Frost has been on the ground the past couple of mornings and the trees are turning from green to gold and red. Not a hard freeze yet, but enough to kill the more delicate plants and some trees have only just started changing color. At least it looks and feels like the the beginning to middle of October. By the calendar its November 2nd.
As of just a few days ago, the hives were still bringing in a fair amount of pollen and were collecting propolis from any unoccupied equipment they could get to. The hives are looking much better than this time last year and most are very heavy with honey. If anything they may be too heavy and I’ll have to pay special attention to the amount of empty area they have for brood this spring.
I’m hoping this is a good sign for this coming winter and spring. The hives still are quite populous and busy once it gets warm. The picture to the right is from 1 1/2 weeks ago, but they were still just as busy mid afternoon today. It’s a big change from their condition this time last year.
