For some reason I have not spent as much time blogging which incidently coincides with the fact that I have not spent much time with the bees. I placed the honey supers on vety late this year (July) and I am sure that the bees appreciate the space, but as for honey flow, I fear that it will be a very light yield.

The season began so late, mostly owing to the difficulty in actually getting live bees. My first supplier cancelled and so it was almost May before I could get another source.

The fact that I ahve not been able to spend much time on the hives does not mean that I have lost any interest. In April I was saddened by the empty hives and toyed with going a year without the bees, but I really missed the bees. I found a good source and bought two nucs and so began the season.

Earlier this week I was mowing down by the brook and you could smell the beeswax and honey on the light breeze. For me there is nothing finer than the fragrance of the apiary.

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I took a look inside my three hives. The extreme cold weather here in the Northeast has taken a toll on the bees. Only one hive has thus far survived and it appears weak. It is always a sad occurence to lose the bees. I will spend some time this weekend looking into the surviving hive and perhaps giving them some food in the hope that they will make it through the next few weeks.

I will order new bees over the next few weeks. Now is the time to get ready for Spring and I am thinking about repainting the hives and building up the apiary. If you are interested in learning more, or corresponding, please email me.

Over the past few weeks it has been unseasonably warm. So warm, in fact, that the bees have been out and about their hives. All three hives show a strong colony going into the winter. The deep freeze is about to begin this week and with temps that will drop ino the single digots I hope that the girls will be snug and safe.

At the beekeeping club meeting we voted in our new board of directors. The club has high hopes for a new year full of interesting sessions and meetings. People have already begun to plan for Spring orders of bees and nucleus hives. In fact a neighboring county beekeping club has ordered 600 packages of bees for shipment from Georgia to Massachusetts in April.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.