Well, we certainly aren't having a winter quite as balmy as the last one. There have been periodic breaks in the cold, but the more typical winter deep freeze has made a respectable appearance during the last few weeks. In a few days it might get warm enough for the bees to have a cleansing flight. Here's hoping. I'm looking forward to checking the hives for survival and strength when we get a couple of weeks into February. The 2013 package bee prices have arrived. We are working with Koehnen's as usual. They are close to last year's prices. As always, the packages are only available for pickup at our Lynnville, Iowa location. We do not ship packages to anywhere. We will, however, resume shipping queens later in the spring. Here is the current pricelist and instructions pertaining to 2013 package bees. All reservations should be made through Lynnville: 641-527-2639. The same information is available on our website. As usual, it's possible to select Italian or Carniolan queens in various package weights.