Dan’s Papers February 18, 2011 danspapers.com Page 36
NORTH FORK Missing My Honeybees shrinks uniformly in an effort to reduce few days to get focused again. Hug your heat loss from the interior and to reduce family and wear your wool sweaters. air spaces between the bees. As the temAhhh, farming…any kind of farmperature continues to drop to about ing…it all boils down to weather. The 20°F and below, the cluster becomes summer of 2010 was the hottest ever on more dense until it is a solid mass of record in New York City, breaking bees. Packed so densely, the bees cannot 103°F in Central Park on July 6th. reach more food no matter how many There were summer days that I could pounds of honey are still left throughonly muster the energy to work a few out the hive. The bees will starve when hives – my eyes stinging from a mixthe food inside the cluster is gone. When ture of sweat and sun block and my the outside temperature warms, the hands puffy from the stings of ornery outer insulating layer of bees expands, bees. Meteorologists at the National and the volume of the cluster expands Weather Service say that 2011’s weathwith it, moving to frames with stored er has already broken all the rules too. One local hive. honey and pollen – the potential of starvaFebruary is running colder than average tion averted, until the next cold snap. and we all know about the snow…Mmm, not sure Each winter, I leave about 75-85 pounds of honey what it all means. Please keep your fingers crossed for my little bees. Seeing them fly around in the and pollen on each hive. For our region, this is Spring is wonderful. enough food to get a strong hive through to the spring – unless there are prolonged cold snaps. Yes, Laura Klahre is a conservationist and full-time I have found a few dead colonies of bees that have died of starvation in years past. The bees die with beekeeper on the North Fork of Long Island. Her their heads inside the honeycomb, the cluster formahoney, candles and other products are marketed from Southold under her label Blossom Meadow, tion still apparent, and gobs of honey just a frame or blossommeadow.com. two away. It’s heartbreaking; it always takes me a L. Klahre
By Laura Klahre It is winter and I miss my honeybees. No. I really, really miss them. I continue to visit the hives but it is only to daydream and to start planning for the Spring. Too cold to say “hello”– opening the hives on these bitter days would kill them. In the late fall, honeybees start forming a winter cluster inside the hive. The bees gather into a welldefined ball, especially when the air temperature drops below 40°F. Within the winter cluster, the outside layer of bees is tightly packed with their heads facing inward, the bees in the center not quite so dense, so they can move around a bit. The queen bee is in the center. The honeybees remain relatively active in the cluster, eating, moving and generating heat by vibrating their wing muscles (shivering) to maintain 57-85°F. The bees on the outside of the cluster gradually move to the center and the warmer well-fed bees take their turns on the outside. Now that it is midwinter, the queen bee resumes egg-laying and the bees maintain the cluster at about 93°F. Spring is coming. Sounds neat right? I agree. Hugging your family seems like a great way to stay warm, but don’t donate all your fuzzy, wool sweaters yet. The honeybees’ method of staying warm has a scary downside. When the outside temperatures become very cold, the cluster
North Fork Events For more events happening this week, check out: Kid Calendar pg: 41 Arts & Galleries Listings pg: 44 Day by Day Calendar pg: 48 UP AND COMING RED DRESS DINNER ADVANCE TICKETS – March 4, 8th annual Red Dress Dinner to benefit the American Heart Association, The Inn at East Wind, Wading River. Advance tickets on sale thorugh 2/25. “Just for Ladies” and “please wear special occasion red.” Includes one complimentary cocktail, hors d’oeuvres, dinner, DJ and more. 516-4509121, . $65 now; $75 at the door. SCHOOL EMPLOYEES DISCOUNT – Through February show your school employee I.D. and receive a free wine flight and 15% off at Martha Clara Vineyards, 6025 Sound Ave., Riverhead. 631-298-0075. marthaclaravineyrds.com THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17 TWILIGHT LIVE MUSIC – 5-9 p.m., featuring Bryce Larson. Corey Creek Vineyards, Main Rd., Southold. 631765-4168, bedellcellars.com. Free. MONTHLY ORIGINAL SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE – 7-11 p.m. the third Thursday of every month. This Thursday features Rorie Kelly. Vail-Leavitt Music Hall, 18 Peconic Ave. Riverhead. Featured performers & open mic on two stages. All ages welcome. Vail-leavitt.org. $5 at the door includes coffee and more. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18 FILM: TOY STORY 3 – 1:30 p.m., Mattituck-Laurel Library, 13900 Main Rd., Mattituck, 631-298-4134. Rated G. 1 hr. 43 min. Free. WINTERFEST JAZZ WARM-UP – 7 p.m., featuring Halfshell Jazz Combo, Hilton Garden Inn, 2038 Old Country Rd., 631 727-2733, liwinterfest.com. Free. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19 WINTER CELLAR TOUR – 10 a.m., Lenz Winery, 38355 New York 25, Peconic. Enter the world of winemaker Eric Fry while the grapevines sleep…and only-in-winter tour. Limited to 12 people per tour. $25; free to Lenz subscribers. Reservations suggested. 631-734-6010 or office@lenzwine.com WINE & CHEESE – Noon-4 p.m., cheese fondue with The Village Cheese Shop, Martha Clara Vineyards, 6025
Sound Ave., Riverhead. 631-298-0075. marthaclaravineyrds.com. $30 per couple, reservations required. Liwinterfest.com for complete schedule of winery events. LIVE MUSIC – 1 p.m., featuring Nick Kerzner. Corey Creek Vineyards, Main Rd., Southold. 631-765-4168, bedellcellars.com LIVE JAZZ – 1-5 p.m., Nautique Jazz & Blues Festival presents The Michael Jazz Trio (9, 14 and 16-year-old brothers who have played the Apollo). Peconic Bay Winery. Cutchogue. 631-734-7361. peconicbaywinery.com. Free. MORE JAZZ – 1-5 p.m., featuring M. Stuck on Jazz. Sparkling Pointe Winery, 39750 County Road 48, Southold. 631-765-0200. sparklingpointe.com. Free BACKYARD BIRDCOUNT – 2 p.m. North Fork Audubon Society presents Cornell & Audubon’s Great Backyard Birdcount for Families & Teens. Red House Nature Center, Inlet Pond County Park, Greenport. Join thousands of other observers across North America to count birds for Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Last year over 63,000 people in the US and Canada participated. Call Debra O’Kane at 631-804-2713 to register, or email mousemagic@optonline.net. WINTERFEST LIVE JAZZ – 4:30 p.m., Rare Groove Band. The Pavilion @ Martha Clara Vineyards, 6025 Sound Ave., Riverhead. 631-298-0075. marthaclaravineyrds.com. $10 includes a glass of wine, donation to the Long Island Wine Council. THE DEAD OF WINTER III CONCERT – 7 p.m., VailLeavitt Music Hall, 18 Peconic Ave. Riverhead. KBF Productions presents The Electrix and Reckoning, with an opening set by Dawg Star Compromise. 631-727-5782, Vailleavitt.org, Tickets $20 at the door or http://dow.ticketleap.com/dead-of-winter LIVE AT THE INDIGO – 7-10 p.m., The Steve Watson Trio…and friends. Second of six Saturdays of jazz at the Hotel Indigo East End’s Bistro 72, 1830 W. Main St., Riverhead. In partnership with the Long Island Winterfest Jazz on the Vine series through 3/20. Indigoeastend.com, 631-369-2200. $20 includes 2 drinks at Bistro 72. Ask about dinner and hotel packages. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20 LIVE JAZZ – 1-5 p.m., featuring Gravity. Sparkling Pointe Winery, 39750 County Road 48, Southold. 631-7650200. sparklingpointe.com. Free. LIVE MUSIC – 2-5 p.m. featuring Keith Maguire. Martha Clara Vineyards. 6025 Sound Ave., Riverhead. 631298-0075. marthaclaravineyrds.com. Free.
SUNDAY UNPLUGGED – 2-4 p.m., featuring George Agnew. Peconic Bay Winery. Cutchogue. 631-734-7361. peconicbaywinery.com. Free. WINTER CELLAR TOUR – See Saturday. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21 PRESIDENT’S DAY PENGUIN ENCOUNTER – 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., Atlantis Marine World, 431 East Main St., Riverhead. Close-up encounter program with a penguin. $50, all ages ($45 for Aquarium members). Reservations required. Atlantisaqurium.com, 631-2089200. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 OPEN ARTS STUDIO/EAST END ARTS COUNCIL – 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., every Tuesday. 133 East Main St., Riverhead. Members are invited to use the Carriage House space to work. Tables, chairs and cleanup sinks will be provided. Bring your own materials. Meet other artists and have some fun working together. 631-369-2171. eeac.org LIVE MIC NIGHT – 7 p.m., MC and host Rocky Divello. Every Tuesday at Martha Clara Vineyards, 6025 Sound Ave., Riverhead. Bring your own dinner and friends! 631298-0075. marthaclaravineyrds.com. Free. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23 SOUP KITCHEN – Community supper, free soup kitchen for those in need. 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Weds. St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church Parish Hall. Sixth St., Greenport. 631-765-2981. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17 FILM LECTURE – 7 p.m., Ins & Outs of Documentary Filmmaking with Kenny Mann. Brecknock Hall, 1500 Brecknock Road, Greenport. Presented by East End Arts Council. Screening and discussion. $15; members $10. 7270900. Eeac.org. ONGOING EVENTS SKATEBOARDING – Skate park in Greenport offers ramps and a half pipe. 631-477-2385. INDIAN MUSEUM – 1:30-4:30 p.m. Suns., 1080 Main Bayview Rd., Southold. , 631-765-5577. CUSTER OBSERVATORY – Weather permitting; call first. Custer staff will be on site to assist visitors in observing the night sky with observatory’s telescopes. Open Sats., 7 p.m. - midnight. Bayview Dr., Southold. 631-765-2626. custerobservatory.org REIKI CIRCLES – Last Mon. of every month. Grace Episcopal Church. Meetings are held at the Peconic Bay Medical Center, 1300 Roanoke Ave., Riverhead. 631-7272072.