Day Eighteen

The bees were going mad today. I have never seen them so active. They must have found a seriously good food source since they could hardly get in and out of the hive entrance fast enough. It was the apiarist equivalent to Heathrow on a bad day. They were coming back covered with a whitish pollen as if they had been in a flour fight. Also, it was a warm, sunny day – sadly, a diminishing treat for those who like to wander about the garden like myself and the chickens. Advised by a fellow beekeeper how quickly they empty the feeders at this time of year, I checked to discover that it was almost dry! I will have to check it weekly through this month. In October, things should really begin to quieten down and I will replace the syrup with candy (a little like fondant) which is easier for the winter bees to digest.

Day Seventeen

Autumn is definitely here. Occasional fine, chilly days but more often rain and winds that cut through you. I took the opportunity of a relatively warm day to remove the super and the queen excluder. The latter is no longer needed as there is no chance of the colony swarming. Also, as the winter cluster moves through the food supplies you do not want the queen to be left behind because of the excluder! I topped up the feeder and will make a diary note to check the levels of syrup on a regular basis. The bees are still foraging. They will probably continue until the first frosts. I wrote:

Storm clouds threaten now,
sisters make haste, gathering late
bright bundles of pollen.