With three months before the dandelions bloom in North Wisconsin and temps in the low forties predicted for the next week I started putting pollen sub out yesterday (earliest ever for me).
By 3:30PM we had 43F and my bees (3 colonies) were rolling around in the stuff and taking it back to the hives :) .
thomas
Thomas, I've got dandelions blooming right now, at least in small numbers. That's six weeks early. So maybe you won't have to wait as long as you think. I think this weather is very scary and I hope it does not mean a blazing hot summer ahead of us.
Ditto here in Oklahoma City. Can't believe how many dandelions are in bloom and all the bright yellow pollen the girls are bring in right now.
Scary weather is right. We had an early Spring a few years ago, our apples were a full month ahead of previous years. Bees did pretty good that year all things considered, likely due to the early blooming.
Unfortunately the temps dropped into the teens and 20's in mid-April (more normal temps for us), killing all the blossoms and ending any hopes of harvesting apples that year.
With temps climbing into the forties we're going to have a very early Maple Sugar/Syrup harvest as well. I'm putting out some taps today, supposed to be 44F and sunny tomorrow so we should be able to collect enough sap in a couple days, cook it down and be done for the year :)
thomas
Another spectacular benefit to this warm weather; I just spent the last 20 minutes watching a couple of otters taking advantage of some open water next to an active beaver lodge about 150 yards behind our house. Its the earliest we've ever seen them, although they are frequent visitors to the pond Spring, Summer and fall.
Seems the otters are ready for an early Spring too :)
thomas
Quote from: FRAMEshift on February 02, 2012, 10:52:24 AM
I think this weather is very scary and I hope it does not mean a blazing hot summer ahead of us.
I heard on the local news channel yesterday that the last time it was these temperatures this time of year was 1993. The year of the big blizzard. Also, I heard today that New Zealand received some snow there. It is summer time there.
James
Look for the big freeze after the bloom ---- beginning to be quite common here :(
We had highs in the 40's and 50's for most of January. Now that ground hog came out and we are going to get 8" to 15" of snow in the next 2 days. I was starting to think I would not have to shovle snow this year.
It is supposed to be fifty here the next two days and I am agonizing over pollen substitute. I think I will hold off on the patties and put some dry substitute out in a feeder. I made up fifty pounds of sugar bricks today. I wasn't too technical with amounts of water and only was watchful that I didn't get the mixture too hot. I used 10 oz dixie paper bowls and they worked just fine. The brick sticks to the bowl, I maybe should have sprayed them with Pam. I got 18 in a five gallon bucket and think I will just invert them over the cluster and let the bees clean up with the sticking sugar when they get that far.
Yesterday at 4:00 I was driving home from work and there were huge vees of geese heading North. These weren't the smaller flocks moving from feeding to roosting spots you see. These birds were heading North. February 2nd. I hope they aren't unpleasantly surprised!
JC
Well, as I said above we are already seeing 'open water' in Northern Wisconsin, nearly 6 weeks early, so by the time those Iowa geese make it our way they may very well have several places to begin raising young.
The DNR will have to make some adjustments for removing 'fishing' shacks this year, normally mandated by end of March, or we'll be pulling them out of the area lakes all summer.
thomas
Im hoping for dandelions in 6 weeks, LOL!