Sweet Bees, Spicy Bees, and the Great October Wind-Down
October on the Long Beach Peninsula was lovely. The skies were blue and the air was crisp, and the sea breeze was just breezy instead of blustery. Autumn in our corner of Washington is one of the coast's best-kept secrets. This year it was drier and warmer than usual, and I think our bees enjoyed the bonus summer as much as we did. They kept bringing in pollen, built up their honey stores, and put off kicking out the drones. (Sorry, boys. The girls have now given you the eviction notice.)
Change Is Afoot
The hard rain has arrived, temperatures have dropped, and our evenings now dip below 45 degrees and are heading lower. So what's a newbeek supposed to do? Check on the bees, of course, try not to hover, and help the colonies get ready to overwinter.
Our "sweet bees" look very ready for winter. Their frames are full of honey, and some of it was dripping down the frame when I lifted it out. The smell is hard to put into words: fresh, natural, warm, part honeycomb and part honey. If someone bottled it as a candle, I'd buy a dozen. Wait, I am sure someone has that market up and running.
Our "spicy bees" seem a little less ready, and I'll own that. When I was starting out, someone advised me to run each hive a little differently so I could learn from both. The sweet bees got two brood boxes and never really met the Flow Hive honey super. The spicy bees got one very full brood box plus the Flow Super, which I think I added too late. They took to it right away, which was pretty cool to see. But there wasn't much honey, and I started to worry it was distracting them from getting ready for winter, so I took it off. Lesson learned, and the bees were polite enough not to say "we told you so." The spicy ones are still thinking about it, and they're possibly a little cranky.
Tucking Them In for Winter
I started both hives on a 2:1 sugar-to-water syrup. A few days ago I switched them to HiveAlive Fondant and wrapped the hives in Bee Cozy covers, both from Hansen Honey Farm. Think of it as a winter coat with a snack in the pocket.
The Long Wet Stretch Ahead
The skies are still blue for now, but the rain is coming and will probably stay until late spring. Until then, our job is to keep the hives secure, ventilated, mostly dry, and warm. Yes, "ventilated" and "warm" pull in opposite directions. I'm still learning. Welcome to beekeeping.
The entrance reducers are back on. On mild, drier days the bees can still zip out as they please, because something always seems to be blooming along our coast for them to bring home and share. Even in the off-season, the girls find a way.
What are you doing to get your hives ready for winter? I'd love to learn.
In the meantime, may the buzz be with you,
