Monday Morning This and That

Bee inspection with two 
little prospective beekeepers.

Life is filled with unexpected situations. Last week we lost one of our two beehives. There were only a few dead bees on the bottom board so it's pretty clear that they absconded. Why? Who knows? There are lots of reasons that could have caused it. We think they just couldn't find enough food and took off for greener pastures. The drought this summer has certainly affected the nectar flow. But we're sorry we didn't start feeding them early on. All was well only a week ago. So things can go South in a hurry. We immediately began to feed our remaining hive and they are emptying the sugar syrup bags as quickly as we put them in. Today I'll purchase another twenty pounds of sugar for the girls. We love beekeeping and hope to keep at it as long as we're able. We have another hive inside a wall around the pool, but decided to let them winter over there and remove them in the Spring. Hopefully they will survive. So far there are still bees going in and out the little knothole that's their entrance.