They Stayed

Well, three days later and the bees are back inside the hive, for the most part. I still see increased activity on the landing board and front of the hive, but I suppose they are still cleaning up the mess we made on Tuesday. The large clumps of bees that looked like mini-swarms are gone.

When I got home on Wednesday evening, they were all clustered on the stick, so I picked it up and shook them into the hive again. I think the queen may have been there as Liz suggested, because after I did that most of the bees stayed inside.

I set out the wax left over from harvesting the honey so the bees could take back what I was not able to filter out. Next week I'll take it back inside, rinse it, and keep it to be filtered and melted later on. I might make candles or soap with it.

Still working on a post about Liz's visit and correcting the cross comb. For now, I leave you with a photo of the beautiful honey. I ended up harvesting about 4 pounds. I will most likely feed some of it back to the bees once the nectar flow slows down.

 Much more flavorful than store bought honey

Dear Bees,

Thank you for staying with me. I know it's been a rough week, but we'll get through this and all come out better for it. Thank you for helping me meet a wonderful new person who is sharing her knowledge of bees with me, and helping me become more comfortable with asking for help. Also, thanks for not stinging me (yet). 

Love,

Sarah