Observed precipitation reports. 2008

[BEES4U]

Northern California:
NOAA:
http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/precipMaps...=24&synoptic=5

Well, at least the Shasta Lake area got some precipitation.
Ernie

[Tom G. Laury]

I washed my pick up yesterday

[cow pollinater]

I canceled out Tom's truck washing by finally hanging the rain gutters my wife has been bugging me about. Sorry guys.

I did here a little blip about the possibility of an el nino year in the making. We could sure use it.

[high rate of speed]

We had some rain in the sac valley not much,but enough to settle the dust.At least the girls will get a little drink on their journey to california.

[loggermike]

Started in raining yesterday afternoon just as I was finishing putting on feeders.Grabbed the wet gate handle of the fence and got Zapped. Got into the pickup, and turned on the wipers.Thats when I realized the rubber had baked off over the summer.
Anyway its been raining steady here. Hoped it would water the almonds further south.

[BEES4U]

Is this pricipitation map close to you?

http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/precipMaps...=24&synoptic=5
Ernie

[loggermike]

We are just to the north center of that map. The big concern here is moving bees to a lower elevation before snow makes them inaccessible.Usually use Thanksgiving as the cutoff date.

[JohnK and Sheri]

OK, someone please tell me the Chowchilla/Merced area got some of that rain my yahoo weather watch said it was going to get this week. If so, has it, is it raining enough to do any good, even short term?
Our first load will be heading out that way early next week, with the rest to follow over the next week/10 days.
Last year was horrible dry, hoping this year is better.
Sheri

[BEES4U]

Here is a site;
http://www.weather.com/weather/local...hbox_typeahead
I will get you better data later.
Regards,
Ernie

[BEES4U]

Here is a current Merced, Calif. weather report with rain.

http://www.weather.com/weather/local...hbox_typeahead
Ernie

[BEES4U]

One last one for the day.

http://www.water.ca.gov/floodmgmt/ha...ary_062008.pdf
Ernie

[stangardener]

OK, someone please tell me the Chowchilla/Merced area got some of that rain my yahoo weather watch said it was going to get this week. If so, has it, is it raining enough to do any good, even short term?
Our first load will be heading out that way early next week, with the rest to follow over the next week/10 days.
Last year was horrible dry, hoping this year is better.
Sheri

i'm curious what good the rain can do if the bees are here just through the almond bloom?
over the long haul we need the rain but in the short term the rain won't create any forage in my area.
if your area has eucalyptus it might help

[BEES4U]

Some of the best almond contracts, for the bees, are near areas that have wildflowers in bloom pror to and throughout the almond bloom!
The rainfall also influence your management decisions for making divides after the almonds.

A lot of the almond orchards have zero forage for the bees in the orchard floor.
The following plants use to be aboundant:
1.0 Red and white stem filaree. (Blooms early and has a high sugar content with red pollen.
2.0 Miners lettuce.
3.0 Fiddelneck

January - February willow bloom for building bees and if you are lucky near the bees when they are pollenating the almonds.

Regards,
Ernie

[Tom G. Laury]

Here in Fresno this morning it is a little wet and warm. Not a lot of rain but certainly enough to GERMINATE lots of annuals. This is important later. If mustard, filaree, fiddleneck, etc., can get up out of the ground before it gets cold they can begin blooming prior to Feb. 10. Should get the grasses up too helping out the cattlemen who have been hurt badly by the drought. If you look at a map of Cal and draw a line from Merced to Yosemite the precipitation is much greater North and less the further South you go. In general.

[Velbert]

I use to live In a little town called Desert Center in Southern California (about mid way between BLYTHE & INDIO)This area is where we got started beekeeping and there were what we was told a tree called Ironwood trees it was some times covered with big masses of mistletoe that bloomed in the latter part of January to the best of my memory which was a great build up they would build comb and even sealed some honey. but that has been 38 years ago have also seen a carpet of flowers with a good shower in what seemed as a matter of a few days after a rain.

[JohnK and Sheri]

Glad to hear you are getting some rain our there, maybe it will be a good year, water wise. Here is hoping.

i'm curious what good the rain can do if the bees are here just through the almond bloom?

I am thinking of the rain as needed water for the bees, not so much as for forage (we supply that out the syrup hose )Last year it was so dry the bees had nowhere to forage for water. One yard had a leaky faucet on a water tank, one yard was visiting a stock tank where lots drowned I imagine. The others managed on dew and irrigation pipe lleaks but I know they were short of water. This next year if it isn't better we will figure out a way to get a better source of water for them.

And, also, helping natural forage like others have indicated can't hurt. It seemed there were plants blooming just days after rains in January. There is Eucalyptus blooming in the area I wondered if they worked it.
Sheri

[Tom G. Laury]

Drinking water is very important for bee health

[Tom G. Laury]

Now it's coming down. Good for sleep.