Squatting

On Sunday 28 April, I packed the bee hive up and gentled wheeled it out of the garden of The Silver Cloud Lounge.  So much sadness washed over me as the bees left.  I looked up at the flowers in the old apple tree.  I will never see apples there again.  I walked past the patch of raspberry plants - never see those fruit again either.  And I believe we will be the last people to enjoy this garden - I suspect whoever buys the house will just develop it - destroy the garden and build a Granny flat over it.  Gone, all gone.  It makes my heart hurt.

So the bees went in the back of my car again.  This time we travelled halfway round London, up the A10 all the way to Cheshunt.  They will be squatting in Paula's garden for the summer.

They were carefully sited on a concrete slab near the river, by the foxes den.

I came back eight days later on Bank Holiday Monday 6th May to do my first inspection.  It felt strange to not have watched the entrance every evening, watching for activity, anything out of the ordinary, or just normal serene calming behaviour.  It felt strange doing it in someone else's garden.  Paula sat by and watched and took pictures.  I opened up the hive.   None of the signs were very good at all.  She hadn't laid anything outside the top super section of the brood-and-a-half box.  She seemed to have laid in a spotty pattern.  There were no honey stores, and way too much pollen being brought in for the number of eggs. 

The only good things I could say were these: there were signs of 3-day old brood so She was still alive.  There were many, many bees.  And they were wonderfully docile and busy.  For a while I sat with Paula and thought about my options.  I could swop the boxes round, little one at the bottom, big empty one on top, so the bees would be driven up into the higher box to get up to the feeder on top; encouraging activity and use of the big box.

"No," said Paula, "leave them for a while.  It's been a slow cold start to the spring, and they've just had their home hauled halfway across town.  Leave them for a bit."

Wise words, and I took her advice.

On Friday evening, 17 May, two weeks later, I came back to do the next inspection.  It was cold, 12 degrees, and it was late - 5pm - when I finally opened up the hive.  I was determined to be quick so I unhooked the top super and just pulled it off, determined to check the big empty brood box at the bottom first.  In doing so I forgot how the bees simply glued everything together and I ended up pulling two end frames right out of the bottom box, and they ended up on the ground out of the hive.  Damn!  More haste, less speed.  Very ungraceful.

I checked the big brood box frames and was stunned - firstly, there were lots of bees, LOTS of bees.  And secondly there was brood.  Sealed brood on four sides over two frames.  Not a lot, but there.  And in solid patterns - a good laying pattern.  The Queen seems to be coming back on form.  I squished my eyes up and peered and peered but just couldn't see any three-day rice grains anywhere.  Yet everything was looking so much better.  More brood, more honey stores, more bees.  And all still so very good-natured.  Not one sting.

I ended the inspection as ungracefully as I had begun it, by overfilling the feeder with sugar water till I could see a steady stream dribbling down out of the bottom of the hive.  Oh for god's sake, Margo!

Never mind.  Things are looking up.  I am scared to say that we may have turned the corner towards survival because things can be so uncertain.  But things are looking better, and for that I am very grateful.

Paula sent me on my way after a lovely catch-up filled with laughter, gossip and Prosecco.  I am so lucky :)

Postscript: Of course Paula raised the next awkward issue that now needs to be addressed, "so Margo, now that you know you have a solidly functional Queen in the hive, what are you going to do about the one you've ordered to replace her; the one that's coming in the post in about 3 to 4 weeks time?"  Er ... I don't know, is the honest answer!

Post-postscript:  the other interesting issue that is dogging my thoughts - I found yet another frame with mould on it; the outer one, big brood box, side closest to the bushes, the river and the coldness.  I've found more mould on my frames than ever before and the only reason I can think of is that the frames are set up the Cold Way.  I've only ever worked them the Warm Way before, and I never found mould.  Is it just an easy swop-round to convert from Cold to Warm Way, then?