well I was out checking the hives today and they all look really strong. Looks like they wintered fine and are already growing fast. hoping for a little rain to get a honey flow going, it's been real dry the last two weeks or so and there isn't a lot of forage out there for the bees. Noticed some blooms starting on the orange and grapefruit trees but need some rain to kick the season off. My orignial hive which is 6 years old needs to supered up or it will swarm this year, it already has clumps of bees out on the landing board. Need to get back into the mind set that bees are my friend, I was a little intiminated by the hives today. They weren't agressive, just a whole lot of bees while I was only wearing gloves and a veil with a T shirt and jeans. It's a bit like jumping into cold water, once you get over the shock it really isn't that bad. Four hives with two deeps for brood per hive is still a lot of bees. The smoker is my friend, just keep it lit.
