# Finally!!.... She says hopefully...



## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

This is the first year that more than half my hives have made it through the winter!! (She says knocking on all the wood she can find while rubbing her rabbits foot with her 4-leaf clover tucked behind her ear...)...

Went out this last weekend and checked 7 of my 8 hives (the last one is in an out yard a mile and a half up the road). Out of those 7, there's only one with absolutely NO bees coming in or out. I'm just hoping that the activity coming out of the others is not robbing! I sat in front of a couple of the hives I thought were weak going into winter and they were pulling out dead bees, so it looks to me like it's spring cleaning. They wouldn't do that if they were just robbing, right? One of the hives is going gangbusters with a LOT of activity outside. It's right next to the dead out so I'm hoping to do a split the next time I get when it's warm enough to actually crack open the hives. Right now it's just barely getting to 50, so I was just observing the comings and goings. But I'm stoked for warmer weather when I can get in there and see what's going on. 

Come on dandi-lions!!  :sing:


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Maybe the weather has turned the corner. 

 Al


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

I can't wait until this Friday and Saturday!! It's supposed to be MID 50's. Almost a heat wave. LOL.

I'm hoping to take more time and lift the lids and check out what's going on in there. See which hives have brood, etc. Swap boxes around if I have to and put in a few new frames. I try to do this every year so that I can remove the wax on old foundation.


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

Finally got a bit of help volunteered on Sunday and the weather was behaving itself, so I got a good look into my hives. Only 4 of the 8 survived but one is going gangbusters and will be doing a split here soon. That queen was large! She had decided to lay in the upper three medium boxes and left the hive body alone, so we made sure she was in the lower medium, put the large hive body on top of that and then replaced the other two mediums on top. We're hoping she'll lay new eggs in the large hive body and we can pull frames and guarantee ourselves young eggs for the 2 nukes we'll make from it. Sense she's going so well, we'll probably put in more frames for her to continue laying in and make a couple more splits from her genetics.. 
Another hive is doing really well and will probably have to do a split on that one as well. I think I'll be back up to 8 in no time. Good thing, too as a couple friends want to start up this year as well.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

We still have a few hives to check yet. I told Tom yesterday it is like starting out again it is so bad. I am chalking it up to all syrup for winter stores and a cold winter. I also told Tom our biggest yard last fall is across a pond about two feet deep in an area that amounts to an island. Thinking about that canoe but the animals here are going two by two yet looking for a dry craft to live in. Another .22 inches of rain yesterday.
Brother is probably going to need a dozer to get his tractor out of the mud he sunk it in.


 Al


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