Follou up: the pink sticky stuff is more like bright pink honey. After taking a good look at what was blooming we found oodles of purple russian thistle in addition to another purple weed that is yet to be identified. Also, yesterday they seemed to be working real hard at getting the drops cleaned up on the entrance board, and they were working like crazy in and out of the hive. There are still a few bees sticking together but all else seems fine, we will go into the hives this weekend just to be sure. Our current hypothesis is that we are in a period of heavy nectar flow and the color is related to what is blooming. If this sounds off base please comments. Thanks for all the input, eases anxiety greatly.