January Weight Check

Friday evening was our monthly bee club meeting where I got some tips on winter hive management. Making sure the bees have enough food is important and one way to monitor this is to weigh the hives so I gave it a try yesterday. I took a luggage scale out to the backyard and tipped the hives (after trying it out on Toby in a box first!) and they're both pretty heavy. Cam's hive was 125lbs and Toby's was 116lbs. I wish I'd have checked them on the fall to see what the peak weights were... I wonder how much honey they go through in a month? I think I'll start checking them every week or so and tracking their weights. It'll give me something to do until it's warm enough to actually take a look inside.
I can listen to them though! I took a listen with my stethoscope and heard a faint hum in both hives. Kind of like hearing traffic in the distance. What a great sound. It also gave me an idea of where the cluster is in the hives. It sounds like Cam's hive is still in the bottom deep and Toby's is a little higher.

Winter Waiting

We've passed the winter solstice and the days are getting longer but they're also getting colder. It's been well below freezing all week. 14 degrees when I woke up this am. Nothing to do for the hives but watch them from our warm house and read beekeeping books and journals.
I've been brushing the snow away from the bottom board from time to time and I see dead bees on the snow and the board but I'm hoping it's within the normal range. My bee encyclopedia says that the hive population drops by several thousand bees over the fall and early winter. I can't remember when the nadir is: Jan or Feb? I think the queen is supposed to start laying at a slow rate now and gradually pick up over the next couple of months. We'll see how things went when I check on them in early spring (March?). I've got frames of banked honey ready to go if they run low on food but right now the cold is the limiting factor.
I think I'll need to make a run to Tate's next month for a few things: new bottom boards and maybe a new pair of gloves. I'll need to get the boards painted by March or so. That'll give me something to do!