Chris, I have been swamped lately, so I haven't been much of a presence on the forum.
Being on the other side of the river to you, I am about 2 weeks behind with all the flows here. Sounds weird, but yes I am. I remember John Gibeau (Honeybee Centre) speaking of the flows at his place, probably not too far from you. At least 2 weeks ahead of me.
I have not had good enough weather to even peek open inside a little bit, I don't think I have seen the bees even flying yet. Far too cold, even with the past few milder days we have had, not willing to open even for a moment to stuff on a pollen patty. I am making the patties today to have on hand. As you know, our weather can warm up so quickly, seriously. I still have tons of snow on the ground everywhere, but it is beginning to melt.
No clue if there has been any colony loss. I will know in a couple of days. I went into winter with 8 super strong colonies, two deep brood boxes, tons of honey and one less strong colony in a single deep. We'll see, time will certainly tell that tale. The catkins on the hazelnut trees are beginning to look like they are maturing, I don't have any p u s s y willow trees here in my IMMEDIATE vicinity that I know of (notice the spaces, otherwise you get bleepwillows, smiling), so I can't see if that. I am hoping today I will be able to see some activity in the colonies, even a little would be very encouraging. Time tells that tale. Have a beautiful, most wonderful day, love and live life. Cindi