Obligatory snow picspam

[oloriel]

Just a quick picspam before I visit my grandmother (presuming that I manage to get to Bonn ;)), because it's no proper winter if I don't make winter picspams, right? ;) So I might as well get started.

Sunday, snowy Sunday	Find the hives...	Standard valley view	Still the old walnut tree
Ivy Ftaghn.	Jörg shovelling the driveway	And the bedroom window view this morning.	The other standard valley view
The tenants' kids' first attempts at igloo-building!	Our uphill neighbours' fir trees are taking a break...	Home, sweet home.	Snowcaps!

Aaaaand off! (At least the snowplough (or perhaps someone with a tractor and a snowploghing attachment, you never know) cleared even our backend street, so the main streets should be all free.

Comments

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I can't tell you how exactly the hives are, because you shouldn't disturb the bees in winter any more than necessary - but I can tell you what technically is happening in there. ;)

The bees only "heat" the big heap in which they huddle in winter, and don't care about the surrounding air even in the hive, less so outside. Even at negative (Celsius) temperatures, a healthy hive manages to heat the winter "ball" to 25-35°C (the latter towards February, when they start breeding again) regardless of frost etc. So you don't have to worry about the poor wee beasties. :)

Unless, of course, the colony is too weak to keep itself in working temperature. But in that case, any worrying now is coming too late and should have occurred in September. (In my particular case, I must acknowledge that the blue hive is likely doomed. >_>)

[cowboy-r.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I read (and understood) most of that up above, in German. I was just wondering how your particular hives were... I take it the red hive you expect to survive?

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

As I said, I can't tell you how exactly they are, and as both of them are weaker than they should be (-> bad apprentice beekeeper >_>), I am not going to disturb them at this point on top of everything. I'll probably have to feed them in a month or two, though.

With the red hive, survival is at least feasible. I'm not permitting myself to strictly expect it, though, in order not to be disappointed.