Everyone always asks about my honeybees.  “How are they?’    I’ve asked the bees the same question, and they never reply.  They are too busy stalking me.    Today, I went to my small apiary to check on them.  When the recent temperatures moved into the “teens”, I have worried  about them.  “Are they clustering properly?”  “Will they have enough honey if the winter is long?”   “Is the queen alive?”

Today’s temperature was 70 degrees, and one would think I’d feel relieved when I visit them, but I’m not.  This 70-degree weather could be confusing for them.  They might leave the hives and not get back.  They might cluster improperly and when it gets cold, and it’s suppose to be back in the teens near Christmas Day, will they keep the queen warm?   If  the queen dies, the bees will die.   I do not want my bees to die.   

The mean babies in what I call the “Left Hive”….

And the even meaner babies in the “Right Hive.” This hive seemed agitated today.

If you look closely at the picture above, you’ll see some wood in the photo. Here’s an even closer look below, and there’s Neth and EJ sawing wood.   These boys are all muscle–they are working hard!   They have their coats lying in the grass.  No coat is necessary when it’s 70 degrees and you’re sawing wood.

This is wood that will be used in the 2014-15 season. This means we’ll go into summer with all of the wood we’ll need in the winter.  However, this seems a little weird because all of this is taking place on Winter’s Solstice 2013.      Living the simple life takes planning!