Saturday November 10th 2012
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I have not looked at the drop boards since the 30th of October and that is almost two weeks ago today.  It's minus seventeen outside right now, but I think I'll pull them and take a look.

The fresh snow is 8" deep and fluffy.  I can see deer tracks around the apple trees.  The deer come to eat the windfalls and paw down through the snow.  There is one doe that does not seem at all deterred by the electric fences Ellen put up to protect her garden and young trees.  The fact that the fence has been shorted out by hoarfrost much of the time in the last two weeks probably has not helped. 

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I pulled the boards and can see that the mite drops have tapered down a lot.  I'm waiting for the boards to warm up so I can count.  Some have a little snow on them. 

Frankly, counting mites is like Where's Waldo and it takes real determination to do a good job.  I have to wonder how well most beekeepers count their mite drops.  I can see how anyone could miss half the varroa -- or more -- and not know it.

Counting is much easier with the headband magnifier, but it is easy to be distracted by the other debris on the board as everything shows up very clearly.  The many different items range from bees legs to stray insects and can be quite fascinating.

The package I picked up in  Three Hills yesterday was a $20 USB microscope from www.DHGate.com.  it seems to work pretty well for the price, and I am still learning how best to use it.  I see, however, that it is quite low in resolution and that there are digital artifacts in the pictures generated.  Example at left.

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I've been advertising bees for sale lately because, assuming I have good winter survival, I'll have far too many in spring. So, people wonder where I am. Here are some maps http://goo.gl/maps/DsFZi or Allen's Beehives.kmz.  I have had amazing response, including from several who want to take them now.

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I counted the drop boards and the results are at right.  Overall, the drops are greatly diminished from the drops back in September and quite acceptable.  I think, however that I may use an Apivar strip in every hive in March, just to make sure that they are all very low for when I sell them.  March is the best time to treat since it requires less chemical since there are fewer bees and they are less spread out, and all the brood is in a small area.  Getting the strip(s) in between frames with brood and where the bees are densest is essential for best results. 

A good spring Apivar treatment will reduce varroa to where only a few mites show up in varroa alcohol washes, even the next October.  In my inspection tours, I often saw yards that revealed zero mites, or only a few in the six samples we took because they hives were treated in spring.  Seeing that is very satisfying.  Apivar is magic.

Fall treatment is more difficult and expensive to do well because there is more brood and bees, calling for more strips.  The brood can be scattered through the hive, and the bees are also spread out everywhere. I also think that, in off-flow times individual bees have their own favourite spots in the hive and don't mix as much as during active periods.  Treatment relies on the bees moving around and spreading the treatment, which is on their exterior body parts.

Also in fall, the bees are usually active down on the floor, especially in singles and doubles, and that is where mites fall when weakened by the Apivar.  In spring, these mites chill and die there alone, but in fall treatments, weakened mites often have a second chance if they can get onto a passing bee and survive.

The individual mites that are weakened but not killed by Apivar are potentially the founding generation of an increasingly resistant mite population.  As all the susceptible mites are killed, the hardier ones can survive to interbreed and form a 'super race' of Apivar resistant mites.

These super mites may have no resistance to other treatments, and that is why it is important that any mites that fall should die, and also that we must rotate treatments.  Mites that can withstand Apivar have no special ability to withstand formic or oxalic acids, thymol, and probably Apistan either.

Meijers came over for supper and we had an excellent time.

Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the Universe love nothing so much as to change. The Universe is change.
 Marcus Aurelius

Sunday November 11th 2012
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It's minus thirty-one in Three Hills this morning and was down to minus twenty-nine here.   That's cold and I don't like it.  Normals are Max: 2°C Min: -9°C.  We are expecting warmer conditions by the weekend.

That is good, because Saturday, Ellen and I fly to LA to see Jon.  Keeping our house warm and safe is a concern.  Usually Ellen is here when I am gone, but this time we are going together.

We have people taking care of the place, but our heating system is getting old and there are only a few people who can operate it, or fix it if something went wrong.  We have some backup, but these measures require some expertise.

When the outdoor temperatures hover around normal, there is no risk of the house freezing up, but at minus thirty damage to houseplants and pipes could begin within hours if the heat went off, especially if there is much wind.

We have eight inches of snow and I am wondering whether to blow the driveway or not.   The snow has not drifted or packed down yet and I could just make things worse if I clear the drive then the wind picks up and snow drifts back in.  The vehicles are having no problem getting around, and I even drove the Toyota van right into the beeyard to get the boards, and then again to replace them yesterday, so I'm, thinking that snow removal efforts could be premature.  If we get another warm spell it could all melt away again as it did last time.

I started advertising bees for sale, and a number of people are wanting to buy them right now.  That's great because I am realizing how many hives I'll have next summer if I don't sell off at least 50.

This evening, I researched remote monitoring and set up Yahoo messenger and also bought a one-week trial subscription to www.Spiye.com.  I had looked at the various programs that stream video, but wanted to have an app that takes pictures at intervals and makes them available remotely on my phone.  I figure it is a trifle expensive, but it is easy.  See the thumbnail at right.

I can and do stream video using Yahoo Messenger and watch it remotely, but it uses a lot of bandwidth.  It takes two Yahoo accounts and setting up permissions to see the webcam from the second account, but when that is done it works seamlessly.

All this research and experimenting takes a lot of time

What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence.
The only consequence is what we do.
John Ruskin

Monday November 12th 2012
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This morning, I carrier unlocked my Optimus Black in anticipation of using a T-Mobile SIM in the US next week.  The job cost me $1.58 and over an hour of research.  You only get 10 tries at unlocking and if they all fail, the phone is carrier locked forever, so I wanted to be sure I did it right.  I did, and the unlock code I got on eBay worked first try.

We're warming up today and I think I'll clear some snow.  I have a load of coal coming tomorrow or the next day and want to make sure I am ready.  It is up to minus 2 now, at 10:30.

We have begun the process of having a gas meter put in, but that may take a while, and then there is time it takes to get the gasfitter to install appliances to consider.  I think we'll be lucky to have gas heat by Christmas.  In the meantime, wee need reliable heat.

The day was warm and I shoveled the walk and the deck.  The forklift started and I move a trailer ou tof the way since we are expecting coal soon.

The video from which I clipped the pictures below showed up on Bee-L today.  I figured it was worth mentioning here.  I'm impressed by the simple design.  Many designs have problems with the acid condensing in the exhaust tube and plugging it.  Most concern themselves with accurate measurement.  This one does not have either problem. 

Bill Here you have a good system to apply OA as gas with excelent results. About 10 seconds per colony is enough without spraying or dropping water inside the beehive. The mask is absolutely necessary for your health. Stand with crosswind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcKyE1FRNeg&feature=youtu.be You will see a heat gun blowing a paint can of 1/4 liter with OA inside a paint can of 1 liter. In the other site a nozzle made with a steel sheet #27. With each charge you can treat 80 colonies quickly. Designed, builded and used by Ricardo and Juan Manuel Prieto, queenbees breeders from Junin, Buenos Aires, Arg. best regards fernando Córdoba, Argentina

When watching this video on YouTube, a number of other interesting oxalic videos are listed in the margin. Some of them convinced me that the way to apply the acid vapour is by using lids on top of the hive, allowing the operator to stand and dodge the fumes rather than bending over and into the fumes.

I’ve gone into hundreds of fortune-teller's parlors, and have been told thousands of things,
but nobody ever told me I was a policewoman getting ready to arrest her
New York City detective

Tuesday November 13th 2012
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Today, it is sunny and we're on a warming trend.  That makes me happy. I like lots of light.  Our place has large windows on all sides and we don't cover them with curtains.  We are surrounded by fresh snow and I am thinking I should have gotten a kite by now.  No matter, I don't have time to use it for several weeks.

I was playing with my remote monitoring, using www.spiye.com , and last night, I set a thermometer on my laptop keyboard to capture the minute by minute indoor and outdoor temperatures with a webcam.  I can read the temperatures anywhere in the world that I can load a web page.  (Image at right).  Of course, I don't need to read more than twice an hour and will adjust the frequency after I finish troubleshooting.

Amos' ears are bothering him, so the mites have not been eliminated.  Off to the vet. 

Also, last week, we bought some cryopac Maple Leaf brand ribs that we thought looked excellent.  When I opened them, they smelled rotten.  I figured it was just on the surface, washed them, and tried pressure cooking them.  They still smelled, so I took them out and froze them. 

Today they go back to the store.  I phoned ahead and spoke to the manager.  I took no chances on the message getting lost.  Management needs to know of such things.  Most customers would just throw the food out, not mention it, and be reluctant to buy meat there again.  I have never had bad food from that IGA in 30 years, so they deserve a heads-up. 

I took Amos to the vet and left him there while I went downtown.  At the IGA,  Chris said that they have no way of knowing when the product is pre-sealed and seemed somewhat glad I told him, however, I had to actually ask for a refund, which I got, but he did not apologise or really act as appreciative as I would have expected.  Canadian retail still has a lot to learn from US retailers IMO.

After buying another camera or two at The Source, I picked up Amos.  The vet did not find more mites, but gave me some ear drops -- for $89.

I returned home and had lunch.  Mid-afternoon, I took a walk down the property to the south yard.  The snow was soft and granular, making for difficult progress. but I need the exercise.  

Along the way Zippy and I came across tracks from many animals and birds. Deer were the most obvious, but coyotes and magpies were evident, too.  I saw mouse tracks appear on top of the snow, then suddenly disappear under.

I realise that I need to put more top pillows onto the hives.  Top insulation is the most important insulation and winter is here.  I've not been energetic lately, and the cold weather kept me in, but I had better get with it.

I went out and did a few hives before the sun got low and the temperature dropped.  There is still quite a bit of patty on some, and the bees are clustered tightly.  I had hoped to be able to pull the apivar that has not yet been removed, but was afraid of the disturbance,  I'll have tio wait for a better day.

I had bought some more surveillance cameras in Three Hills, and spent time in the evening playing with them.

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
                                  Lao-Tze

Wednesday November 14th 2012
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We are back near climate normals lately and for the projected future. 

That's a good thing since moderate temperatures mean that there is much less fuel used, less ash produced and less risk of something freezing up while we are away.  When temperatures are around the freezing point, there is also lot more time to react to any heating issues since this building holds its heat well if the outside temperatures are moderate.

I was planning to go to Hershey and checked the fares.  I could get a flight for less than $150!  However, being in PA in winter hardly appeals to me.  San Diego is one of my favourite places to go, and the AHPA meeting is about equally good, so I have to decide.  Mike and Liz were going to go to PA, but have decided that San Diego is more practical.

I realised that today is dump day and the weather was nice, so I finished loading the trailer, hooked up the truck and drove the 30 miles to the transfer station.  I left home at four and was finished at the dump by a quarter to six.  It was a lot of fun, driving the 4X4 on snowy roads with the bee trailer behind.

In a interview, Bill Gates said that he appoints the laziest person to do the hardest job, because they'll find the easiest way to do it.

Thursday November 15th 2012
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Today's climate normals for this area: Max: 1°C Min: -10°C

The weather has moderated back to the normals for this time of year and the weather is pleasant.  Moreover, the predictions for next week are promising, too. The temperature predicted for the forecast period when averaged gives -2.5, which is quite mild.

Today, I have to unhook the trailer and figure out why the running lights on the trailer were dim when driving back last night.  When I touched the brakes, they brightened again for a moment, so I wonder if I have a bad ground.

Then I need to get ready for the coal delivery Friday. 

Well, when I looked at the trailer lights, I decided that the trailer light problem is a task for another day.  Just to check if the problem was in the truck wiring or the trailer wiring, I hooked the truck to the other trailer and found that it had a different malfunctions -- and so concluded the issues are not simple.  Later.

I went about the various preparations for leaving the place in the hands of others.  My home is one of a kind.  We live in an old school, heated by a customized coal stoker.  We have pets and pants and mail delivery... so I have to have someone here to watch over things and have to write notes explaining the various idiosyncrasies of this place.

I did some major cleanup downstairs and started shoveling coal.  I had planned to get another load, but decided that if I do enough shoveling, that I can get enough into place for the week and that another load would just be in the way..  The thing is that I have a load on the way tomorrow.

The only thing that does not change is that at any and every time it appears that there have been 'great changes.'
Marcel Proust

Friday November 16th 2012
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Up early, and checked in for the flight.  Then I texted the trucker.  He was on the way but had another place to deliver the load, so was OK with aborting the delivery.

I spent the day getting ready.

You can do anything, but not everything.
David Allen

Saturday November 17th 2012
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Up at 3, dropped off Zippy at Mayes' at 5:30, in the air at 8, and we were driving a new Volkswagen Passat headed south on the 405 by 11:30. 

We stopped at a Wal-Mart in Westminster, then  arrived at Jon's at 2:30.  The Wal-Mart checkout was so busy that I asked someone near the back  the end of the express line how long she had been there.  She said ten minutes, so we just put our purchases down and walked out.  We were not willing to stand in line for a half-hour.

Sarah and the kids came by for supper, and brought Paige, the daughter of a friend of Sarah's' who is in the hospital.

That was our day.  Ellen is holding up just fine.

Don’t worry about people stealing an idea.
If it’s original, you will have to ram it down their throats.
Howard Aiken

Sunday November 18th 2012
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Jon, Ellen and I went to the buffet at El Torito for breakfast.  We declined the free champagne. 

We dropped Ellen at home and then Jon and I drove up to Huntington Beach to a kite shop.  After some searching, we found it on the pier. 

We wanted a trainer kite to learn how to control kites before getting a real traction kite.  The owner was a very enthusiastic kiter and we spent over an hour talking kites.   We left with a 1.4 metre kite for the kids and a 3 metre for ourselves, then stopped at kitesafari on Beach Blvd for a long chat with a kiter on duty there.

We returned to Club Laguna for supper.  Sarah and the kids showed up shortly after.  The kids are with us until the weekend.

As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.
Bill Gates

Monday November 19th 2012
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Today we go to El Morro Elementary School for a Colonial Days family event with Katrina.  Tomorrow, we repeat it with Kalle.

We need not just a new generation of leadership but a new gender of leadership.
Bill Clinton