This week started off warm and bright - the bees were continuing as if it were still summer as the temperature was nudging over 20 degrees each day. By Wednesday, thing changed - the night time temp fell to about 5 degrees, and we've had heavy rain and strong winds since then.
I thought the bees had given up, but today the rain stopped and the sun came out. It still only managed about 13 degrees this afternoon, but the girls were out and about and still brining in pollen from somewhere. - Michaelmas daisies are flowering in the garden, but mostly the bees seem to be foraging further afield. I'm still unsure where they go, but mostly they fly off over the neighbour's garden to the east, with a smaller number heading south from the hive. - This takes them directly down our garden, but not proved to be a problem in either case as yet. When the neighbours were out working on their pond, they did say that the bees were stopping over for water and there were a considerable number of them, but I don't think they really mind - I guess we will get to see that properly next year when we have a full summer of them with luck.
I've not opened the hive since the last visit - other than a quick look under the roof - nothing I really need to see currently, and so best just to leave them to their own devices. I guess we expect the numbers to start declining pretty sharply from here, and certainly there are more dead and dying bees around the hive than previously - I guess they are flying in pretty marginal temperature now and if they get too tired, they can't make it back.
Fingers crossed until the next time.
