Preparing for fall - It's not all about me and my honey

I have to remember that the bees serve a much bigger purpose than supplying me with honey! With their help, we have better crops.  Without the pollinators like honey bees, we'd have no crops at all.  Just think about our food source or lack of food without the bees.

So when I start to be sad that I will probably not have honey this year, or so little, it's not worth mentioning, I just need to keep telling myself that if I can keep them alive all winter and keep the hives producing bees, I am still doing good.

Actually, I'm enabling them to do some good or perhaps they are enabling me to feel useful!

I have located some free bales of hay that will be used, like last year, to surround the hives for the winter.  I used them, if you have been reading that long, on three sides of the hive and a piece of plywood on the top.  I also wrapped the entire hive, except for the entrance, with roofing paper.

 In this image  above, I had started a small hive (nuc) that you see on the left in the fall.  That didn't work out.  It was too small to winter over...just not enough space and brood for them to keep warm, I think.  So I won't do that again and will wait until the end of May to start a nuc next year.  I can't wait to have two hives.  As you know, patience isn't be strong suit!  But I learned my lesson this past spring when I started a nuc too early.  Next year, I intend to do it right!

Today I will go into the hive and see how things are going.  It's also time to put on the mouse guard because the mice will be looking for a warm place and I sure don't want it to be in the hive.  Just add this to the entrance of the hive to keep out mice but allow the bees to come and go as they please.