Officially 2022. We made it. A new year brings a fresh beginning that hopefully you are looking forward to. You might be thinking of resolutions or goals…ways to simplify or better your coming days ahead. Who knows, some of you might be considering a new hobby or craft…maybe beekeeping?!?!?! I’m partial but this would be the perfect time of year to start looking into spring bees. Do your research, reach out to those who can help and dive in.
It’s interesting how a new hobby can turn into a theme and/or passion in your life. We’ve had our bees for less than a year but we’re in pretty deep on the bee front. I love those little bees. The rest of the family loves them, too, but I think I love them most! It must be obvious because we received so many awesome bee gifts this holiday season.
Each of these thoughtful items makes me think of special people in our life. Connections. It’s not the gifts but the people behind each of them that makes life sweeter!
Yesterday was a very mild day with no winds. I strolled out to the apiary and the bees were indeed flying. When I have time to pay attention, it looks as if the bees that are flying this time of year take an interest in water. I’ve noticed our hot tub seems to draw them in. I’ve also noticed an interest in droplets of water that collect in various places. Watching the bees closely leads me to believe landing is maybe sometimes tricky. Seeing bees hover around the hot tub as if they want to land but are nervous or unsure but then when they do get their legs down they gather up the tiniest of water droplets. I’ve even been lucky enough to see their proboscis! I didn’t take this picture but it gives you an idea…needless to say it’s way cooler to see it first hand.
Colder temperatures look to be headed our way. This week will bring the coldest temps these bees have had here, I hope they will be ok. We placed candy boards on each hive in early December.
My understanding is these will serve as an “insurance policy”. We believe each hive is strong enough to survive winter without the additional feed but it was a “better safe than sorry” approach. I was also told it might help with moisture in the hive. Either way, they were easy enough to add and I hope the extra insurance will pay off for us come spring.
Speaking of spring…I hope it arrives early this year. I’m anxious to get back to working with the bees in 2022. May it BEE a wonderful year ahead for us all.
-Worker Bee 2021
Howards' Hives and Honey 