Moving Forward to a Stand Still

Starting the Smoker

The drippy heat that just about knocks me over every time I step from the kitchen door reminds me that the busy spring months are well behind us and summer is here.  Just a few short weeks ago, Jon and I did a check on the bees and much to our surprise we found our first honey super almost fully loaded and in the process of being capped with wax.  After an email to a seasoned bee keeper, I was instructed to place my second honey super before all the honey in the first super was fully capped.  So naturally within the next day I found a bee keeper who sold supplies and set out to purchase another super.

Eager to Help

 For our second super, we decided to try a medium instead of a shallow size.  I hope that we aren't being over achievers in this case.  We also purchased a queen excluder to insure that the queen would not lay eggs within our honey storage.

 Helping Daddy Paint

It has now been close to three weeks since adding the second super as well as the excluder.  I did a hive check on Monday and was a little disappointed by the seemingly small amount of progress the bees have made to draw out the comb and produce honey.  It seems that they lost all the momentum from the spring months.  But the more time I've spent outside, I've begun to realize that the bees have very little in the way of blooming plants.  And I've noticed that they have spent quite a bit of time hanging out around the entrance to the hive.  As pictured below, the bees literally cling to the outside of the hive body, forming a large dark mass against the white washed wooden hive.  After a little research, I discovered that this behavior is called Bearding.  Bearding happens during extremely hot temperatures when the interior of the hive is simply too hot.  Many of the workers are within the hive fanning their wings in an attempt to keep the hive temperature down.  So, as I've watched their activities I've come to realize that the bees are doing what they can to survive the heat.

Bearding

I'm often so focused on the product instead of the process.  The bees don't have a choice, they must focus on the process, for at the moment the process involves survival.  I am so keenly aware of how much I need to just be, living out each moment by embracing life fully right where I am.