Last weekend I put on some honey supers. These are the boxes that go on top of the hive. Bees like to move up the hive when storing honey, so the super is on top and the bees, if they are having a good time foraging, will fill it with honey.

In a “flow” when the flowers are popping and bees are returning with pollen and nectar, the supers can fill up in a couple of weeks.

My hope is that I can harvest some honey a little early this year. The season is late and we are in the middle of a strong “flow”. It will not last long because all the flowers and trees are blooming at once. If I am lucky I can be extracting honey from the supers in a two or three weeks.

The three new hives are doing well. They will not be making any honey for harvest for a month or so. I usually have honey after Memorial Day and July 4th, and then again after Labor day. The new bees might have some honey for July 4th.

I will try splitting some of the strongest hives in a few weeks, so I have more hives going into the winter. This time I will be trying something called a “Cloake” board to aid in the splits. This separates the top and bottom boxes, but keeps the hive together so in total they are stronger. Beekeeping is very complicated. I spend hours each week reading about all the methods that “beeks” have developed over the last 200 years to help their bees survive and flourish.