A Spotty Summer
This summer has given new meaning to the descriptive term “spotty”, used in beekeeping to describe the widely diverse yields of honey that may be found from yard to yard in some seasons.
A few weeks ago, we went to one yard to take honey off for the third time this season. Over half of the colonies yielded 200 or more pounds, most of which had come in during the previous 14 days. Some of these are colonies that had already had 200 pounds taken off in June and July, which meant that they have now made 400 pounds, with the goldenrod and aster honey still to be gathered.
I had never seen anything like this before. The power in nature is humbling, and I will always be in awe of what this yard made in 1998.
At the other end of the scale, there are yards nearby with colonies that have not made any honey this year, this is the ” spotty” nature of the season. Where the bees did make honey, it came late and with the volume of a tidal wave. It is often hard to tell why there are differences in yards and with seasons. Ten basswood trees that are maturing near a bee yard could make a difference. Also, in some years their blossoms may be knocked off by a rain storm. A 60 acre field of alfalfa cut earlier one year because of good drying conditions may change a crop. In areas where dairy farming is fading, goldenrod fields are part of the succession of plants. We do know that it was cool and wet for much of the early season. So much of these things remains a mystery, but we are always grateful for the honey that the bees do make.
We appreciate your interest and support of our bees and their work.