Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and today I am especially thankful for my bees. This morning as I headed out to work I wandered through the house garden and over to check out the bee boxes. No trace of activity, which was no surprise as it was early in the morning and it was cold enough outside for me to wear a scarf. So I knelt down to listen to the boxes "buzz" but there was nothing. I opened the top lid, no bee suite or face guard on and peeked inside to get a glimpse of the sleeping bees, only to see nothing. I did notice however the potentially deadly freezing cold condensation clinging to the top of the inner lid. (This is why some books recommend slightly tipping your hive boxes forward during the cold months so the freezing drips don't drop onto the huddle of bees below.) Thankfully though, after returning from work, suiting up in bee gear to fully investigate, the hive was alive and buzzing about in the sunshine! Legs filled with pollen returning home, where they are finding the necture these days I'm not sure. There are few flowers near by, calendulas, roses, and yarrow, but they must be finding sources elsewhere too. I sure am glad the ladies are still alive, they is plenty of honey stored for them for the winter as I didn't harvest this year. I want them to have the best chance possible to get through their first winter. My fingers are crossed and I'll keep reading to see how I can better assist them. There are so many things to be thankful for, but for just right now I want to thank the bees.
