Nope...this has nothing to do with moral tests, virtues, or your use of the force. I’m talking about honey 🍯. Many folks don’t know that honey is different at different times of the year. The bee season is largely dictated by flows and dearths. During a nectar flow, everything is in bloom and food for the bees is plentiful. This generally starts early in the spring when the dandelions and clover start coming in and runs into the heart of summer.

Or maybe more clearly, how do bees live in nature at all, when my bees get mite treatments, have their nutrition supplemented during dearth’s, and have my knowledgeable care during the year but can’t survive the winter. I’ve been asking this question since I started beekeeping, and I’ve recently got some answers. No no, don’t worry...wild bees are doing just fine out there 😉🐝😉

I’ve been going back and watching videos from season one, and it’s been a little humbling just how little I knew. On top of that, I noticed for the first time that a video I posted from season one was critiqued by two more experienced beekeepers who tore me apart, each of them pointing out “do not use this channel for instruction”. I quickly deleted the comments, I was horrified. But then something occurred to me.…

For two winters now we’ve gone into the cold with healthy flourishing hives, and came into spring with dead bees. There are a number of things that will kill bees over the course of a long Northeast winter, and to prepare for them I’ve had to learn what they are. This has been a process of classroom learning and sheer experience. My hope is that this combined learning will result in healthy hives when dandelions start sprouting next at the end of next month.