Yesterday afternoon I spent some time researching the bees problem. Trying to work out how my two hives died over this winter. I checked all the links you sent me (thank you) and these links took me to other links, I made notes and collated information and a miserable picture has appeared. After playing colour by numbers for a few hours I came to this preliminary conclusion. It was my fault. And it seems I am not alone this year.
I think it went like this. A long hot very dry summer caused a shortage of flowers, even the clover in the fields gave up early on. By September the hives had two full supers of honey each and strength in numbers, big numbers but no flowers at all by then.
The beautiful warm autumn was also long, but food was scarce so the bees began to eat their own honey much earlier than usual. 
I fed sugar water for a while but I really try not to. (I don’t believe refined sugar is good for their overall health.) So once it became cold I stopped. Mistake number one.
Anyway winter came after a while and we plummeted and rose and plummeted and rose and then rose some more then plummeted to ungodly cold then rose again until very warm and then plummeted again .. and still I did not feed them. Mistake number Two. Well you get the picture. 
I did not check to make sure they were close to their own honey. Sometimes for no reason they will die of starvation only inches from a full super. So the bees will have joined into their ball to get warm, pulled apart when the weather warmed up, huddled together to get warm again, then pulled apart again. And every time it got cold it was so fast that bees who had pulled away got lost and froze to death. 
Thousands of them. Why they did not move up to the honey is a mystery. But they died in the first half of the winter. If their Queen died early on often this would have exacerbated their problems.
And in both hives I have found the majority of dead bees clustered over empty frames. 
Human error. I should have checked them in each of those warm spells and considered feeding more, I usually only start feeding again in February/ March. I was too late this year. 
So far this is where my research is pointing me. I stumbled and they fell. But I have learned an important lesson and if I am able to buy two more colonies I will be more liberal with supplement feeding especially in any winter that has such frequent warm spells and such terrible cold on its heels.
There is no sign of disease or intruders. Everything smells sweet. Mites could have been a problem but my tests did not show any during the summer. So most all the signs point to human error compounded by bad bee weather.
My job now is to take the hives apart, scrape them and clean them, saving the honey. I shall dry them in the sun and cold. When I am sure they are spotless I shall reassemble the hives and introduce two new colonies in May. I have some work ahead of me. Ah well.
One thing I know for sure is that failures are the best learning experiences as long as we can look our failures in the eye and say: my fault. If I do not own the problem I cannot fix it. The misery is that two colonies of bees died to teach me to be more vigilant in the winter.
Of course, I am always grateful for any help and advice. There is a wealth of experience and knowledge within the farmy readership. So do speak up if you think I am missing something.
Soon it will be dawn and off to work I will go trying to grow our own food and trying to live a self sufficient life in a sustainable manner using organic methods. It is a challenge.
I hope you all have a lovely day. Do you think my new header is too bright? I am getting desperate for colour. I bet most of you are too.
celi
I am glad that you figured it out. Human error is correctable. I am so sorry that you lost them, but I’m glad you’re continuing on. I lost my first snake due to human error. It still makes me sad, but I have never, ever made that mistake again.
Though the story is so sad, your photos are phenomenal.
The peacock feathers are an endless source of fascination for the camera.. c
it’s called Nature. We humans simply cannot control everything.
Hard to give in to that idea isn’t it! c
I wondered if that was the case. I know nothing about keeping bees, but the beekeeper, up the road, hates winters where the temps are up and down like this. Always says it is bad for the bees!
He is right, and i have discovered many bee keepers with the same problem this year.. there must be a way.. c
Your header looks great.. and bad luck with the bees.. but as you say if one can learn from ones own mistakes… you are better off next time… know nothing about bees except they sting me every now and then, but apart from that nothing…
C, what a hard lesson – so pleased you are taking the lesson learnt and not beating yourself up about it.
Mandy xo
GORGEOUS shots today, thank you.
it is also good to know that the sprays from the surrounding fields did not do it! at least now you know you have another shot at healthy hives! please show photos of how you clean and restore the hives?
I will .. the pesticides do build up in the comb so it is important to replace your comb every few years.. most GM crops do not need to be sprayed for regular insect pests, it is all built into the plant so it is GM that is more likely to kill them.. esp in the spring when they are planting.. c
Love the header Cecelia! We all need some color and brightness right now!!
we certainly do.. good morning!! c
Hi C! I’m sorry about your bees. I hope that now that you know what the problem was, the next hives will live a long and productive life. I know nothing about bees, but isn’t it better to give them honey instead of sugar water?
Have a fantastic day!
It is a good question. Some people say never do it, others say it is fine, i will do more research.. c
Sorry about your bees. Your header and your photos look amazing!
Thank you!! c
Dearest Celie, you are a brave girl to confront your loss, your failings, and the work ahead to renew the bee population. I know little about bees, and even less about your extreme climate, but I wondered if there were any flowering plants which you could plant, maybe in movable pots that you could take under cover during the worst frosts. There are things in my garden which produce flowers at most times of the year – eg viburnum, roses (!) winter jasmine, some heathers. The planting would serve two purposes – emergency source of bee food and joy for your winter eyes!
I went on the hunt and found these http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2012/jan/16/winter-flowering-plants#/?picture=384360878&index=9
Have you solved your cold hands problem yet? I found some fleece gloves which I could adapt, if you still have a need. And I’m making some quilted handwarmers for pockets, which will be filled with wheat and lavender, to be heated for 2 minutes in a microwave just before you need them. Would you like some? Not for this season, as I have no lavender left, but next autumn?
One idea and you’re off!
I love the idea of hand warmers, I could pop them in my pocket.. that would be great for next winter.. my hands are, as usual, cracked and ripped up but better this year because I put the udder cream on them every night.. I have an enormous flower garden and fields of clover, then the wild flowers down at the creek, but last year we had to choose between watering the flowers and watering the veges, and the drought stopped the wild flowers in their tracks, bad year all round really.. maybe this season will be better, i might get some of your rain this summer! Now I shall pop over and read this site, it looks interesting.. thank you viv.. c
I am glad you got some answers about the bees.
As for the header image, I noticed the change immediately and I like it. You had a little fun in photo editing, didn’t you?
i thought i would go for the artsy tapestry look.. glad you like it! c
On the one hand, it’s a bitter blow to realise you may have been able to prevent the loss of your bees but on the other, thank goodness it wasn’t some killer disease or parasite that would have prevented you keeping more bees. We live and learn.
I cannot completely rule out a parasite or disease, but all the dead bodies are whole, there is no sign of illness in the comb, except they over built at one point and I had to tear comb apart to divide the frames, however it is good to have a problem I can fix .. c
Never give up! It is a bad year for bees. I have a feeling our bees may encounter the same fate this winter. Nothing to do but install new packages and try again. I love the new header. Too bright? Absolutely not. If you got it, flaunt it!
I like Vivin’s idea. Maybe some more flowering plants to help. I love a good reason to plant more flowers.
It is sad that the bees have gone, but it will make you an even better keeper next time.
The header is wonderful.
Is the background black in memory of the bees?
When you’re feeling better about it all, I look forward to a tiled background with the peacock colours repeated again and again. (I have just added the catkins to mine in this way)
xx
At least you know what went wrong and will be able to do things differently next time…a hard lesson.
Is it not possible to feed diluted honey instead of the sugar water? Better luck next ime, but your extreme weather conditions must make it more difficult! Laura
It’s a huge responsibility holding all those wee lives in your hands, but you’re right of course, all we can do is learn by our mistakes. Man has been learning by his mistakes for thousands of years.
As far as your header goes – WONDERFUL! We all need some colour at this time of year (Well, in the northern hemisphere at least!)
Christine
Don’t be so hard om yourself Celi. Lessons learned….. You’re wiser now and the Farmy will benefit from it.
Wow! Love the header, c. Great photos today, too. Looking forward to May when the new bees arrive. Onward and upward.
I just ordered 2 x 3 pound bees plus their queens and they can be picked up in april! even better! i hope we have a lovely warm spring.. c
Excellent! I feel like a grandmother waiting for new babies to arrive! And yes, please, warm weather. Soon.
Soon – soon..
Such a shame, but as you say this is how we learn. And we never stop learning (please god). Love the header, it’s stunning!
I love the new header. And it is great to be able to look a mistake in the face and learn from it. I have to say, we’ve made some real howlers and it smarts, but we haven’t made the same mistakes twice — we’re pretty good at finding all new ones! Thanks for sharing this so fearlessly with us.
I think if you can say I made this mistake and I will own it then it is almost impossible to make that mistake again, all things being equal, but if we blame other people or other circumstances then we give away our control of the given situation then we are bound to make the mistake over and over.. lets hope I keep ahead of it next time.. c
I’m so glad you know what happened to the bees. I’m sure the next hives will thrive under your protective knowledge. Love the new header Celi! And of course I absolutely love the pictures of the animals. Warms my heart!
The animals were in a posing mood.. i love the one of daisy with her eyes closed, having a standing nap! morning karista..c
So sorry about the bees. Yes, I do like your new header, a lot. Good luck with the new hives.
I understand your feelings about your bees…..I too learn from your mistakes as would any bee keeper! So glad you won’t be giving up on keeping bees. Do you know how to capture a swarm or remove a hive from an unwanted location? If you can do either of those you can get FREE bees to start your new hives. If I lived closer I’d help you with this – it’s how I’ve gotten all of my bees. I’ve never paid for a hive or a queen. Lucky me…I’ve been watching and listening to see if mine have survived. Of course the true test is opening the hive on a warm day later this month or early in March. I did feed quite a long time into the winter even though our winters aren’t nearly as cold as yours we do have the drought problem and warm weather into October and November which I sometimes think confuses my girls. Good luck with the next go round – you’ll be a step ahead having learned from your mistake. Nature….gotta embrace it.
i definitely did not feed for long enough, and yes i can capture a swarm but have only ever had to capture my own! I have never heard of any around here.. that would be a great way to get some.. c
If you know how to capture a swarm you should give your number to the sheriff’s dept.,police or extension agent and let them give it the people who call them wanting to know what to do with a swarm. then you can just set up a hive body and put them in…they’ll do the rest! It’s a very satisfying way to start your own hives.
The peacock’s color is so bright and cheery it will make the bees look for pollen in those feathers.You know, I have heard that the pioneer women that first settled the prairies brought canaries with them–not for the song but for the color in drab winter.
canaries do have beautiful bright colours too. One day I think I would like a real parrot, one of the brightly coloured ones, that would be awesome, it could ride around on my shoulder and swear at the dogs!.. c
Here am I denying ownership of more mistakes than you can imagine. If only I’d realised a few “mea culpa”‘s would have helped sort it. Glad you’ve worked out how to fix the hives. Sounds as though it’s going to be a long haul. Kupa pictures look wonderful.
Yes, a bit of work ahead of me.. ah well .. At least it is doable.. c
((hugs)) I am very, very good at this particular method of learning. Mostly because I’m very, very good at making mistakes. Often. The older I get, the less it chafes when it happens, though. (Thank goodness.) Here’s to a better bee winter, next year!
farming is like that, we often say, Ah well, maybe next year.. eternal optimists! c
I love your header! That effect is very painterly. So sorry about your bees, but next year will be better.
Love the color! Kupa has the right idea…we need beauty and color in our lives and looking at his feathers is a great help!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Love the new header! Glad you figured out the mystery of the bees and I’m sure you’ll have the hive humming again in no time.
Ah Cinders…I’m so sorry about your bees…as we all are…there isn’t a one of us out there that hasn’t stumbled along the way…and lots of us, in alot worse ways. But you’re right…we’re human and that is how we learn. We know how much you loved your bees…the new ones will be that much stronger! I loved the photos of the farmy lovelies today and the Kupa header is a sight for sore eyes…or should I say…color deprived eyes!
I think you are doing more for the world bee population than most of us – good luck with the next colonies
That’s a great picture of Kupa
The header looks stunning, Sorry to hear about the bee’s
So sorry to hear about the bees C but I totally agree, as long as one can look his or her mistakes in the eye and say my fault, a lesson is learnt and some good comes out of the experience no matter how tough it is
Sorry about your bees; it’s a risk we all run, keeping them in our Northern climate, and I don’t think it’s really human/your error so much as this fact. They really struggle in my area because of the 9 months of damp, cool weather, so unlike the southern warmth of their native lands. I almost lost mine the first year due to this (after installation I fed for a while, then thought they were established enough…caught them in the nick of time) and last year for the same reason as yours – warm/cool/warm then an unusually prolonged cool and very wet May and June. I opened the lid and just gave them straight sugar as it was too chilly to open enough to put in the feeder, and they were ON it. Duh. The hive swarmed a few months later, so I guess it was healthy. I was so happy to see the swarm, knowing it meant they were strong and healthy enough to reproduce. I wish I could have caught the swarm, but they were too smart and congregated several hundred feet up, and gone to their new home in 24 hours.
Your lesson is one we all learn with you, and I’ll definitely get some supplemental food out to my girls on the next warm(ish) day. Thank you for sharing your story.
and thank you for popping in and sharing yours, interesting about the straight sugar!!.. keep in touch!.. c
Doing what you think best and making an error in judgement is a learning thing and someting we’ve all done, and it’s good that you’ve owned it but ‘if I’ds’ are hard to quantify in regard to outcomes – you may have fed more, checked more and still had the same outcome. As you said, other beekeepers experienced the same.
I love the new banner photo. My eyes just drink in Kupa’s colours.
Glad you found what went wrong; your photographs of the animals are fantastic; no header is fine; you must fall into bed at night; you are so hard working, intelligent and capable and creative; wow; what a gal! hugs
Hugs straight back.. c
Love the bottom three photos – giving you the eye with this story…
I love the new header and all of your pictures were fabulous to see! I’m sorry about the bees. Hopefully you can get it all ironed out and next winter will be just fine.
I think you are brave to own up to the world that you made a mistake but you are wise too because you understand why it happened and what not to do next time.
Your photos are really wonderful.
A question: I think you live in the USA? Why is your date already tomorrow?
I AM in the USA, and I have no idea why my date is wrong.. Thank you Rosie, I shall check into it.. I wonder if i have a gremli? c
Hi C….. here in sub-tropical Australia, we have totally different problems to yours. Let’s face it, beekeeping is hard work, and you will have failures. We have a core of seven hives here, and we lose two a year on average (so far) mostly due to small hive beetles that came from Africa when Australia held the Olympics in 2000…. ain’t globalisation grand? We just split some more and replenish. One upside of this climate is that we never ever feed our bee.
I’m planning to move away from here, too darn hot…. and go to Tasmania. Considered NZ, but the earthquake in Christchurch put the frighteners on me. Tassie’s nowhere near as cold as what you are experiencing…. and frankly I don’t know how you do it!
Great shots BTW….. from a retired pro no less! keep it up.
Mike
Well, I think you are a scientist as well as a writer.
P.S. and photographer.
Oh sugar, ain’t it going to be a grand spring as far as offspring and newspring [that is not a word, is it
] is concerned! Can’t wait!!!!!
I’m so sorry about the bees. That is awfully bad luck. What a difficult lesson. At least you have worked out what caused it so you know what to do in future xx
Hmmm, let me see–do *you* think *I* would object to a lot of color in the new header???
Sad about the bees, but that’s nature for you, with or without human participation. I’m grateful it doesn’t seem likely there was any infectious agent that would affect any of the other creatures. Be well, you and all of yours! xo
I love your new header, c.. you’re the second blogger I’ve met who’s changed headers (I did as well). It’s these lackluster, cloudy days I think. I feel bad for the colonies, but worse for you because I know your heart is sad to think you might have had anything to do with their demise. Still, our weather patterns are so unusual and unpredictable, it would be difficult to run all of the different aspects of a farm(y), never mind working out the details of bee colonies. You’ll triumph this year, I’m sure of it! xx
Sorry you lost all your bees I have a neighbor who is so into his bees and knows EVERYTHING if you need him yell he is on my FB list
Loved your photos too
He went away to FL for 6 or 8 weeks I noticed he surrounded his hives in that think insulation to block the wind and cold I suppose I know he had over 200 pounds of gooey goodness last season I add just a bit to afternoon pick me up tea got to watch my POINTS but it is so good and they visit my clover and wildflowers so I help in a little way to make it delish
Have a great February and don’t fret Mother Nature is having a hard time keeping them alive as well with nasty poison and seed companies and our Wild Weather
So sorry, Celi, to read this but I knew that you would find out what caused the loss of your bees. I’m sure you won’t allow this to happen again — and I cannot wait to read of your trip the the Post Office to pick up your new bees.
Your new header is perfect for this time of year. We need to see some real color.
Oh, crud. I am sad along with you. All those lovely buzzing bees! And that wonderful bee picture of yours of a bee on the marbles. Bother.
Hindsight is always clear. And I love the header.
I am so sorry to hear that you lost your bees, Celi. I know you will try again in the spring.
Oh I’m so sorry to read about the loss of your bees. Live and learn as they say. Human error is rough, but you thought you were doing what was best and now you know a different way to do it.
I have no doubt you will take the lessons learned and your new colonies will thrive. Like you said, as long as we own up to our mistakes and make a move toward changing things, we’re doing our best. The new header is fabulous! My favorite.
Good on you for facing up to the problem, and being prepared to learn from it. You will never make that mistake again. The good news is that it wasn’t mites or disease. Human error is more easily corrected.
I love hearing stories from my sister that follows your blog so now I am going to follow your blog as well. Also I love your peacock he is very beautiful
Celi, I immediately thought of you and your poor cold bees when I saw this – did you see this beautiful bee house? http://letterfrombritain.com/2013/02/09/quiz/
Glad you found the bee problem. Don’t be too hard on yourself, you were just showing your human side. Love your new header, no it is not too bright.
That’s sad, but I’m glad you worked out what happened and it’s not due to the general, rather scary bee problem that’s going on. If these bees had been wild, what would have happened? Or were these kinds of bees never wild but reliant on human intervention?