wednesday update

It was raining when I got up today. wasn't supposed to. The bees need more warmth to figure out where they are, and to get acclimated and feed.

My jacket and gloves washed well. The gloves took a while to dry. The goat skin is a little stiff. At least most of the dead bees are swept out of the van.
and in front of the hive. My neighbors have been curious. The bees have been very quiet since Sunday, not really showing too much activity. Once it stopped raining today, that changed. They were quite zippy and all over the place, even bearding a little on the front of the hive. I got my stuff together around 2:30 and proceeded to feed them. As usual, the smoker took a while. We need to get more matches. The trough still had some sugar water, and the bees were not actively feeding, but they were interested. BC had just gotten home, so I have some cautious photos to post later.

No stings.

How much volume of honey and brood do the bees need to get through the winter?

I think I won't have to check again until Friday or Saturday.

Monday- bees are home but what a frustrating Saturday night.

It rained most of yesterday, and I needed a day of benedryl and ibuprophen. The bees that didn't make it into the hive, I am sure were lost to the weather. When I got home from getting the fence posts, this morning, I suited up, and checked the bees. They are definitely hassled, but they are alive. As soon as I opened up the hive, they started off at my hat. So the pheromone had not dissipated yet. I fed them and added a honey supper. They immediately showed interest and activity. All in all much better outcome than I had feared. So far. Still don't know if the queen survived, and that is the important part of long term survival.

Now I get to see if the cotton jacket washes ok. I think it will, but I am much less sure of the goat skin gloves. Can't really wash the veil and hat.