Reflections on the 2021 Beekeeping Season
In some ways 2021 seemed like it would never end and in some ways, I can’t believe it is October already. So many things in 2021 continued to change because of the COVID-19 virus. There were times when it felt like this year would never end because of the stress of COVID-19. Who would have ever thought that terms like masks, vaccines, infection rates and death tolls would become part of our everyday language? Who would have thought these very same terms would cause so much division within our homes, communities, workplaces and at the highest levels of government. What didn’t change, didn’t cause division, but provided interaction with the great outdoors even during times of isolation? Working with my bees. They weren’t concerned if I had been exposed to COVID-19 and no one wanted to be within six feet of me when I was working my bees anyway!
It was a busy year for me and my beekeeping, from that perspective 2021 seems to have flown by. Here it is October already and I am still behind in my beekeeping tasks, even with the additional time in the bee yard that COVID-19 provided. Upon reflection, beekeeping for me in 2021 was a blast. I learned a lot, had great times with other beekeepers, and it seems my bees had an easier summer this year.
Among the many things I remember about this past beekeeping year, I will always remember how much help my grandson Luke was this season. This was the first year my wife couldn’t help me with the honey extraction because she was hospitalized after developing a sever allergic reaction to bee stings last year. So, I needed help harvesting and extracting honey. Luke needed to earn some money so I told him, “If you come and handle a young man’s workload, I will pay you a young man’s wage.” He’s eleven. Well, all I can say is he earned a young man’s wage! He toted boxes and buckets full of honey, got stung, learned to run all the extraction equipment, and worked long hours for 4 days. I was very proud of him. There is one problem I didn’t forsee. Not only does Luke want to work next summer, some of his siblings and cousins do too. I hope there is a bumper crop of honey next year. I’m going to need the extra cash. It brings me great joy to invest in the next generation of beekeepers.
The second thing I will remember about beekeeping in 2021 is how important it is to prepare your bees in the fall for the following spring. This is not breaking news for me or most beekeepers who have been keeping bees for a while. Fortunately, I had a great mentor who made sure I learned to take care of my bees in the fall, so haven’t experience large winter losses in my apiaries.
But that all changed in the fall of 2020 when life got in the way and I couldn’t get my bees ready for the 2021 spring. I didn’t have time to combine weak hives or make sure they all had enough stores for the winter. I didn’t check for mites or treat for mites as I should have. As a result, I lost 28 hives this past winter. The only consolation I had throughout the winter and the early spring as I dismantled those 28 dead hives was it wasn’t because I was lazy. Life truly did just get in the way. It was hard to lose those hives, but a previously learned lesson was tremendously imprinted in my mind, if your hives are not strong in the fall, they will more than likely be dead by spring. Life does get in the way sometimes but if we don’t prepare our bees in the fall for the coming spring, we will lose hives.
I will remember many more things about the 2021 beekeeping season. If you want to share what you will remember about the 2021 season, go to the Lexington County Beekeepers Association’s (LCBA) Facebook page and share your season with us.
Hope to see you at our next LCBA meeting which will be held on October 17th. For more details look under the events tab on our web page - www.lexingtoncountybeekeepers.com