I suspect my gut feeling about the white clover was right, specifically that dry weather made the plants slow down their nectar production.  My data is simple --- few bees on the clover last week, then a buzzing clover patch after four thunderstorms dampened the soil more recently.

Meanwhile, the first feeding frenzy for our Warre hive has begun.  I don't think most of the bees zipping in and out are going to clover, though --- sourwood petals on the path denote the bloom period of one of our bees' favorite plants.  With my buckwheat buds starting to burst open too, I finally feel confident I can stop feeding the bees, at least for a while.

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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