Fast Forward

The next week or so is going to be a bit hectic, so likely to be mainly diary notes, rather than anything more laboured

Today began with winter (extra) and ended with summer - a relaxed, peaceful hour in the apiary, checking that all is well, because we will not be able to call on them again for over a week (main). Although this slow, hesitant spring is still only inching forward (still no flowers on the oilseed rape ), the bees have found something to visit, and stocks of nectar have risen a little since five days ago

This is a time of year when things can turn on a sixpence: a cold, wet week could run down their stores to dangerous levels; a few days of warm sunshine that brings on the rape, and they will be short of space to store the torrent of nectar that generates. Pity the poor beekeeper! I hedged my bets: moving frames of stores between colonies to make sure all have a reasonable reserve; ensuring there is at least some empty comb in every hive to hold the beginning of any flow that happens; leaving one rather famished colony with the last of the sugar fondant that they have consumed with enthusiasm in the past few days. English weather and English bees may still be capable of surprises, but I have done my best by them

This image is quite a nice before-and-after tableau. The hive at the back is fully assembled as it has stood all winter. The array at the front is a similar one in mid-inspection. The bucket on the left holds the hive tools, bathing in concentrated washing soda solution. Beside it is the smoker - still alight, I promise - fire without no smoke, until I work the bellows. The cream-coloured square of wood is the 'crown board' - the 'ceiling' of the hive - that I have removed from the top of the box of frames on the right, with some bees still ambling around on it. Ten parallel frames, with bees walking on top of them, are slotted into the brood box, which is still sitting on the hive-floor (there is not usually any reason to move it during an inspection).

The brood box is surrounded by the lowest section of the outer hive wall (properly called a 'lift' ); two more lifts, that I have removed, are placed between the two hives, out of the way. Leaning on the back of the hive is a surplus, empty box that will soon be filled with empty frames and placed above the brood box as a 'super' to store the hoped-for honey. Missing from the picture, out of shot, is the roof of the disassembled hive

The bees remained remarkably calm during all this deconstruction and reconstruction - which I actually did twice to this colony, so they could receive an extra frame of stores. Like all of us, bright weather and some productive activity to pursue provokes a tranquil state of mind