Day of rest?

Sunday used to be referred to as the day of rest.  That is a concept, of which I definitely approve. To be honest, I'd like to extend that definition to a few more days of the week too!

So, as today panned out, I was concerned to note that there wasn't a lot of resting to be had.

First job of the day was to remove the bacon from the smoker. This was cut in half,* wrapped up in clingfilm and left at the bottom of the fridge, to rest for a few days before slicing. I then tidied away the smoking paraphernalia and took a moment to appreciate the warm, sunny morning.

The bees had noticed too, and were flying for, probably, the first time this year. I could see them bringing pollen in to the hives, which suggests that the queens are starting to lay.

I decided to check whether the colonies had consumed all of their fondant, so I donned a bee suit, lit my smoker and returned to the orchard.  All three of the colonies are working their way through the packs of fondant. One of them was virtually empty, and was replaced. 

At that point I decided that it was warm enough to take a peek under the crown boards,** and assess the size of my overwintered colonies. I started with hive#2 and was amazed. All eleven frames seemed to be crammed with bees and the underside of the crown board was covered too. Hive#1 seemed to be a similar size too. The third hive was slightly smaller with seven or eight frames of bees, but this is still very good for a colony approaching the end of the winter.

Obviously I haven't checked the frames to ensure that my queens are laying, and that the colony is healthy, but I am reassured, if not delighted, by this brief check on progress.

In the afternoon I took the dogs out for a walk. We walked as far as Pete's house, and he appeared from his front door. Half an hour was spent chatting over the gate, before I turned and headed home. I did also remember to order another bucket of honey, as supplies are running low.

I made sure that we had plenty of logs and kindling available for a fire this evening, and then applied myself to the last of my planned activities ... We will be having friends over for dinner on Friday, and 30% decided that gravlax might be suitable as a starter. Consequently I spent a short while preparing the cure mixture and applying it to a pair of rather lovely pieces of salmon.

They will be ready to sample on Wednesday.

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* Simply to make handling easier, as it was huge.

** This would be a quick look under the crown board. No frames would be removed, as I didn't want to chill the brood nest.