As i sit here watching the rain fall again (and wishing it would stop), i have to remind myself we do live in a rainforest and this is to be expected.
Dome Creek is located at the very edge of the Robson Valley on highway 16 east. We live a few minutes from the fairly new Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Park. Its a very unique area and is the only inland temperate rainforest in the world. People come from all parts of the world to visit the park and to experience wrapping their arms around 1000 year old Cedars. We feel so blessed to be living in such a beautiful untouched area.
Everything is so lush this year and the fear of a forest fire in our area is pretty low. But unlike when we lived at the coast, it would rain for 30 days and 30 nights (well that is what it seems like) . Dome Creek rains for a hour or two then stops. Although this summer has been a tad more wet than usual, it is still bearable.
But i feel bad for our bees during all this damp weather. I have been battling chalk brood this year, which sucks. Its been a challenge and i am hoping they will build up the colony big enough to survive the winter. Three out of four hives seem to be doing really good, the other one....not so much. And although they do get out foraging...its quite limited by all the rain.
Its been a tough couple years beekeeping, but each time you have a failure, you do learn lots. But enough already!
Well even though i am kind of sick of the rain, i must say everything is so beautiful and the abundance of wild flowers is incredible. So when its not raining there is lots for the bees to forage.
We have a friend from Belgium who comes to Canada each year to fish. His little base camp is set up on our property where the bee yard is. He sets up his canoe under the eves of our cabin to catch rain water and the other day i went over to the bee yard and this is what i spotted.
When i asked him about it, he explained that it saddened him to see the bees go in the canoe to drink then drown. So he took some of that non slip rubber matting you use in your RV so your dishes don't slide around and put it in the canoe. The bees can sit on the mats and the water comes up thru the holes. It was rather clever i thought. I added the thinly sliced pool noodles.
Anyways, once the weather straightens out a bit, i will be able to get in the hives and check out how they are making out with their winter stores. Then maybe i will have more to talk about in my next blog. Well i should go, since its raining today i think i will bottle up my batch of mead i made a few months ago. I may have to sample a little to make sure its going to be good.
Til next time...... .
