We’ve moved two months’ worth of sales in the last week…thought it would slow down drastically but sales are still above normal. One of the healthfood stores we supply have closed their doors…but still deliver to homes…including our honey.
Our honey competes with other locally produced honey but for some reason other honey suppliers aren’t restocking.
I want to revive this topic, mainly to be on-topic, as well as to ask @akthommo if he thinks we’ve had an unusually cold, early start to winter. Also if he’s noticed any gum trees in bud. I meant to look this afternoon, however I didn’t take a close look. I’ll do so tomorrow.
I think some cold snaps sneak up onto us sometimes Jeff. I reckon we had a pretty mild summer so the cold shocks us after having Camelot type weather. And may well it continue!!!
Haven’t really noticed too many blooms out Jeff. But you’re more than likely correct. Just looking out the back from where I’m sitting now, I do see some sneaky flowers coming through. It’s been nearly 9 weeks since my knee replacement and I’m just now checking my hives. They’ve all started building into the roof, built up in numbers, (even the slow hives), controlled the SHB. Early Spring weather coming soon…ish?
I’ll call you this week Jeff.
Hi Al, maybe I’m getting old & feeling the cold more. Sometimes we get a honey flow in June, from all the gum trees in the area. I stopped & looked up into some trees, but couldn’t see any buds. I needed Wilma’s phone, so I could magnify the image. I’m enjoying this little honey flow now, I’d like it to continue.
I extracted 6 boxes today, I brought 3 back this afternoon, as a start for possibly Thursday.
It’s a bit of work, however I’m robbing out of my honey supers, and replacing them with frames of honey/brood from out of my 10 frame nucs. Only the odd frame out of the nucs are ready to rob now, except for 5 heavy frames from 3 nucs at my doctor’s place this afternoon.
I look forward to the call, cheers
PS @akthommo , what made me ask the question was on account of the number of nights in single digits. We still have 9 more days before winter officially starts. It looks like I’m extracting tomorrow, instead of Thursday, with nearly 6 more boxes to extract.
We’ve got a heat wave on it’s way with 26 tomorrow, however short lived with the last 5 nights of autumn in single digits.
All I want to say about that, is that I couldn’t be bothered by weather forecasts before, but since I have started keeping bees, I get mad if it shows bad weather ahead.
Also, while I am sorry for everyone who has issues with hay fever (as do I), it’s just something we all have to endure so my girls can eat. Don’t be a wuss, people! 
I didn’t know whether to start a new thread or do it on this one, anyway here goes:
Happy solstice everyone.
For us down under, the bees will recognize the days getting longer each day, so therefore they’ll start thinking about swarm preparations in the coming weeks & months.
For those in the North, the bees will recognize the days getting shorter each day, so therefore you’ll start to see them gathering more propolis over the coming weeks & months, as I witnessed myself on a hot summer’s day (after the summer solstice). Bees were flat-out gathering propolis from some of my unused bee boxes.
Yesterday I stocked up on new frames & foundation. The lady said it’s normally quiet this time of year. “Beekeepers usually wait til spring hits, then start panicking”., or something to that effect.
Today I worked on building frames & fitting foundation.
Snap! I had a box of frames delivered the other day and yesterday I was putting some together. I thought winter was when this sort of thing gets done.
Hi Kristal, I knew that someone else, somewhere in the world was doing the same thing as me 