Before I could get a new, officially sanctioned entrance reducer in place (okay, I admit it…I haven’t even ordered it yet), snow covered the entrance to both hives. And snow’s supposed to be a great insulator, right? So, I guess things are toasty in there. I hope these bees can stand my hands-off approach.
It is soooo cold, and I am soooo worried about the bees. It’s so cold that the 2 liters of Coke we lazily left on the deck EXPLODED last night. See? I am just too lazy to be a good beekeeper. Those girls put me to shame. Sometimes I wonder if my newly forming beekeeping philosophy is a reflection of my evolving world view or if it’s a sign of slothfulness…it’s easier not to requeen than to requeen and not to treat for mites than to treat for them and not to manage the space to avoid swarming than to manage it.
Anyway, I have not yet reduced the size of the opening to the bees’ hives, so today I think I’ll trudge out through the snow and put the entrance reducer in place. Maybe that’ll help them stay warmer. Because they sure as hell haven’t stored enough food for the calories required to keep their temperatures up in this January weather. I am a bad beekeeper. I’ll bet my hat we lose the weaker of the two hives.