Classes for Clusters

How is this for a cluster?  Ones of the swarms we caught last year.  I love it when they are so close to the ground - makes it so much easier to catch.

Last night I went to the second week of beekeeping class at our local community college.  I always look forward to getting together with clusters of people who also love honeybees!  People who don't give you that weird kind of look when you start talking about your bees.  Most of our friends stopped asking us, "So, how are the bees?"  They just want to here a quick short answer such as "fine."  Not a commentary on the weeks activities!  They did love the honey though.

It was interesting to see that over half of the class were females and to know the reasons why people were taking the class.  Some lived in town, others had farms or an acerage.  A few people grew produce for farmers markets and were interested more in the pollination, others couldn't wait for honey.  Some didn't even know if they would get any hives - just were curious about the whole thing. 

After last nights class I am pretty concerned about the clusters in my hives though.  This is when we decided to take the plunge into beekeeping:  Iowa had the worst year of honey production since they have been keeping records, and the worst winter in several decades.  Our instructors are pretty concerned about just how many bees will still be alive come spring.  But I have ordered what I need for new hives and will get ready to order my packages soon and the excitement for spring grows every day!

Just wondering what others who live in colder climates do to pass the time before the first dandelion blooms?