The weather is SLOWLY getting warmer. I have updated the wintering page at the bottom with what happened in my hives this winter. Check it out if you get time.
   A lot happening, and a lot about to happen. I am moving hives in preparation for ground thaw. The Pallets and cinder blocks with 4x4's across them will be replaced with permanent stands.
   Swarm traps are ready, more bees are ordered and I have queens coming to do splits with. It will be an exciting year with a lot to learn, and I hope to document everything to add to the information already here, so stand by for a lot of updates to this site as we move deeper into spring.  The frantic springtime activities are about to begin. Cleaning up from winter, doing maintenance on buildings and bee hives, planting the garden, getting the pig pen revamped, fixing tractors and trucks.. and I hope to eventually add a forum.
   Keep those bees happy!
   Scott

  Quick post;
   It hit 62 today... err, yesterday... MONDAY, so I popped the covers, and to my great surprise, all of the hives were still kicking with the exception of the one I knew I had lost in January in the - 40+ degree wind chills. Bees were flying, so I set out the feeder, and within 5 minutes there were hundreds around it. Put syrup on and covered it.. now to keep them alive till they can get real pollen!
   One vid under the spring tab, I'll put the one of the feeder under the feeding section!

   March fifth and its snowing. Old man winter is apparently planning on going down swinging.
   Our South East Iowa Beekeepers meeting was Monday night, the 3rd. We met at the Pizza Ranch in Mt. Pleasant Iowa. Had a good meeting.  Andy Jospeh was the speaker. He is the state Apiarist, and confirmed there was quite a bit of loss this year with the harsh winter. He touched on treatments, so I asked him if there was any effort to get Oxalic Acid Vapor approved. He mirrored my own thoughts with an explanation that there was no money in it, so it would likely never get approved. It takes a big company with money to get treatments approved, and since OA treatments are inexpensive and easy to get, there was little hope.  I had already assume as much, as is posted in the treatment section, but it was nice to be vindicated, even if it did dash what little hope I had.
   Looking at the forecast, I see a 58 degree temp for Friday and a 60 degree day for Monday.  I will be checking the sugar reserves and finding out if I have any hives left alive.
   I hope your bees are still kicking, and am sure we are all praying for Spring to arrive.
   Scott