So how are the bees doing?

This is the fun question that is posed to me often...by friends, family, neighbors, and others who know I've got a wonderful beehive in my backyard.

I try to gauge this question...just as you might when someone asks "how are you doing?" I try to answer the question, connecting to what they seem interested in...and not overdo it with my geeky love of all things bees. Luckily, it seems that many people have their own fascination or interest in honey bees (even if a little fear is involved).

So I'll include some photos for those who just want a highlight - and warning - I am going to document some of the details - as this is the closest thing I have to a bee journal.

The bees overall seem to be doing well. I have seen the queen several times (sometime she 'hides' and it's tough to find her). She always looks good, and the cells with eggs and larvae are expanding.

I haven't seen many drone cells yet. The hive needs some drones, but the preference of a typical beekeeper is that you don't want to see too many. I just saw a few today, but not many at all.

I remind myself of what I imagine a new parent is like with their first child. Attention to details that if I had more hives, I might not worry as much about. One example: I decided today to number the frames in the hive body (bottom 'box' and the super (top box). This will help me monitor the growth of the hive a little better.

Look at the middle picture (taken by my official photographer, Rich, during an early June inspection). You can see only a small amount of bees on top of the frames. The hive is expanding out from these center frames as more eggs are laid, larvae are cared for, and little bees (yes, they do seem a bit smaller!) emerge from their cells.

The top photo I took today. You can see many more bees and they have expanded out a bit more. Many more bees on top, mean many more bees down in the hive body (and then all of the bees that are out and about who should return this evening).

They look really good overall. I'm a bit concerned because all of the rain this summer has slowed them down. Just like us, they mostly have to stay in when it's raining - which has meant this summer significantly less time for foraging.

Their mission is twofold: to support new bees so the hive can grow - and to build up honey and pollen for the winter. With less time for foraging, they have not made much honey. I just hope that with mother nature's and my support, and their industriousness, they will still have plenty of time to make the honey they need to get the hive through the winter.