The bees are abed

Photos by Barry Wallace

These beehives on Jane Street, just north of the hamlet of Kinghorn, are ready for winter.   A cluster of bees will form inside the hive as temperatures drop.   As temperatures drop, the cluster of bees becomes tighter and more compact.   Cluster temperatures usually are steady and stable, between 94.1 to 98.0F (34.5 - 36.7C) and their existence is thus guaranteed until spring.   The picture below was taken on the 19th Sideroad, near Schomberg.

And this little verse by Mary Collier (c.1690-c.1762), an English washerwoman and poet, shows that not everyone sided with the beekeeper...

See the industrious bees do hourly strive

To bring their loads of honey to the hive;

Their sordid owners always reap the gains,

And poorly recompense their toils and pains.

                                        The Woman's Labour (1739)

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace