Thanks for the comment. It seems to have rained most days over the last three months and we’ve had two or three days when it has been heavy for the full day. I think they will all be ok now - the dead ones were due to queen issues.
Good morning, Trevor! Glad to see you again! It's also warm here, but with the rain, the bees don't fly. Mild winter is not scary. Worse than here: yesterday +8°C, and tomorrow -10°C. Take care of yourself and your family! I wish you health and peace! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🤝🤝🤝🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🐝🐝🐝✌✌✌
Thank you for your concern. Everything is fine with me, although now no place in Ukraine is safe. But everything will be fine! We will endure! We will win! Everything will be Ukraine! After darkness always comes sunshine! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🤝🤝🤝🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🐝🐝🐝✌✌✌🤙🤙🤙
I know the feeling Trevor, I had to move 12 from one site in November when they were at full weight and ready for winter. The field they were in the water board needed to put a new main in right under where the hives were, was a while ago but from memory lost two of them
Nice blocking jobs! Trevor we had the honor of meeting Dr. Brown northwest of us in Canada. He runs double deeps in a 4 pack configuration. The hives flood regularly into the 1st super. He even showed us a photo of his crew checking the hives in an amphibious Argo 6 wheeler.! At 80 years old he laughed and said the bees clean up the mess with little losses. And it might have been last Spring Ian Steppler had his 500 year floods. Sir I can not recall ether of them mentioning queen losses. Be those much cooler areas. On a humor not I literally have a 27 foot pontoon next to my backyard cabin bees. Life is a bit crazy all round.
All very interesting, thank you. It’s amazing where and how bees can be kept. My reference to losing queens wasn’t referring to the water but to the stress a winter move can cause them.
What a going on! Some people may hold a romantic image of the beekeeper in their cottage garden on a balmy Sunday afternoon, checking their stock with the ambiance of fragrant blooms and buzzing insects and tea in china cups 😂. Good that you’ve highlighted the reality 👏👏👍
Hello Rob, I suppose anything is possible but in this case I don’t think it’s practical. The lay of the land means the pump would have to run 24/7. Also to clear the water it would need discharging about 300 yards/metres down the road. The real irony is that at this point the land drops away fairly steeply by about 100 foot. This site is just sat in a bowl and this exceptionally wet winter has finished it.
You have done what any other beekeeper would have done but you should have got someone to give you a hand to lift them once they were blocked in if you had slipped !!!! Or done your back in then we would have had to wait a bit longer for another excellent video 👍👍👍
John you have not been around bees long enough yet, as we get older we all get ‘beekeepers back’ It’s mostly lone work and if you ask for help it’s surprising how busy people become when they realise it’s a box of shining insects
May I ask why you added screens. Why not just block entrance and move. I was flooded but moved to high ground within the apiary. It was pitch black and muddy to swampy. Not a high point yet not the lowest point either.
Yes that’s the reason. I knew it was going to take sometime and didn’t want to risk the bees. It was cool and they would probably have been ok but not guaranteed. The anxiety of knowing bees may suffocate can drive me on to such an extent that I can make mistakes. I didn’t want to leave them on the same site and lose flying bees.
Yes I think so Carol. The following Saturday 3/2/24 the temperature was about 13 degrees and sunny and the bees were very active. Left above that water I think thousands would have drowned lured in by the reflected light.
Oh man that looks rough. I am glad you can save some. That must have been a lot of rain.
Thanks for the comment. It seems to have rained most days over the last three months and we’ve had two or three days when it has been heavy for the full day.
I think they will all be ok now - the dead ones were due to queen issues.
It’s the part of the year we dread shifting hives in winter and keeping them dry 😮keep up the good work Trevor
Thank you I’ll try. Honey production is so much at the mercy of the weather anyway but this is something else.
Good morning, Trevor! Glad to see you again! It's also warm here, but with the rain, the bees don't fly. Mild winter is not scary. Worse than here: yesterday +8°C, and tomorrow -10°C.
Take care of yourself and your family! I wish you health and peace! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🤝🤝🤝🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🐝🐝🐝✌✌✌
Hello again and I hope all is well with you.
+8 to -10 that’s some difference for the bees to cope with.
Stay safe. 🇺🇦🐝🇬🇧🐝🤝👍
Thank you for your concern. Everything is fine with me, although now no place in Ukraine is safe.
But everything will be fine! We will endure! We will win! Everything will be Ukraine! After darkness always comes sunshine! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🤝🤝🤝🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🐝🐝🐝✌✌✌🤙🤙🤙
🇺🇦👍
It looks like a little less over all, Praying for some dry days for ya.
Thank you. I think the fact that I’ve now finally moved them will probably mean the start of six months of drought.
Trevor, that’s a tough situation, all the best to you.
Thank you Robert. I hope I’ve made the best of a bad job.
I know the feeling Trevor, I had to move 12 from one site in November when they were at full weight and ready for winter. The field they were in the water board needed to put a new main in right under where the hives were, was a while ago but from memory lost two of them
I’ve never moved bees this early before and I’m in no doubt it won’t have done them any good but needs must. Thanks for your input.
Nice blocking jobs! Trevor we had the honor of meeting Dr. Brown northwest of us in Canada. He runs double deeps in a 4 pack configuration. The hives flood regularly into the 1st super. He even showed us a photo of his crew checking the hives in an amphibious Argo 6 wheeler.! At 80 years old he laughed and said the bees clean up the mess with little losses. And it might have been last Spring Ian Steppler had his 500 year floods. Sir I can not recall ether of them mentioning queen losses. Be those much cooler areas.
On a humor not I literally have a 27 foot pontoon next to my backyard cabin bees. Life is a bit crazy all round.
All very interesting, thank you. It’s amazing where and how bees can be kept.
My reference to losing queens wasn’t referring to the water but to the stress a winter move can cause them.
What a going on! Some people may hold a romantic image of the beekeeper in their cottage garden on a balmy Sunday afternoon, checking their stock with the ambiance of fragrant blooms and buzzing insects and tea in china cups 😂. Good that you’ve highlighted the reality 👏👏👍
Yes Lorna thank you and well said. You know only too well that the rural idyll ( which we all love ) is not always idyllic.👏👍
Quite a project, good workout for sure
👍
Can you pump the water elsewhere?
Hello Rob, I suppose anything is possible but in this case I don’t think it’s practical.
The lay of the land means the pump would have to run 24/7.
Also to clear the water it would need discharging about 300 yards/metres down the road.
The real irony is that at this point the land drops away fairly steeply by about 100 foot.
This site is just sat in a bowl and this exceptionally wet winter has finished it.
Nice job hope it all turns out well
Thank you for your input. Here’s hoping.🤞
You have done what any other beekeeper would have done but you should have got someone to give you a hand to lift them once they were blocked in if you had slipped !!!! Or done your back in then we would have had to wait a bit longer for another excellent video 👍👍👍
Thank you John for such a kind comment. You’re right I should take more care really but you know the saying - “no fool quite like an old fool”.👍
John you have not been around bees long enough yet, as we get older we all get ‘beekeepers back’
It’s mostly lone work and if you ask for help it’s surprising how busy people become when they realise it’s a box of shining insects
@@beekeeperkev 20 years beekeeping and 73 years young 🤔
@@johnthebeekeeper1706 👍
May I ask why you added screens. Why not just block entrance and move. I was flooded but moved to high ground within the apiary. It was pitch black and muddy to swampy. Not a high point yet not the lowest point either.
Im sure he did it to prevent overheating. I moved a large colony once and lost them. Since then, I built similar screens just for the purpose.
Yes that’s the reason. I knew it was going to take sometime and didn’t want to risk the bees.
It was cool and they would probably have been ok but not guaranteed.
The anxiety of knowing bees may suffocate can drive me on to such an extent that I can make mistakes.
I didn’t want to leave them on the same site and lose flying bees.
I didnt consider suffocation, nor the time to get each hive onto the truck and then off and onto new stands. All takes time. Good on you.
Thanks Tony, 👍
If its not one thing its another. We dont get flooding where i live, but usually, a hell of a lot of snow and cold, curiously, not this year though.
We just don’t know what to expect next David. Kinda keeps the job interesting but sometimes I think boredom would be ok.
Another really interesting video, thanks Trevor.
Thanks Steve. I’m hoping that’s the end of the “flood videos”. 🤞
@@swaleshoney it's quite unusual to see a beekeeper with waders on!
🤣Not a good look really!
Better than a beekeeper crying over his winter losses😢
Especially hard Steve when they were strong colonies and there’s no logical explanation.
i feel you made the right move
Yes I think so Carol. The following Saturday 3/2/24 the temperature was about 13 degrees and sunny and the bees were very active.
Left above that water I think thousands would have drowned lured in by the reflected light.
Stack'em 3 high!
Hello Larry, thanks for your input but that would mean losing flying bees.
Shame your so far away Trevor, I would have come give you a hand.
I appreciate the thought Peter. Thank you.
😢
Yes it’s not good.