MFH (My Favorite Husband) and I had made plans to winterize the honey bees when we returned from the Chicago Marathon.  That race was on October 12.

Guess what?  We haven’t done it yet.

We made plans a second time to do it last weekend.  Those plans had to be postponed due to the weather being too chilly.

Again, we rearranged our schedule to do it yesterday.  It was a beautiful Sunday in Mississippi!  Perfect weather to work with the bees but again, fate intervened.

At the last minute, we found ourselves on a road trip to New Albany, Mississippi.

New Albany is about a 1 1/2 hour drive north of where we live.  It was a prefect day for a drive and MFH had found a “deal” on something on Craigslist so we hopped in the car and drove north.

We found the people we were supposed to meet without any problem.  The trip was a success.  However, the bees did not get winterized.  This is beginning to present a problem.

See, we have a cold front hitting us mid-week.  It is supposed to hang around over the weekend.  It will be too cold to open the hives for any maintenance.

Honey Bees fly any time the temps rise above 50F.  Seeing as our winter temps average 45-50F, our bees are busy the majority of the winter.  Because they are active over the winter months, we have to feed them.  There are no flowering plants around during the winter.

When the bees are out doing what bees do, they use a lot of energy.  They need food.  The food that they have stored for the winter gets used pretty fast because they are so active.  That is why we have to feed them.

To feed the bees, you boil water.  Once the water is at a rolling boil, you add white cane sugar.  Equal parts of water and sugar.  So, if I boil 8 cups of water, I will dissolve 8 cups of sugar into that water.  50/50 mixture.

Once I have dissolved the sugar completely (it makes a very think/syrupy mixture), I pour the food into some inexpensive Tupperware type containers. I have poked very small holes in the lids of these containers.

I carry the containers down to the apiary and flip them over~lid side down.  The containers are propped so as to let the bees fly underneath the containers.  With the tiny holes, the bees can then lick the food out of the little holes.  It’s like an upside down hummingbird feeder.

All of this to say, if the temps are below 50F, I should not open the hives.  Too cold!

The bees will be “Balled” together in the center of the hive.  They literally gather in the center of the hive in a huge ball.  They are all “buzzing” to generate warmth inside the hive.  They take turns being on the outside of the ball.  Very much like when Geese fly, they take turns leading the “V” formation.  They rotate.  Constantly.

If the bees are working this hard to stay warm, it would be a pretty rude thing to open up the hive and let all the cold air in.

So, we did not get to the bees yesterday because we were having a good time in New Albany.  Today and tomorrow are our pretty much our last chance to get into the hives for the winter.

I need to know how much honey they have stored to carry them through the winter.  This will help me know how aggressive I need to be in feeding them.

Anyway, the next two days, getting into the hives is a priority.  Wish me luck!