We'll see if I have any in the spring! Hopefully I'm not just fattening them up for their demise! Rumor has it we're going to have a nasty winter again this year. So far things have been nice. It's been chilly but very dry here. I'm using the rain tanks almost daily for watering my cold frames and livestock. No frosts up on my ridge yet but the bottom lands have been hit several times.
The bee lady keeps stressing, "if they're gonna go, let'em go." Don't coddle them or medicate them. Keep them healthy. There's no sense in keeping them medicated so they can carry their problems to flowers and pass them to other people's hives who aren't medicating.
Hopefully you have good luck this time around, Guy. I keep wondering how many times I will replace my own before I give up. Luckily I'm one stubborn old goat.