

And Then There Were None...
What a difference a week makes. I returned from a week long vacation and took a peek at the hives on a clear, sunny but breezy almost 50 degree day. There was no activity at all on either hive. I poked a stick in on the hive that had been previously alive and did not get even one bee to come investigate. There were some scratch markings in the ground at the front and back of the hive. There were also a few dead bees on the ground amidst the scratch marks. As you can see


A Second Look
So, is this hive alive or not? I have been working on the assumption it is because of the bees flying in and out of the top entrance. Now I am pretty sure it is not and this is why. This week I had the opportunity to visit the hives on three occasions at different times of days in slightly different weather conditions. The first day it was 4 pm and although warm enough for bees to fly, they felt it was time to be home. There were a few bees on the other hive, the one tha