Fall\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waning Harvest Moon<\/p>\n
Up by 10 today.\u00a0 Still recuperating from the week.\u00a0 Out to Stillwater to buy moisture boards for the bees and another cardboard sleeve for winter.\u00a0 I already have two.\u00a0 The process now is pretty straightforward.\u00a0 Remove all honey supers.\u00a0 Done.\u00a0 Put in the boards that reduce the bottom entrance to below mouse size.\u00a0 Done.\u00a0 Take off feeding and treatments.\u00a0 Will be done this weekend.\u00a0 Cork up all but the top hole that allows bees access to the hive box from above.\u00a0 Done, except that I have to drill a hole in one hive box.\u00a0 Not sure how the bees will tolerate that, but I’ll find out soon enough.<\/p>\n
After all this, I wait somewhere into the first couple\/three weeks of November.\u00a0 At that point I put in the moisture board on the top.\u00a0 This board wicks moisture from the writhing mass of bees as they crawl around each other in a ball that maintains a steady temperature in the colony.\u00a0 I make sure there is a top entry point cut into the cardboard that conforms to the entrance on the top hive box.\u00a0 I then put the cover on the top hive box, over the moisture board, but slightly tilted to allow the moisture to escape.\u00a0 This necessitates a rock or brick to be sure the cover doesn’t blow away.\u00a0 The card board sleeve fits over the three hive boxes and serves as a wind barrier and provides a small amount of insulation.\u00a0 The outside of the cardboard has a wax coating to repel water.\u00a0 After that, walk away.\u00a0 I’ll check on the colonies in late January, early February.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fall\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waning Harvest Moon Up by 10 today.\u00a0 Still recuperating from the week.\u00a0 Out to Stillwater to buy moisture boards for the bees and another cardboard sleeve for winter.\u00a0 I already have two.\u00a0 The process now is pretty straightforward.\u00a0 Remove all honey supers.\u00a0 Done.\u00a0 Put in the boards that reduce the bottom entrance to below … Continue reading Bee Diary: Winter Prep<\/span>