Upcoming Blog Topics

Spring of 2025 is here - are you ready?

What Bees Keep? Carnie? Italian? Russian? Hybrid?

How do bees help our environment?

How do I get started with beekeeping?

The Three Amigas - January 6th 2025 - 20 Degrees

Spring of 2025 may be here but the 20-30mph winds and the 25 degree mornings and 35 degree highs do not feel like Spring to us. The Bees are also getting confused. Just 4 days ago a record high of 77 was attained. I have spring flowers, Willow trees blooming and a very restless desire to dig in to my hive to greet the ladies. Instead I am putting on a second layer of clothes then my Winter jacket to go outside to get more bee hives ready for new bees. I get to dream about the smell of the spring blossoms, the gentle buzzing of the bees circling about and the sight of the many colors of pollen being carried into the busy hive.

If you are like me, you spent a lot of time thinking about what you wanted to do and needed to do to prepare for the new packages of bees that you need to get because you lost yours to either high mite loads, bees freezing because of fluctuating weather or in my case - cattle getting out & knocking over your hive in icy January weather killing your bees. Take the time this "Spring" to get boxes ready, frames cleaned up or replacement frames ready, so that you have some time to sit back and enjoy the anticipation of that new package of bees. That rush of holding 3000 females that at any moment if they so desired could inflict a lot of pain. Instead - they are focused on the queen that has been hanging around in there traveling home for a couple of days.

If you are ready - Good for you. I still have a few things to do but will be ready for my package installation. My hives that made it through the Wisconsin Winter have been out and somehow from somewhere have been bring back pollen to the hive since the second week of March. They are an amazing site to behold at times and I for one never tire of watching them come and go.