E261 - Plain Talk: Apiary Winter Wonderland

In this week's episode of Honey Bee Obscura, Jim Tew invites listeners into an apiary winter wonderland, where a fresh blanket of snow becomes one of the beekeeper's most revealing diagnostic tools. While the bee yard is silent on the surface, the snow tells its own story—tracks from deer and other wildlife, drifts shaped by wind, and the scattered bodies of a few dead bees shed light on how colonies are coping with single-digit temperatures.

Jim reflects on the unmistakable signs of winter stress, including the loss of one colony and the resilience shown by others. Wi...