Jan and I determined that it was time to feed the bees a bit. She'd made about a gallon of sugar water and we divided it between two ziplock bags. We popped the top of the first hive. Could definitely see capped honey, but not a lot of bees. I thought that was a good sign, that it meant there was still enough honey in the lower supers, but Jan seemed less optimistic. We put down a patty of pollen, then one bag of sugar water. Jan put some seepage holes in the bag, but the bag was too full for the feeder box to sit down properly. A good squish seemed to do the trick, but then, oh jeez, the syrup is flowing out the entrance. All Jan and I could do was hope nobody drowned in the great syrup flood of 2011. A little more finesse for the second hive, though there was still minor flooding.
Honestly, I kinda thought they'd be fine, but, well, I haven't taken the classes so I'm following the boss. There's been quite a bit of activity on the warmer days, so I take heart that the hives are surviving. It will be great to see pollen gathering. Won't be too long now!
ARLnow Daily Debrief for Apr 18, 2024
6 hours ago
4 comments:
Sounds like such a fun experience. Except for that time when the bees got in your veil and sock.
We're just anxious for the hives to survive. I think they're fine. I can't wait to harvest some Dinwiddie Honey this spring!
What an exciting way to see in the spring. If you're interested, there is some good writing about bee-keeping in a book I just read (and which I'll write about soon in my blog) Hard Scrabble by John Graves.
@Anne-- Thanks! I'll put it on my Kindle this weekend.
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