Rain Rain and more Rain

Living life inside a Rainforest one would think we normally would get lots of rain. But thats not necessarily true. Yes we get rain....but this has been crazy. Enough already. Our nieghbours keep track of the rainfall and the other day she let me know since the 23rd of May we had received over 12 inches of rain. Yikes!
We have had many challenges due to the rain and cooler temperatures this year, (oh and lets not forget the high water and flooding). Getting a window long enough to cut lawns has been tough.  They are very long and lush, but on the upside, the clover is in bloom and the bees have been enjoying them during the dry periods.
The garden.....it too is lush,  but we need some sun and warmth to help things florish more.

Peas growing in old honey supers

Our little container garden

The driveway....oooohhh what a mucky mess it is.  Its a good thing we have 4 wheel drive in most of our vehicles

Mud bog driveway

Then there are the bees. My poor little girls.  They are doing ok, thankfully there are many periods during the day where they can get out to forage. Some of the things i have noticed how the rain has been putting a damper on beekeeping are:
1.  Hard to get in the hives to check for queen/swarm cells and general inspections
2,  Bees have less foraging time, July is usually our big nectar flow time
3.  The heavy rains can cause damage to bees wings if they get caught out in it or it can knock them to the ground.
4.  Bees use the sun as navigation. So it is possible they may not find their way home
5.  Chalkbrood. Its a fungal desease that kills larvae. Its can be caused by poor circulation and cool damp conditions. There are other things that can cause chalkbrood but the last 2 wet summers we have had minor cases of it. Due to the wet.
6.   The pounding rains we have had, it can wash away some of  the nectar out of the flowers.

You may wonder what the forager bees do on these wet days we are having. If it is pouring rain, they hunker down inside the hive. The forager bees help manage the humidity and temperature inside the hives. This time of year they are trying to get the moisture content down in the honey so they can cap it for the winter. Not sure what else they do....maybe watch a little TV?

Well all things considering, i am happy at the weight of some of our honey supers. I had high hopes for a good bunch of honey this year. But as it is right now, I will just be happy if there is enough honey for the bees to take them thru the winter and for maybe a jar for us.
Hope you have a good day. Chat again soon.