Around the Garden

 Hi everyone. Happy weekend to you. Can you believe it is the middle of April already? I am getting  antsy to get out and plant things in my garden. It's still a little early for that, but we've been having such nice weather this past week it's easy to forget that it's only mid-April. 

The past week a few spring chores got done, and I even managed to do a few things in the garden.

But the big news was that the snow behind my house finally disappeared on Wednesday! Hurrah for sunshine, a bit of wind, and warmer temperatures.

We haven't opened up the entire screen porch yet, but on Easter my husband took the plastic off the doors so at least I can get into it.  It takes a bit of work before I can actually use it as all our yard furniture and accessories are stored in here for the winter.

At least  we were now able to get out  a couple of chairs to put on the back deck. I caught my husband on a snack break in this photo. Sorry dear; I know it's not your best photo.

And this past week has been exciting because some of my crocuses have started to bloom. Yes, I know. My gardens are WAY behind from what many of you already have. For me, it's so exciting to see things coming back to life.

There's also lots of plants starting to pop their heads up out of the ground too. My lilies, irises, alliums, daffodils are just a few. It's a  surprise to see so much  green popping out of the ground since

the last of the snow was still there as of Tuesday.  I'm so glad it is now gone.

I did go out to the beehives this past week.  You might remember the plastic windbreak we put up last fall. This photo was from a  couple of weeks ago. 

That windbreak came down on Easter also.

I went out this past week and got both hives ready for bees. This year I am experimenting a bit.

Sadly, my bees didn't make it through the winter, even with the bee blanket, bags of leaves insulting the bottom and the windbreak. The good news is I know exactly why they didn't make it, which doesn't make me feel any better but it's good to  understand.

Why didn't they make it you ask? 

Back in December we had some fairly warm weather. It was warm enough that the bees didn't go into their winter formation. This formation is called a cluster. The queen gets in the middle and the bees get really close together, forming something that looks like a swarm around the queen. The bees vibrate and create enough heat to keep warm. The outer layers of bees will die off during the winter, but if you have enough bees to start with (50,000+), the inner bees in the cluster will manage to make it through the winter. By spring,  there will be 20,000 or more left, depending on the severity and length of your winter.

It's also worth mentioning that bees born in the autumn are physiologically a bit different from bees born in the spring and summer. They are better able to take the cold temperatures. 

However, last December was quite warm, with many days in the 40's and 50's (5 to 10/or more degrees C), so the bees didn't realize it was time to cluster. 

Then came Christmas. It went from a balmy December to being  bitterly cold and windy. Because the bees weren't in their cluster yet, they all froze and died. We had another warm up after the holiday, so when I checked the hive at the end of December, they were all dead, laying on the bottom board. It was not a good way to end the 2022.

However, the frames in my hive had around 40 pounds (18kg) of honey on them.  Here's one of the outer frames. The inner ones were hard to photograph because they were filled with honey and when I handled them I had honey all over my hands. I  couldn't photograph them with such sticky hands.

Here's a couple of close ups. You can see the honey dripping.

It tasted pretty good too. Smile.

I decided rather than getting the honey for me to eat I would leave it to give this year's bees a head start.

I mentioned I'm doing an experiment this year. I am getting 2 varieties of bees. I am getting one box of the Italian variety that I have had for the last 2 years. It's going to be my control, and hopefully I won't just be sacrificing them over the winter (because that would make me feel bad). Italian bees are gentler bees, but maybe aren't the best for the cold we have in New Hampshire.

My other box of bees will be a fairly new hybrid out of Canada called Saskatraz bees. These bees are supposedly gentle and more cold resistant. They are also more resistant to one of the big bee diseases right now.  It's interesting to learn about honey bee varieties and how these varieties  differ from each other.

My  hives are now ready for my bees, which should be here at the very end of the month or very early in May.

Hopefully this upcoming week I'll be able to start getting my hands dirty with more than just paint and glue. Smile. Have a wonderful weekend.