Year of the Bee
On Monday I finally worked up the energy to go and see if my bees were still thriving through the harsh Wisconsin winter. Whitney and I trudged through a few hundred yards of knee-deep snow to my distant, lingering hive. During the struggling hike, I kept hedging my bets, suggesting that there was a good chance my bees were dead, since I really didn’t know how strong the hive was or if they had enough honey for winter. My hopes were boosted by seeing a crater of snow around the hive, suggesting there was still warmth emitting from it. I lowered my ear to the hive and listened for the hum of life. All I heard was cold silence.
Sure enough, pulling the cover off the hive, it was carnage of epic scale. Like a moment frozen in time, the dead bees were frozen stiff as if some ice-bound armageddon had struck the hive. The 40-degree weather was cold enough to prevent disassembly and inspection of the hive, so I poked a couple frozen specimens around before closing it up and trudging back through the snow.
It’s certainly disappointing, but really not all that surprising. My oversight of the hive had been pretty negligent this past year, rarely finding the time to come out and check up on them. I robbed them late in the year and did little to prepare them for winter. But there is a silver lining.
Last October, I took a beekeeping course from the U of M and finally figured out all the things I was doing wrong, or simply not doing at all. Now that I have a program and a plan, I’m feeling much more optimistic for the 2011 honey season. So now I am setting about ordering new bees, more equipment, and two whole new hives for my 87-year-old grandpa.
The dead bees are also probably enough of a weight on my conscience to make me a better beekeeper this year. I love the bees and honey so much, but have found it hard to maintain them properly. They live an hour away from me, so it requires some planning and effort to check on them. But seeing a hive full of dead bees is a powerful impetus to be more diligent. So, I’m feeling very optimistic for 2011. Two new hives, plus two for my grandpa, should make for a modest initial harvest, but if things go right, should mean a bumper crop for 2012.
