will indeed be a hard winter for survival here
in the south and mideast. I checked out NOAA's drought site,
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html, this morning and shared this
information with my friend who lives near Hamilton, IL. Just north of
Hamilton and north to the Wisconsin border, a great part of Illinois is
listed as having an extreme drought. Hamilton is listed as severe, and
points south fare better.  The corner of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and
Oklahoma then south to Mississippi is another area of great concern. Then
there is eastern Washington and Oregon, most of Idaho Wyoming and Montana
and down the western spine of the Rockies and the eastern part of the
Great Basin to eastern Arizona and most of New Mexico where levels of
drought occur.

Seems that a whole lot of this country is mighty thirsty, the fall flows
were too! Winter just may be one of those that breaks the bank, and I am
not talking about rivers – lets hope not! Check you hives now for weight
and feed if needed; and, on the first warm day available check out hive
strength and combine where needed. Continue to feed until stores are
sufficient for your area.  Queens for spring are already in short supply,
now is that time to start thinking about raising your own.

Who knows what weather winter will bring, let’s hope and pray that spring
will be an answer to our prayers.

Chuck Norton

Reidsville, NC

-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and  other info ---