HAPPY SPRING!!!

Today is the first day of spring! It is 8F (-13C)... Brrrrr......that is cold.  I was listening to the radio yesterday and heard that the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil has been fired :)

Russian Hive in Chanhassen

Spring in Minnesota!

Actually these frigid March temperatures look like January...what a huge step back. I wonder how the bees are going to make it . Foraging might start very late this year... the ground is still frozen, and  has many inches of snow.

We checked our hives again on March 17, 2013. They are  still alive but now we are worried because it is still cold, and the honeybees are going to run out of fresh food. They have some reserves from last fall, like honey and  pollen but they will not go out and forage soon. It is a vulnerable time for the honeybees. Of course we are giving them pollen patties, but now the queen has been  laying eggs for few weeks and most bees are busy covering the brood to keep the next generation warm. Since this is the utmost job, it takes precedence to eating. It is true honeybees would rather starve to death than leave the brood unattended, in order to save the species. But they don't know that if they don't eat, all will perish.  I guess I have to have faith in nature. We will see.