As the August summer moves closer to the September autumn, I found myself in the mountains for an early morning hike. It had been hot and dry for the past four days so we thought we would beat the heat by arriving early. As we started down the trail towards a long narrow canyon that follows a brook, my hiking partner pointed out an active beehive in a scrub oak tree. The activity was commendable in such heat. Drones entering and leaving at a constant and regular pace that most airports would envy.
Growing up in the northeast, I often heard folklore that connected animals and insects to weather. For example, if you saw a field of cows lying down (all cows), expect a rainstorm. Bees did not escape this lore. A common belief was that if bees had built a nest in the ground, then it would be a mild winter. But if the bees established a tree as home, snow was on the way. The higher the nest, the more severe the winter would be. If I follow this natural source of prediction, I would conclude that winter 2010-11 be include a moderate snowfall. The hive was about 11 feet offer the ground and quite large. Next spring, I will let you know the accuracy of these bees.
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