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   I have found that most of the time when people are worried about something, there is usually no need for that concern and even if is something that warrants concern, worrying about it is not going to solve anything. A case in point is my worrying about my bees in the cold weather.

   Raising bees is a much more complicated endeavor than I thought it would be. They will die or leave with little prior notice leaving the beekeeper with nothing to keep. They are almost as bad as sheep in that way. Having had more experience with raising sheep, I am well aware of their propensity to lay down and die just to annoy the owner. That is why I do not have sheep. When I go into beekeeping, I had no idea that bees can be as unpredictable as a bunch of sheep.

   The first bees I obtained were a wild bunch I caught in a swarm trap. They filled out the trap with comb and started bringing in loads of nectar and were making honey as fast as they could. I moved them into a nice spacious hive where they could make all the honey they wanted. I moved them to a nice shady place near the lake where they could be protected from the weather and afternoon sun. They had ready access to water and all the flowers they could want. Apparently, bees do not like afternoon shade so one day they all packed up and left.

   The next hive of bees was purchased from a local beekeeper. I set them up in a new hive, in the direct sunlight, near the lake, with lots of flowers nearby. They seem to be prospering  About the same time, I caught another wild swarm in a hive I had placed on a ladder type deer stand. When I checked on them while on the deer stand, the hive was full of bees and they were making comb and honey. In the evening when all the bees were home, I blocked the opening and moved the hive next to the other hive that was doing so well. The next day, I opened their door so the workers could fly out and gather pollen. By that evening, what had been 20,000 to 30,000 bees was down to about fifty. The rest, including the queen, simply packed up and left. Perhaps these bees preferred afternoon shade. I am not sure what that problem was, but they left and never came back. I am currently back to my one hive that I purchased. That is why I started worrying about them when a long extremely cold week of weather was predicted.

   Our son, Damon, stopped by Sunday and I was expressing my concern. As usual, in his calm demeanor, he said I had two solutions. I could either put them in the garage or not worry about them. The decision required very little thought. Having a garage full of bees would not be a good thing. I do not imagine they would be happy there and it is not a good thing when the bees are not happy. My wife would not enjoy fighting her way through a swarm of angry bees to get to her car. Also, worrying about them surviving in the cold would not change anything. They will either make it or not. I have done everything I know to do to prepare them for the cold and now it is up to mother nature. As with most things, it does no good to worry about it.

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