This winter hasn't been one that we have seen the snow that the other areas near by have seen. Buffalo has already had about 90 inches of snow, and this week had sustained colds well below freezing. We simply had high winds and cold temperatures. Each day I heard the wind howl all I could think about is if the lids were on the hives and hoping that the trees weren't falling over on them.
Today was the first day that it seemed reasonable to venture out to the hive that is close by at the 490 Community Garden. Since I had to run a few errands I thought I would stop by and take a quick look, thinking that I might see a few bees at the entrance as it was in the 40s today. As I approached the hives I noticed that the hive I have been keeping there did have its lid tossed on the ground and I could see the old green rags that I had in the quilt box sticking up. I walked over and peaked in. I didn't see any type of cluster or bees at the top of the box, nor did I hear the hum of a cluster. The difficult thing at this hive is hearing anything though as the traffic is right there rushing by on the highway.
So I quickly put things back together and ran to the car to grab a strap for the hive. Hoping that maybe they were still alive, since the layer of insulation might have minimized the heat loss over the last few days. This hive is the odd man out with the cover as it has a nice pitched top, while the rest simply have flat top covers which I have rocks or bricks on. Regardless, I am going to be heading out to the rest of my hives in the coming few days to assess any other potential problems.
Here is hoping that this isn't a lost hive, but rather just a bump in the road for them this winter.
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