Author Topic: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!  (Read 4641 times)

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Offline iddee

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #20 on: February 15, 2021, 09:12:15 pm »
I've had them for years. NO, you don't need a basement. Mine go right through the floor joist into the crawlspace. Be careful and just barely turn them off, and not tightly. Give them a minute to drain. They strip easily  I have replaced several where the kids tried to tighten them too tight.
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Offline Wandering Man

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #21 on: February 15, 2021, 10:18:37 pm »
I've had them for years. NO, you don't need a basement. Mine go right through the floor joist into the crawlspace. Be careful and just barely turn them off, and not tightly. Give them a minute to drain. They strip easily  I have replaced several where the kids tried to tighten them too tight.


Well, our house is built on a slab. I’m sure some of our pipes are in the foundation, but there are also new tangled hoses running across our attic. The plumbing the runs between the brick and the inner wall.
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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #22 on: February 16, 2021, 11:41:31 am »
Our local bee club had a zoom meeting last night.  Even some of the seasoned beekeepers are concerned about winter losses because of the deep freeze.  Marginal colonies will be lost for sure.
A rural beekeeper shared that he was told that propane was being rationed.  He only got 200 gallons.  The electrical grid has been off for 2 hours.  It's my understanding our local company is sending our resources down to Texas. (I am not sure of the exact procedure)  I will add that we had NO advance notice that this was going to happen.  I also appears that they targeted certain neighborhoods.  This could be very scary for those with medical conditions requiring electricity and/or heat.
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Offline Wandering Man

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #23 on: February 16, 2021, 05:05:28 pm »
Our local bee club had a zoom meeting last night.  Even some of the seasoned beekeepers are concerned about winter losses because of the deep freeze.  Marginal colonies will be lost for sure.
A rural beekeeper shared that he was told that propane was being rationed.  He only got 200 gallons.  The electrical grid has been off for 2 hours.  It's my understanding our local company is sending our resources down to Texas. (I am not sure of the exact procedure)  I will add that we had NO advance notice that this was going to happen.  I also appears that they targeted certain neighborhoods.  This could be very scary for those with medical conditions requiring electricity and/or heat.

I'm sorry we are stealing your resources.  The word down here is that all (most?) of the windmill farms that are supposed to be replacing fossil fuel are frozen and standing useless.  I've got a friend in Beeville near one of the windfarms who confirmed the frozen blades of the windmills despite howling winds.

Many in Texas are ready to blame Biden for his early implementation of green policies.

We have been without water for the last two days.  We live in a small housing addition outside of town and the new owners of our water district failed to protect their pipes.  On the other hand, we have not lost electrical power.  We hear from folks in town who are participating in the rolling blackouts.

My sister-in-law and her husband are still without power or water.  All of the business in town are shut down, except the large Grocer, HEB.  They drove 25 miles away to find a gas station that was open and a restaurant that wouldn't let them eat inside.  The IHOP did allow them to use the restroom and wash their hands.

All of our local stores are rationing water.  Two water items per customer.  By visiting various stores, we feel lucky to have 6 gallons of water to flush our toilets with.  I was outside earlier today collecting snow and icicles. 
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Offline Zweefer

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #24 on: February 17, 2021, 12:14:20 am »
Hang in there everyone! We are praying for you up here.


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Offline yukonjeff

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #25 on: February 17, 2021, 01:54:55 am »
Good luck down there. Hope you all stay safe. That kind of unexpected cold snap is hard on the power grid. If your in the south with black ice and no snow tires.  Would be good idea to stay off the roads.

As far as your bees, they will be fine, cold don't kill them if they have enough feed they can get to. Any doubt put on a shim and a sugar brick.
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Offline Wandering Man

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #26 on: February 17, 2021, 08:52:13 am »
Thanks for the prayers.

We got our water back yesterday around 7 pm. We’ve been lucky that we’ve been missed in the rolling power outages. Hot showers help with the attitude. They haven’t announced a boil water notice yet, but I expect it to come.

The city of Victoria has had a number of pipes burst, which explains the water rationing at the local grocery stores. One thing the pandemic has taught them is how to start rationing sooner rather than later.

39* this morning and raining, but expected to stay above freezing most of the day. We’ll venture out to check on the bees today then stay home until Saturday. We are expecting temps to drop back into the teens the next 2 nights. That should put a nice glaze on the roads.

So far, no burst pipes.

Still no local t.v. We get all of our television off-air, and one company owns all of the channels, so we are feeling a little uninformed. YouTube and Facebook are poor substitutes.
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Offline Wandering Man

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #27 on: February 17, 2021, 08:53:53 am »
Yukonjeff, we could have used some of your experience down here.

Everyone is making a big deal about how your temps are currently warmer than ours.
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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #28 on: February 17, 2021, 09:15:39 am »


I'm sorry we are stealing your resources.  The word down here is that all (most?) of the windmill farms that are supposed to be replacing fossil fuel are frozen and standing useless.  I've got a friend in Beeville near one of the windfarms who confirmed the frozen blades of the windmills despite howling winds.

Many in Texas are ready to blame Biden for his early implementation of green policies.

We have been without water for the last two days.  We live in a small housing addition outside of town and the new owners of our water district failed to protect their pipes.  On the other hand, we have not lost electrical power.  We hear from folks in town who are participating in the rolling blackouts.

My sister-in-law and her husband are still without power or water.  All of the business in town are shut down, except the large Grocer, HEB.  They drove 25 miles away to find a gas station that was open and a restaurant that wouldn't let them eat inside.  The IHOP did allow them to use the restroom and wash their hands.

All of our local stores are rationing water.  Two water items per customer.  By visiting various stores, we feel lucky to have 6 gallons of water to flush our toilets with.  I was outside earlier today collecting snow and icicles.

Oh dear I was afraid that I would come across all wrong.  I am sorry that I did. 
 
The news from Texas is very grim and I know you and others are suffering. If it had been explained that we were sharing resources to help other states that are ill equipped for this weather, I know many would whole heartily agree. 
We understand that this is an event that only happens once in a very great while.

My main complaint is that the electric company didn't give any notification, no matter how brief. The local power company is under a larger jurisdiction and must do what they are told.   The power co. could have contacted TV and radio stations at least, but they didn't.  They are a monopoly and their PR department stinks.  In the last couple of days, the power co. has said one thing, then done another.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Offline Grandma Bear

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #29 on: February 17, 2021, 09:24:26 am »
Thanks for the prayers.

We got our water back yesterday around 7 pm. We’ve been lucky that we’ve been missed in the rolling power outages. Hot showers help with the attitude. They haven’t announced a boil water notice yet, but I expect it to come.

The city of Victoria has had a number of pipes burst, which explains the water rationing at the local grocery stores. One thing the pandemic has taught them is how to start rationing sooner rather than later.

39* this morning and raining, but expected to stay above freezing most of the day. We’ll venture out to check on the bees today then stay home until Saturday. We are expecting temps to drop back into the teens the next 2 nights. That should put a nice glaze on the roads.

So far, no burst pipes.

Still no local t.v. We get all of our television off-air, and one company owns all of the channels, so we are feeling a little uninformed. YouTube and Facebook are poor substitutes.

I was reading this morning that another snow/ice storm is headed through Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas in a few days....I hope so much that the forecast is incorrect and y'all can get back to normal soon! My cousins in Houston and Austin and San Antonio are miserable and concerned about a second storm. Many prayers for y'all...I know living in the south winter hits very differently than it does up here.

Offline Wandering Man

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #30 on: February 17, 2021, 09:36:40 am »
Bakers & Grandma,

Thank you for the prayers.

Bakers, understood your meaning and just wanted to acknowledge our thanks for the help being sent.

We lose half our power line workers several times a year, sending them up and down the coast for post hurricane repairs. The other coastal communities do the same for us when it’s our turn. That’s just part of what we all do: Chip in and help those who are struggling despite differences in distance, beliefs, or (hopefully) politics.

It feels like the US is divided until weather disasters happen.

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Offline Gypsi

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #31 on: February 19, 2021, 10:45:36 pm »
it has been quite cold in Fort worth. I didn't wrap my hives. I didn't start feeding syrup like I've heard recommended by some north texas beeks, I gave them each some fall honey I had put aside, left their screen bottom board with a cover board underneath, and made sure no draft between the 2 of those, used some filter floss to slow the wind. I saw bees this afternoon, they made it.
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Offline Wandering Man

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #32 on: February 19, 2021, 11:02:42 pm »
We went ahead and wrapped our hives. Then I worried because I hadn’t vented the top. Like you, we found bees flying today.

We’re going back tomorrow to add syrup to their feeders. It’ll be a while before they find anything with nectar or pollen.

I hope the wildflowers we planted rebound.

I’ll be planting sunflowers later next week.
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Offline Gypsi

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #33 on: February 21, 2021, 06:33:51 pm »
I may start feeding syrup tomorrow, if I get to the hives. Both my twin daughters are fixing their pipes (contractors being generally crooked for women customers) so I may have a house full of grandchildren tomorrow.   
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Offline Gypsi

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #34 on: February 22, 2021, 11:01:35 pm »
Went out with syrup today to find that my stacked nuc died, not enough bees and they were covering brood instead of being really clustered.  So sad. But the bigger 2 seem ok. Fed my beeweavers. Spread out the boxes with honey from the nuc, and let them do the housekeeping. There shouldn't be a robbing epidemic as I only have 2 hives and no local wild bees that I am aware of
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Offline Zweefer

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #35 on: February 23, 2021, 03:15:15 pm »
Sorry to hear of the loss gypsi


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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #36 on: February 24, 2021, 08:51:53 am »
Sorry about your double stacked nuc, Gypsi.  I lost a colony during the cold snap too. I haven't autopsied yet.  My first thought is that the cluster was the cluster got too small.  It wasn't a robust colony going into winter.  I probably should have combined it with another.  That is something that I should be more aware of in the fall.

Offline Grandma Bear

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #37 on: February 25, 2021, 05:01:24 pm »
Sorry about the nuc Gypsi. May the rest of the season be much better!

Offline Zweefer

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #38 on: March 01, 2021, 10:50:35 pm »
We have basements here.  where you are at, probably not so much...
Keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.
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Offline Gypsi

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Re: The Temperatures Falling! Run for you lives!
« Reply #39 on: March 29, 2021, 10:52:42 pm »
Very few basements in North Texas, the ground moves around too much. Clay and a water table that drops way down. Keeps foundation companies in business.
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