When you think of a MI winter, what images go through your mind? Sleds, Plow trucks, mittens, hot cocoa, snowmobiles, skis, a warm cozy fire perhaps? What about honeybee hives?? For the general population, images of bee hives are not on that list. But for us MI beekeepers out there, those hives are always on our minds. During the winter months we can't work our bees, we can't see them gracefully flying in and out of the hive, but we can think and plan. Plan what new method we'll try this year, plan to improve our current skills or learn a new one. This past season I learned how to mark my queens and use baby nucs in my queen rearing. I hope to sharpen those skills this upcoming season. What new knowledge or skill in beekeeping will you learn this year?
I hope you enjoy these winter scenes of apiaries.
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| Bentheim, MI 8 degrees F, Jan. 4, 2018 |
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| Bentheim, MI. Jan 4, 2018 |
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| Bentheim, MI. January 4, 2018. 8 degrees F. |
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| Hives tucked in the back left corner. out of the wind. Dorr, MI. |
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| Hopkins, MI. January 9, 33 degrees. With the slight warm up, the snow had slumped off the top covers and down the fronts of the hives. This covered some of the top entrances and bottom entrances on the hives. Had to clear it off. Top left, there is always at least one bee that has to come out and see what's happening. |
