Just wanted to share

[Wandering Man]

some photos of our hives.  The girls seem to be doing pretty well despite our roller-coaster weather.

[neillsayers]

Very nice WM,

Is the entrance on the TBH a modification for a robber screen?

[Bakersdozen]

Thanks for sharing, WM.  It's nice to see pictures of leaves on trees and some green in the grass. 

[Wandering Man]

Very nice WM,

Is the entrance on the TBH a modification for a robber screen?

The two horizontal hives are Langstroth Longs, each with a different design, rather than top bar.
The one closest (blue with bees) is a take off of Dr. Leo Sharashkin: https://horizontalhive.com/how-to-build/long-langstroth-plans.shtml

The one in the background is based off the design of Caroline Abbott: https://www.abbottsustainablefarms.com/long-langstroth-hive

The first has three side entrances, the second has one front entrance.  I need to make some modifications to it so the bees can enter/exit through the vent holes at the top.  The guy who built it made some changes I didn't approve.

I haven't yet figured out how to apply a robber screen to either hive, but I know that will be necessary.  There are a lot of red wasps and yellow jackets in the area.

We plan to watch both hives, and then decide which one we prefer before converting our third colony into a long-lang.

The designer on the front hive thought I'd like to be able to close off all of the entrances and use the "secret" entrance at the side.  If you look closely, you can see a cork plugged into the white block at the end of the hive.  I don't know if that would serve as a "robber screen" or not.  It would certainly serve to reduce the entrance to the hive and give the bees a better chance at protecting their entrance.  Bees entering or leaving have to go through an "L" shaped tunnel to get into or out of the hive.

When he first made the entrance, he created a little outhouse for the entrance, with the bees having to exit via a hand carved toilet.  The outhouse had a door that could be opened and closed, revealing the toilet.  Very cute, I thought.  But his wife said "No."  I wish he'd put it on.

[iddee]

Looking good. With 17F. here this morning and 19F. for tonight, I may be just a bit envious.

[Wandering Man]

We are home for the weekend, so just ran out to look at the hives.  Nice sunny day with temps in the upper 60's. 

I couldn't see any flowering plants.  I guess it's a good thing I'm not a bee, because the girls were sure finding pollen from somewhere.

[Bakersdozen]

Do you have maples and elms blooming?  Could be that they are finding native plants that are still standing and have pollen still attached.  My bees will do that this time of year when weather permits.

[Wandering Man]

We don't have much in the way of tall, deciduous trees. 

We have Live Oak and Pin Oak, which never lose their leaves.  We've also got red oak, which will lose their leaves, but haven't started coming back.  The weesatche is a thorny bush, I think, that often gets as big as a tree, unless the two are separate species.  And then there is the mesquite, which will lose its leaves during the fall.  It is said that when they start to leaf out winter is over.  I think I'm starting to see some leaves.

A native of South Texas who travels north into territory where tall trees exist is usually amazed that such a thing exists.

We've got some small yellow flowers that the bees may be working. 

Agarita is showing lots of berries, but I don't see any blossoms, unless the bees somehow gain sustenance from the berry.

We also have mistletoe and wild mustard and I've heard they are in bloom.  I've seen the mistletoe in the dead branches of the oak trees, but I don't know what their blooms look like.  There is also some kind of grass that I see in the fields that may be a source of pollen.  They have a fuzzy bloom, kind of like horsemint.  There is a lot of it, and I'd like to find out what it is.  Next time we go out, I'll try to catch a picture of it.