Through a Glass Darkly

Winter beekeeping is a form of divination. Limited evidence is available. Not much investigating is possible, without the risk of harm. Mostly it is a matter of patience, faith, hope and preparation - which is pretty much what Saul of Tarsus (later St Paul) was saying - in a very different context - in his letter to the Christians of Corinth

The one intervention a diligent beekeeper must undertake as part of their deal with the bees is to ensure that they have enough to eat. They make honey to get them through the winter; we take some of it away; we are duty bound to ensure they do not therefore starve. Some beekeepers take only what they consider the bees don't need. Some take everything and offer the bees a winter substitute. We fall somewhere in the middle - we leave some honey and top it up with feeding to make sure they are not short

Traditionally, bees are fed in the autumn with sugar solution (during WWII beekeepers got extra sugar ration for this!) The bees will take the solution from a feeder above the hive ceiling and store it in the comb, just like honey. In theory, the beekeeper should "heft" the hive (lift one side slightly, then the other, to judge its weight) over the winter. If the hive gets too light, the stores are depleted and must be topped up. In the dead of winter, the bees can't deal with liquid feed, so sugar 'fondant' is placed above them instead. This is exactly like the icing on iced buns - and indeed we have used catering packs of just such icing in the past, it works perfectly well

I don't really go in for hefting - I don't trust my own judgment. We give all our bees some prophylactic sugar fondant as an Xmas present; if they need it, they will take it, if not, no harm done. Some beekeepers worry about over-feeding and the queen being left with no space to lay. I trust the bees judgement to make their own life-choices

So today was a day for checking whether they have taken all their fondant. Roof off, lift out the insulation we have put in their "attic" (this is not a beekeeping term!), which comprises things like old blankets, cushions and some handy bits of plastic-wrapped sheep's-wool that a friend gets as packaging on their dog food! And this murky scene is what is revealed beneath: some ghostly looking bees, mining the slab of fondant inside a plastic wrapper; an open cavern where they have taken some of the block, surrounded by the unused remainder. All a little fuzzy, all a little obscure and messy. But good enough to give reassurance for another week or two; the cosy roof-space can be reassembled

So, on such small signs and portents does our confidence in the future year rest. We are the believers