Wisconsinites 10 day forcast

bee-nuts · March 14, 2011, 03:37:02 AM

Yee Haa

Wisconsinites look at the next ten day forecast. starting Tuesday nothing but 40s and 50s. Its fells like the longest winter I can ever remember. I sure hope we see those 50s and I hope it is sunny with low wind. The girls will find pollen and maybe some nectar in those conditions. I thought spring would never come. Thank Goodness.

skflyfish · March 14, 2011, 02:46:55 PM

I just heard some Sand Hill cranes flying over.

Spring has to be close, eh! :-D

greenbtree · March 15, 2011, 12:27:31 AM

O.K., not in Wisconsin, but pretty close. Very long Winter indeed. Another sign of Spring today - saw my first T.V. (Turkey Vulture). The Buzzards are back!

JC

Picobrew · March 15, 2011, 02:54:51 AM

We found a handful of bleep willow blossoms yesterday. My wife knows where the earliest ones show up each year. Lake Superior protects us some, and this particular spring fed area never freezes as hard as most.

And while it may be premature, we tapped a few maple trees today based on the long range forcast. We walked on about 16 inches of crusted snow to get to the woods.

I'd still need a shovel to put out our new hives.

But it's coming.

bee-nuts · March 15, 2011, 04:45:54 AM

I used to snowmobile in your area all winter. Truely a breath taking area. It is so strange to pull up to the shore of Superior near Herbster or that side of the peninsula in January or February and watch the waves of an unfrozen lake crash along the shore and its 5 below zero to boot. It just dont seem right when you have never seen open water in the winter like that. It always seemed just as wierd every time we would stop and take a break. I grabbed a few rocks from the shore for paper weights and they rocks were not even froze together. The lake must really affect the growth 15 or twenty miles in on the side that takes the north and west wind.

My dream is to retire up their in the middle of nowhere near Mt Valhalla or somewhere in the area. That to me would be true paradise.

Was the highway open from Ashland to Bayfield this winter?

T Beek · March 15, 2011, 11:48:53 AM

Yes a warm is coming to the North. I'm still hoping its not too late for my only surviving colony. My fear is that they may be sitting on empty frames with only the dry sugar and frames of honey to feed on. My intension as soon as I can get inside will be to remove any and all empties and surround remaining cluster with full frames of honey. I did also add a pollen patty yesterday right on top of the dry sugar.

Been watching for the Northern Lights after a spectacular show last thursday around 11:30PM. We totally missed out on an "early" sap harvest, usua;ly can get some during a thaw in january or february, but not this year, no thaw occured, and I don't feel up to collecting this season :(.

thomas

Dr. B in Wisconsin · March 15, 2011, 08:33:40 PM

Yes, nice here in WI today, my bees were out and flying. Took my bike to work for the first time this year, 20 F when I left and about 50 when I came home. Glad to see my bees made it through the cold, this is the start of my second year and off to a bee class on Wed. Still lots of snow here. Thats the white cold stuff on the ground for you southern folk. Hoping to have the bees on my apple trees for a nice crop of apples. Last year the apples were all hit by the late freeze and fell off :( :(

Picobrew · March 16, 2011, 01:51:14 AM

Quote from: bee-nuts on March 15, 2011, 04:45:54 AM
My dream is to retire up their in the middle of nowhere near Mt Valhalla or somewhere in the area. That to me would be true paradise.

Was the highway open from Ashland to Bayfield this winter?

Yeah, I live a couple miles from the middle of nowhere. 8-) If you want empty, the best WI has to offer is Florence County. There was an uproar when it was suggested the county needed a stop light.

Right by the lake we are in USDA zone 4a, and surrounded by the next 2 colder zones.

I saw the first great blue heron of the season today.

T Beek · March 16, 2011, 08:59:12 AM

Picobrew; I think I've been "hearing" a Great Blue Heron in the woods across from the pond (still quite frozen at over two feet thick and covered in snow) that is our backyard for the last two or three days, closest open water is roughly five miles away, but we have nesters (several southern bird species migrate to raise young, including sand hills and other more rare birds) every year we've been here (going on 30 years).

Its been a consistently cold Spring with little relief so far, despite not reaching our more severe and more usual sub-zero temps (I've burned at least a cord and a half less wood so far than at this same time last year, but that is relative to conditions, heh). Anyhow Wife and I are concerned about the very early arrival of the GBH and hope it survives (trout are running in the rivers and creeks right now!!!) long enough for the lakes to open up.

thomas

greenbtree · March 16, 2011, 10:52:05 AM

Oh, I'm sure the Great Blue will be o.k. - it can always fill in with a rodent or two. Saw one hunting chipmunks once, and the way the munks were scolding him he must of nabbed one once in a while. :-D

JC

charlotte · March 17, 2011, 04:27:57 PM

Agreed! Finally spring is on the way!! Got into the hives for the fist time today--56 degrees here. Cloudy, but our weather says 40's for the next few days, so I figured now or ???? A few nice strong hives & a couple weak ones that got combined with newspaper. Now hopefully the strong ones won't use up all their stores before they can get more. I poured some dry sugar "insurance" in. Good luck to my fellow 'Sconies. Word in our area is that lots of MN beeks had pretty severe losses. It's been one LONG winter...

luvin honey · March 17, 2011, 09:16:55 PM

This DID feel like a long winter! I was thrilled to see flocks of robins, a lone bluebird, pairs of cranes, and geese heading north. Ahh... Plus mud, gunk and terrible mess every time the kids come inside--spring indeed!

T Beek · March 18, 2011, 06:20:02 AM

Two canadian geese sitting on the iced (still at least two feet) over pond behind the house yesterday :)
No robins here yet either, and still just 'hearing' the GBH, but had lots of bees flying yesterday, hoo-ray.

thomas

bee-nuts · March 22, 2011, 03:25:24 AM

I unwrapped my colonies the other day. Looks like a mistake now. It might warm up in July.

T Beek · March 22, 2011, 08:21:28 AM

I talked to a Beek in Manitoba the other day who says he doesn't unwrap until the dandelions bloom.

Its only March ;) can't be in too big of a hurry just yet, even April can bring plenty of weather that's unfriendly to bees. I haven't heard the GBH in a few days now and our 5 day forecast isn't exactly promising. P willows are 'trying' but its too cold yet for bees to benefit.

thomas

T Beek · March 23, 2011, 07:51:42 AM

Still too dark to tell how much snow we got overnight, but the real issue is the near zero overnight temps coming our way, especially since bees have begun to break cluster. My bees are/were feeding on the sugar and pattie but have likely gone back into cluster with this change up. Hope next week is better??

For those of us who experience Winter for real, we know its not Spring in Wisconsin yet (or in much of the Northern plains for that matter) and unless we're very lucky we won't see it for another MONTH around here (last five years notes show danelions coming on strong by END of April).

I'll likely have to fill the porch with firewood one more time :( then we'll get a warm up ;) so I can take it all back out again.

thomas

PS (not sure what the official report says, but I've got between 15 and 20 inches in front of my house. I just shovled it up all around remaining hive).