Bees

A joyous November 1st. Bright sun in Oxfordshire and very warm, and all three of my colonies were booming at midday - bees soaring out of the hives and returning loaded with pollen - a light orange colour, I don't know what it was from, maybe Michaelmas Daisies, but it was obviously a plentiful source and the bees couldn't get enough. Scrambling up through the entrance with their little loads, and tumbling over one another in their haste, they seemed gloriously happy. I've been feeding them syrup with half gallon contact feeders, which I have not used before. They are difficult to up-end without some spillage but I find if I do it over a plastic tray then any syrup that spills can be used again. The internet is full of beekeepers complaining that contact feeders are rubbish but they are fine once you get knack and because they hold a lot of syrup they save journeys to and from the apiary.