Cold and snow

As the cold weather continues its grip and snow covers the ground I can't help but think about my bees: hopefully they are nicely clustered up over a good supply of stores. The colony may well be broodless by now so Oxalic treatment comes to the top of the list of thing to do, as it will be most effective whilst the colony is in this condition: December or January will be the best time to treat.

Thorne

Martin and I set off in the dark,cold, foggy drizzle at 6.30am today to get to the Thorne Open Day and Sale at their new headquarters in Rand near Lincoln, and it was well worth the effort!
Arriving at 9.00 (an hour before opening) we were not first in the queue but still at the front of it (there was a camper van in the car park!?). This paid dividends in the opening rush for the bargains, though the scrum was "controlled" and bouncers were patrolling.
Although their move is not complete yet, the set up looks great and the shop is a dream world. It should become the best place to shop for bee keeping - well done Thorne!

6 degrees but still wasps!

The thermometer in my garden scaled to 6 degrees by lunch time. The morning was cold and wet! I have checked all my sites and hives this morning, all were okay and still had fondant, but the blocks had been eaten away from the hole in the crown board so I moved the blocks to put the remaining fondant above the hole. In many the bees were clustered and any movement was small and slow. One hive fooled me, indeed I thought they had perished and I removed the crown board to see what remained; as I did a rush of awakened bees came storming up into view. I quickly replaced the board and closed up.
The hive that fell over the other week was stable but obviously still very defensive. As I carefully lifted the roof to check the fondant, the bees came flooding out of the entrance. There was plenty of fondant and so I was able to replace the roof and walk away!
Despite the cold and wet (and frosts earlier this week) there was still the odd wasp flying around, seeking to sneak into the hives at two of my sites. Do these critters ever die?!

Waxing not waning

I am trying to process some of the wax comb and cappings that I have collected and stored up the last two years (filling numerous sealed tubs). It's amazing how you can put piles of this honeycomb into a saucepan with very hot water and (after filtering out the rubbish) end up, when cooled, with this lovely smooth solid mass that to me looks good enough to eat! Though the volume diminishes somewhat!! Smells lovely and who knows maybe candles next.

Coping/Dealing with it

My friend Martin, who keeps bees too and with whom I share some apiary sites, rang me yesterday afternoon to say he was checking his bees and found one of my hives fallen over. He had managed to put it back together but something wasn't fitting back into place and the bees, upset at having their world turned literally upside down, were too defensive to investigate further. So at 8.00 am this morning in wind, rain and cold, I dashed up to check the situation: the hive was okay but the crown board had broken and bees were defending the aperture created. Fortunately I had a spare crown board in my Jimny, so with smoker well alight and gauntlets on I sorted the problem and moved the hive stand onto a firmer spot, all seems okay and only a few stings to show for it! Thanks Martin.

Now I have to go and face a real challenge today.

Value Added Wax

Come what may, it has become tradition for us to have a bonfire around November 5th. The rain last night meant tonight was the night. I had accumulated over 30 old brood frames through the season wrapped in platic bags (to keep bees out). The wax was of no use to melt -dark with spent cocoons, faeces and dirt; I suppose I could have cleaned and put fresh foundation into the frames but as a costing exercise (time means money) it is cheaper to buy new frames and be sure of no disease. Anyway they went on the bonfire and what a difference they made, burning with an intense, brilliant white/yellow flame (almost enriching the fire) and really burning well. I would almost recommend it as a fuel enhancer for bonfires.

Ivy

I checked all my hives today and was pleased to see the bees flying. It was great to see them waddling into the entrances laden with creamy/yellow pollen. I lifted the roofs to check fondant and the smell of Ivy was obvious in all.