Melancholy

It was a lovely day today and I carried out the last of my inspections. I can't help but feel sad that aside of any varroa control and feeding that's it - the last I will see of brood and queens until next Spring (7 months!). It hit me hard: I was actually reminiscing my childhood as I sat eating my packed lunch and enjoying my flask of tea at one of my apiary sites. I love my "bee lunches" and it took me back to my childhood and going on holiday with tea from a flask in a lay-by with mum and dad and my brother Gary. There was a tinge of sadness thinking of my late brother and then the thought that this is the last of seeing my bees for another year, and what a hard struggle it has been this year.