Spring, Baby!

So, here it is!  Spring is upon us, and now that the dandelions are in full bloom (something that I'm happy about for the first time ever!), I'm ready to declare that we've successfully made it through the first winter with both hives intact.  I went out today and was able to conduct my first, thorough inspection of the year. 

I was able to get the entrance reducers off, to allow the bees to come in and out easier, as there was quite a traffic jam at the entrance.  It also will make it easier for the girls to get some of the debris off of the bottom board and out onto the ground.  You can see in the picture here, they are all set for some spring cleaning.
As you can see in the picture below, they have managed to get some things out of the hive.  That is the mass grave that is directly in front of the hive.  As the bees died over the winter, their sisters unceremoniously shoved them out the door, and onto the ground.

Moving on to somewhat happier news, the pollen is coming in like crazy!  We're going to refer back to the handy pollen chart that I used in several posts last year, and which can be found here.

The brownish yellow color of pollen they're loaded with in the first picture looks like it may be from a grey alder.  Hawthorne is also a possibility.  The light olive color that the bee on the right is bringing in the second picture is indicative of several different plants, but based on what we have around us, I'm guessing that it is from a crabapple tree.  However, it could also be from a Box Elder, an American Hazel, or an Oak tree.

I'll leave you with the good news that I have already added a honey super to one hive, and am very hopeful that we will experiences a large honey crop this year.  There are some exciting things coming up in the next few weeks when I get two more nucs and another package of bees, which will be going into a completely different type of hive.  Stay tuned, and enjoy this picture of a few bees coming in for a landing.