are doing really well, we have had some really nice sunny days with frosty nights. On days such as these the bees are slower to come out, but once they are out they seem to make the best of it, sill coming back with pollen, we have Autumn Crocuses in our fields, all around us, plus there is some clover growing in the fields that were cut earlier, and of course I have some flowers in our garden, there is the Echinacea still flowering, Rudbeckia, Nepeta, Holly Hocks, our Raspberries are just about finishing but they have been absolutely astonishing.
I have not looked inside the hives for a while and actually don’t see a reason to, I did the Varroa check earlier, I fed the girls, we sit and watch them, see how they are doing, what they sound like, I find it very interesting, relaxing, sometimes even makes me feel bad about not doing anything, but on a majority of cases I love watching them, it somehow fulfills me.
I have read a very interesting article that led me to a really interesting website, it is father and son from Australia who developed a new system how to extract honey without going into the hives and disturbing the bees. I have been reading about it for the last 3 days, it does look absolutely brilliant. Maybe you have heard about it, or read it. if not you can read more on www.honeyflow.com
The vegetable garden is nearly finished with beans (we are hoping the pods will dry out), beetroot (mostly there for storage, giving the big beets to the sheep they love them), parsnips they are waiting for frosts so they can be nice and sweet and have that amazing flavor, oh and tomatoes which are still green, going to give those to the chickens, they are not going to redden up anymore. The veg garden has been really good this year, considering the dry summer plus the hail storm I nearly gave up on it. It goes to show, never give up. Our herbaceous borders are doing pretty well, we have added a few more to keep the wildlife busy and us, plus we are planning to make a bed under the beehives. I have started to make a list of bee loving plants.