In my neighborhood the tulip poplar has finished its bloom and the blackberry is all done. The air smells of privet but even the privet is at the end of its bloom with the flowers changing from bright white to old yellow on the branches.
It's amazing to me that the bees have so little time with an abundance of nectar before they are in short supply. And here at the end of the flow, we have had a sudden spate of cold weather - temperatures in the low 60s for several days and in the 40s at night.
Now the bees who have been very productive over the last month will have less to gather and will have no major source of nectar blooming in this part of Georgia. They will still forage and will find garden blooms, milkweeds on the sides of roads and ditches, with sumac yet to start blooming as well. But the big push for nectar gathering is done.
We only have one big nectar flow in this part of the state. Goldenrod and asters provide a minor early fall flow, but those are not delicious honey flavors. In Rabun County the sourwood flow doesn't start until June, but it too only lasts for a month.
Now the work of the bees is to ripen the nectar they have gathered and to cap it for storage for the winter (and for harvest for the beekeeper). After only a short, intense month, they will have to make do for the rest of their winter stores.
It's amazing to me that the bees have so little time with an abundance of nectar before they are in short supply. And here at the end of the flow, we have had a sudden spate of cold weather - temperatures in the low 60s for several days and in the 40s at night.
Now the bees who have been very productive over the last month will have less to gather and will have no major source of nectar blooming in this part of Georgia. They will still forage and will find garden blooms, milkweeds on the sides of roads and ditches, with sumac yet to start blooming as well. But the big push for nectar gathering is done.
We only have one big nectar flow in this part of the state. Goldenrod and asters provide a minor early fall flow, but those are not delicious honey flavors. In Rabun County the sourwood flow doesn't start until June, but it too only lasts for a month.
Now the work of the bees is to ripen the nectar they have gathered and to cap it for storage for the winter (and for harvest for the beekeeper). After only a short, intense month, they will have to make do for the rest of their winter stores.
