It’s been a long winter. Really long. Crazy long. Remind-us-why-we-live-here long. At least we’ve had a nice warm house and a steady supply of comfort food during these long months. But our bees were facing their first Minnesota winter in the Kopp woods, with just drafty little wooden bungalows for shelter and a little honey to keep their bee bellies full. More than a little honey, really – roughly 80-90 pounds, or 6-7 gallons per hive. Even so, the long, long winter meant that one of the hives ran out of food. So some emergency rations were required – 10 pounds of granulated sugar on a layer of wax paper. And we’re happy to report that both hives have survived the winter!
When we lived in the city limits dandelions were the enemy, to be hunted and obliterated by any means possible. But now, we’re eagerly awaiting their first blooms; dandelions have a very large nectar flow and are among the first major nectar sources for bees in the spring. Our hives desperately need to replenish their honey stores! Plus, imagine how much fun it will be to teach Amanda how to blow the seeds off big white dandelion puffs. Toward the neighbor’s yard, of course…
