Howdy all! I started out with one hive this last spring and trying to find my way with the bees. We are in Longmont, Colorado about 40 miles north of Denver. So we are high elevation (5200 feet) and have cold winters but not much snow. I read up a little bit on beekeeping prior to jumping in. The hive seemed to be off to a good start by mid summer, but something went awry late summer and the hive is not thriving right now - some drawn comb and some, but not many, bees, no pollen, and very little honey. I'll be feeding and trying to pull the colony through to spring - wish me luck. We are on 35 acres with the primary nectar flow being alfalfa and dandelion, plus some raspberry, blackberry, fruit trees and grapes. Beekeeping has been a fun learning experience so far and I enjoy working with the bees, even though I tried to not do alot with the hive - just trying to give the colony its space and let it build up this year. Alas, next year will probably be a building year as well. I think I may have needed to feed more this year!? Especially in the fall.
If there are any fellow Coloradoans out there let me hear from you! Maybe we can connect and swap lessons learned.
I am thankful to find this forum. The information sharing is great. I've learned alot already just by reading through the threads on the various topics. Thanks to all of you with experience who are willing to share with us folks new to beekeeping.
Kind regards,
John