Spring fever is really setting in today.  I want green plants and gardens and new calves and goslings and baby chicks and...  So I went down to the apiary and checked on the bees.  They are all doing really well except this one.  I could see the frost before I even opened the hive.  I thought, no way did they make it.  Frost is a death sentence for bees in the winter.  But there they were, buzzing around lookin' good.  I cleaned off the frost and hopefully they didn't get too wet.

I lost some hives to a late season bear earlier in the winter.  It was totally my fault.  I left the gate to the pen open because I thought all the bears had to be in hibernation by then.  Nope, there was one left.  A late season bear is usually a sick, old or under nourished bear that can't go into hibernation because they don't have enough fat stores.  It is the only time I ever worry about them because they are desperate for food at that time.  I never saw the bear though, just the damage he did to a couple hives.

Besides that it looks like all my bees made it through winter with flying colors.  Yay!!!