Beautiful record setting March 6th 2009.

The tempture by 11:00 AM was 66F breaking the old record set in 1961.I looked at the 17 colonies we have here at home and seem all 17 are still alive, Yea. I go tell Kare to get ready to go check our out yards. The first out yard we checked is a small tree nursery where we never were able to replace all our losses from last year. Of the two colonies remaining there one was alive and going strong. The second was however dead. Checking them it appeared they had lost the queen in the fall and a laying worker took over as there were lots of small bullet capped drone brood. They were in the top box with a full box of honey on the bottom. I think the laying worker kept the girls in the top box covering brood when the cold temps hit.Go to the second out yard another one where we were not able to replace all the losses of last spring. It is in the front yard of people who many years ago kept bees but gave it up when vorroa took their colonies which as a young couple they didn't have funds to start anew.Both colonies were going strong.Go to the third bee yard also one where we were not able to replace all that died last year. Still we have 6 colonies there way back at the rear of the Christmas tree farm. First thing was the mud and snow drifts remainging to get back there. I hope Pual isn't to upset over the 6 to 8 inch ruts.All six colonies alive and I got my first sting of the year/season.Across the road at the horse farm we have two colonies remainig from the twelve that had been there in 2007.Since they are way to the back and across a couple of hay fields we walked back to look at them. One was alive and one had died out in the bottom box with a full box of honey on top. I hadn't taken a hive tool so wasn't able to get any frames out to get a good look at them to see if I could figure out a cause of death. At the green house yard we have three colonies again due to mud we walked back to check them out. Good thing we were walking as we still sunk in about 8 inches the mud was so bad in the trail out there. Again I didn't take a hive tool so the one dead colony out there I didn't get any frames out to figure cause of death. I had expected that one to be a dead really as they built up so slow last spring (one we had to treat for Nosma creana.) In Sept they were still in a single deep. I robbed several other colonies so I could put six frames of honey in the second box for them figureing they would have time to full four frames of drawn comb by winter. They had by Oct filled those four frames.Next yard a mile down the road, a nothing special yard in a naturlist ladies front yard. She had attended a class I had given on honey bees at a nature center and asked if we would like to place some bees in her yard. Of the two colonies we still had alive there last fall, both were doing well.Next was a truck farm that raises vegtables for sale at a road side stand they keep. Our bees are back in a clearing in the woods. Three colonies remain from or 63% losses of spring 2008. All three were alive.Next yard is what we call the Stone yard, people who own the land have a last name of Stone. All six colonies there are alive also, One may be on the weak side but is still alive never the less.We then drive to the next county where we have two yards and due to the losses of 2008 we have three colonies in each. The first we call the Gale yard as that is the name of the road we take to get there. The land belongs to a young couple who lived in a city til a couple of years ago. The husband is a school teacher and the wife is a township cop.This was once farm land cut up into 10 acre lots. All three colonies were alive there which was a surprize since one of the outer covers had been blowen off. NOTE TO SELF, ONE BRICK IS NOT ENOUGH TO HOLD A OUTER COVER ON A HIVE IN 30 & 40 MPH WINDS. As we got back to the pick up I recieved a call from a fellow at the next yard we were going to visit. He said all three colonies had the front of the hive just black. He also said that they were raiding all his bird feeders and the bees looked bigger. I told him we were on the way there. Sure enough the bees were going in the bird feeders and even throwing out seeds to get to the dust as a pollen supplement. All three were alive. I told him we raise big bees.Our Di yard is Kares sisters farm. The big red barn makes a real nice north wind break. Last year we had lost all but one colony there. This year all six we have there are alive still.Next is our Woody yard as that is the name of the fellow that owns the land. We had bought the colonies from a retireing bee keeper in 2005. I think it broke the fellows heart not being able to work his bees after nearly 60 years. We bought them from him in April and he passed in June. I learned a lot from him in just those few months and miss him greatly still. All five of the remaining colonies remaining there from 2008 are still alive.Of sixty five colonies we lost three. We have two that are still alive but weaker than the rest. Is raining today, supposed to rain tomorrow too. Mondays for cast is supposed to be clear so if the pollen patties arrive that we ordered to go with what we have on hand we will start placeing them. Kare may also find time in her busy week to make syrup I can put on.