Golden autumn

With the sun's rays descending into golden amber hues, the bees get a reprieve from the dearth of summer. I fed throughout August and September, while treating for Varroa with thymol. The honeybees have come out of summer doing well and looking forward to the beautiful blooms of autumn. This is my favorite season, one that offers a blast of beauty from roadside "weeds" as well as a chance for the honeybees to add to their food stores in hopes of surviving winter.

Pollen baskets are filled to the brim with golden and orange pollen coming in.

This "little" nuc has really done well. It's always wanted to beard, even when it was cool outside. So I gifted it a screened bottom board after taking this shot. Still, they continue to beard. Some bees just enjoy it, I suppose. I took up their cue and started relaxing more and just enjoying the honeybees a bit more this autumn.

I took some time off from feeding, about 6 weeks. The apiary has that wonderful sweet and sour smell of goldenrod and aster nectar. I stand in the middle of the hives and just breathe. Another one of my favorite things. I also added back in frame feeders and began feeding heavy syrup to help bump up their weights. I'll feed for another month or so. I learned a great trick from "First Lessons in Beekeeping" by Keith Delaplane, and it works great: staple a small block of wood in the middle of the feeders to keep them from bowing out. Works like a charm! Just had to cut the screens down to allow for the wood block. I also have long strips of corrugated plastic floating in the feeders to act as life rafts for any bees that get stuck in the drink.

While spending time not mowing the grass and just taking it easy, I marvel at the honeybees taking advantage of every possible bloom that autumn offers, such as this yellow clover just a few yards away from the apiary.