1st bee poop of the year!!!!!!!

[rober]

we've had a couple of days in the mid to high 50's & the girls were out. this morning I noticed bee poop on the truck.!! went into winter with 19 hives. so far no losses.

[Jen]

Hi Rober, us too, same thing, a couple days of 55 and our white trucks are golden splattered.. love it

[Perry]

Congrats on the success so far Rober.
We are in the middle of a deep freeze. I am taking a buddy of mine's approach to some degree this year. In previous years I would call and ask how his losses were so far and he would say "Great, haven't lost a hive yet". I was astounded as he runs 100 hives as well. The trick is he doesn't "really" check them until late March, as they are wrapped in quads on pallets. Until he confirms any are dead he "counts" them as alive. 

[Bakersdozen]

Good job, rober! On Super Bowl Sunday mine were out in full force.  They were quite inquisitive.
I like your new picture.  Maybe riverbee can help you enlarge it so we can see it better?

[rober]

I tried enlarging it. some of this computer stuff is beyond me. I scanned the photo to a document file but cannot figure out how to enlarge. that is my 1st grade school photo.

[Wandering Man]

I tried enlarging it. some of this computer stuff is beyond me. I scanned the photo to a document file but cannot figure out how to enlarge. that is my 1st grade school photo.

Can you scan it as a jpg?

[rober]

not sure how to do that. it's a pdf at this point.

[Lburou]

That is a great report rober!  Fingers crossed for you 

Here is how I've lost one hive this year...
I had set a frame out to be cleaned up on a recent warm day (too close to three young hives).  That set the sights of my local robbing bees on a NUC that had grown into an 8 frame box for winter, and the robbing began.  The robbing screen slowed them, but when I checked last week there was no brood and no stores.  None.

I took a frame of brood from another hive and combined with those bees.  The queen started laying and it looked like she could resurrect the hive.

Then came a call from a first year Club member who found one of their hives queenless.  I made a visit and confirmed the hive was queenless.  This family has six kids.  Our Club (and hobby beekeeping) needs younger people to be involved. 

I thought WWWD?  (What would Wally -iddee- do?).  Well then, the vision was clear...I donated that queen to the newbie's hive.  We will have a report on the progress of that hive soon.  When the family brought the NUC box back to my house, the little kids were excitedly filling me in on just how the queen introduction went.  Sowing the seeds of interest in bees is paying off already.   

So I lost a hive, but didn't really. 

[rober]

I was able to change the photo to a jpeg at the printer. when I scanned it however I have no idea where it ended up.

[Perry]

There's no doubt about it, Lee has just demonstrated what makes beekeepers special, their willingness to help.

If you copy and paste your pic to microsoft paint, you can easily do what you want to it and then save it to your pictures. I say that only because for the most part when I want to alter something it is how I do it.

[Wandering Man]

I was able to change the photo to a jpeg at the printer. when I scanned it however I have no idea where it ended up.

My printer usually drops them at the bottom of the "documents" folder.

You might look for something called "scan.jpg"  under all of the folders in your documents folder.

Check for the date, as a help.

[neillsayers]

Mine act as though spring is here. One colony is strong enough to consider another box. If this keeps up swarm season may be early.

Note to self. Bait swarm traps!

[Wandering Man]

A fellow beekeeper here captured a swarm out of a car in a local Walmart parking lot two weeks ago!

Better build two bait boxes.

[tedh]

Hey Lburou, I'm all for trying to spark an interest in our young people!  Especially if it has something to do with nature and the out doors!  Good on you and thanks!   Ted

[neillsayers]

Lee,
That's the kind of public relations this hobby/avocation needs!
 Well done!

[CBT]

A story like that helps take the sting out of lost hive.

[Lburou]

We had two colors of pollen today!  The bee season is underway for 2017!   

[Nugget Shooter]

Great news Rober