Summer’s Glow (Honey) in the Snow

It’s a new month, and we’ve been writing a lot of words lately. To mix things up, how about some pictures? Born and raised in the upper Midwest, I am a child of winter. I LOVE the SNOW! But as a beekeeper heading into the last full month of winter, I’m on pins and needles. As we march head on into this long cold stretch, I’m just hoping and praying for a random day above 50 degrees F to crack open the top cover for a quick visual inspection. Afterward, I would gently drop in some extra food supplies for the bees, a little dry sugar and pollen patties.

Please, bees, please survive.

Forty-five days since the last visual in December. The girls should still have plenty of food. With my forehead on the top cover to sense any vibration and my ears listening through the stethoscope for the most wonderful sound of buzz, I release a bursting sigh of relief – all hives have signs of life. Bundled together in their winter cluster, the worker ladies surrounding their Queen Bee – our hives have made it to February.

Thank you, bees, thank you!

Both thrilled and charmed by the buzzing beat of ALL our hives, I rose early the next morning before first light and marched out to the hive guided by moonlight and setup shop to snap a few pictures. I had been thinking of these images for weeks now of Summer’s Glow (honey) in the Snow. Finally, the conditions were right. Enjoy the pictures, and send happy thoughts to all the bees of winter. They’ve come a long way, but there is still more to go on this winter journey.

With a recent full moon waning, the walk out to meet first light was a breeze. The moon happened to be right above the hives glistening on the fresh 3 inches of overnight snow.

I lit a few candles for ambiance, but the wind kept blowing them out. I raced back to the house to get deeper jars to block the wind – my mom greeted me at the door with a grin handing me the jars. All the while laughing at myself as the wind kept blowing and I kept repeating the words ‘It’s okay. Don’t get frustrated. You’ll get the pictures you can. Enjoy this moment.’ Meanwhile, the light started to meet the day and the moon vanished into the clouds.

Damp and starting to get cold, the early morning light appeared just in time to provide a nice glimpse of sweet nectar with the backdrop of snow. Honey is like sunshine in a bottle, and by first light in the fresh snow – summer’s glow never looked so warm and inviting.