A few thoughts about shortest daylight of the year in the Northern Sierras and climate.

Beekeepers use this time of year to spend time preparing for the longer days to come when the bees will bee more active. Bees don’t hibernate, they use the honey stores they built up over the warmer months. Keeping bees or should I say the Bees are keeping me have some great conditions in the Sierra Mountains and the Great Basin. From the spring bloom, to the almonds, and then the Rabbit Brush plants in the fall there is plenty of opportunity for the bees for forage that provides food. Some variables you can control but not all. The biggest variable has to do with the weather. For instance, we are nearing the end of 2021 and that would be 22 years since year 2000 of these solar cycles. Out of those 22 years in the area in and around Reno, 16 have been drought years and only 6 have been normal or wet years. Makes one wonder what the next cycle will bring to the region? It sure would help the bees, plants, and humans to have plenty of moisture.