Ready for winter

November was busy for me. The first weekend was occupied with the Women, Food, and Agriculture Network conference. The second weekend was occupied with the Iowa Honey Producers Association annual meeting. Upon return from the annual meeting, I spent the very next day winterizing the hives.

I took the first step of assembling a wind break a few weeks beforehand. All the hives seemed heavy with population and food.

maplenol 11 15 15 (8) looking down seams

Because I don’t winterize all the time, I tend to forget what is involved, so I take time to listen to other people’s stories before I get to work. This year, I happened to spread the job of winterizing over a month.

waukee mary 11 15 15 (3) resize

Not even a week had passed and bam! Our first snowfall — all six inches of it — came down quick.