We are in a dearth and the Girls are cranky!! I have to say though, I have a few Saskatraz hives and even in 85° weather, they were calm and basically ignored me. But the rest, they wanted me to die! I didn't linger in the hives, I only did what was necessary based on my notes from my last inspection. I had a plan before I even opened them up. This time of year I ALWAYS suit up for protection. August is not the time of year to go without, like some YouTube videos I have seen. Before you even crack the hive, know what you want to do and have everything you need set up and available. Make sure if you are going into your hives during the dearth that you use cover cloths over your boxes to help with avoiding robbing. I use them in my Layens hives even when there is minimal exposure. Make sure you are taking notes on each colony and what you find so you can accurately plan for the next inspection. Did I mention that keeping hive notes is important? To calm the bees do you smoke, no smoke, sugar water spritz? Sugar water could promote some robbing of  weak hives but in this weather, I find that the smoke just seems to irritate them and disrupts their communication with each other. In addition to that, all of my hives are in very, very dry fields so fire danger is real. I am nervous about stray sparks. Decisions, decisions, so may decisions...and my mentor isn't always available in that moment. 

I knew the weather was not going to be good, but Tuesday was the only day I had free. Decision one made. I had checked my hives 2 weeks ago and knew that 3 of them were going to need attention. More than just the normal stuff. I made sure I had pollen patties, sugar water, extra frame feeders and corks so the bees won't drown in that sugar water. I had extra frames available to add space and all my tools on the ready. I wanted to be prepared for whatever I found. Decision 2, made.

My goal for the day was to address the 3 hive issues, assess resources, overall health and add OA treatment pads. The thing about bees is, they will always surprise you. The cool thing is, they present you with a scenario and you have options. You will be making decisions, sometimes as planned and sometimes on the fly. Sometimes those decisions will work out great and sometimes, not so much.

I decided to start at 7am to try and beat the predicted heat. It was 64°. I was able to address 2 of the three hive issues and inspect 8 hives. I had to let the 3rd hive that needed to be addressed go until the next time because, when I opened it up, the bees changed the plan. Decision 4 made. I quit at 11am because it just got too hot at 85º. When I quit, I still had 3 hives to go. Decision 5 made. That was not my plan, but because of the heat, that was the decision that had to be made. I went home to the air conditioning.

I remember when I first started beekeeping, my mentor would always ask me what we were seeing and then present me with all the options that could be taken. At that point, he would ask me what my decision was and that is what we did. He always left it up to me because they were my bees. I've made tons of decisions in my beekeeping career. Some good and some bad, but it has all been a learning experience. It's the same with you and your beekeeping journey. As long as you do beekeeping, you will come across situations that require a decision. We share general guidelines and pass along as much information as we can in our classes, presentations and even this newsletter.  The title of this section of the newsletter is, "What the Heck Do I Do Now"?  That question can be asked in several contexts. It can be asked in class, at apiary day, to a special speaker or to your mentor. But, it can also be asked when you are staring into your hive and you are all alone and your bees have presented you with something you weren't expecting. Ask the question. "What the heck do I do now"? Evaluate all your options and make a decision. Then, don't doubt it! Be confident. If it doesn't work out, do it differently next time. 

 I want to encourage you. Even if you think you don't know stuff, you know stuff!!! 

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Mary Dempsey