Getting Bees ready for winter in oregon

We've had a crazy weekend here in Sherwood, with wind and rain making it seems like January, not the end of September! 

Its put us behind! We need to pull supers off our beehives and get the bees all snugged up for the winter. But its never a good idea to open up the hives and work them in the cold and definitely not when its pouring rain and crazy windy! So here's hoping for a sunny warm day really soon so we can get to work!

Fall tasks to get hives ready for winter:

• Check that each deep box has a good supply of honey for the  winter
• Check that there are plenty of bees in each hive
• Swap empty frames in any deeps for full frames of honey (from a stronger hive)
• Remove the queen excluder and supers and harvest honey
• Wrap the hives in tar paper to protect from wind (we're on the top of a hill!) leaving a gap for cleansing winter flights
• Install reducers to stop mice getting into the hive