Natural Sculptures and Happy Holidays

I'm really glad I decided to wrap the hives this year. We had a nice, warm November but December has been brutal! It has been cold and windy and just plain nasty weather so I hope the wrap has given the girls a better chance of making it through the winter. The end of this week we might actually get warm enough to take a quick look and see how they are doing.

Winter certainly isn't my favorite time of year but I do like going to the mountain when it is at least 40-45 and calm. Working keeps me warm and this time of year has a beauty all its own. It may not be the most colorful time of year but to me it is beautiful because it is peaceful and silent. Sometimes nature give you a little surprise and I wanted to share the surprise from this day with you. These little ice crystals form when the conditions are just right; the ground has to be wet enough but not too wet, the temps have to be above freezing during the day but below freezing at night, there has to be ground that is clear of vegetation, and the soil has to be dense enough to force the crystals upwards. And then you have to get outside early enough to actually see the show before it melts. When all these things happen this is what you get and these pictures are my Christmas present to you, my readers. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

All wrapped up

The weekend after Thanksgiving I put some bee candy in the hives. I decided I was going to wrap them this year. It has been such a tough year for the poor girls I wanted to give them every chance I could to get them through the winter. But I forgot the staple gun and couldn't wrap them and tie them with twine at the same time so I had to wait for help. I probably could have if I would have thought about ratcheting the tiedowns around them, but I didn't so I was out there in the cold struggling to get the tar paper around them.

Last weekend Michele came with me and we were able to get them wrapped. It was at best 40 degrees and the GA bees were moving around and were on the candy. I figured they would be clustered. I really don't know why they weren't. The CA bees were in a nice tight cluster down deep in the hive with the faintest buzz and breath of warmth coming up. I know it was really too cold to have the hive open but I wanted to replace the hive bodies on top that I had used to cover the feeders with a smaller shim and it wasn't supposed to get warmer all week. But I had the inner cover open for only seconds so I think the trade-off was worth it. And now they are wrapped and snug with some nice candy for the winter.