A week had passed and on Friday we woke to a thunderstorm and more rain. Bad bee weather. However, the storm passed,the day brightened it became warmer. I ventured up to the hive and sat and watched for any signs of activity. There was definitely a change, more activity and a steady stream of bees flying in and out of the hive and no more dead bees on the floor. I felt so happy to watch this simple  natural activity that had been going on for thousands of years. My appreciation for our bees increased further and I hoped our bees fortunes were changing for the better.

I cannot say whether the bees fortunes changed because a few days later they just disappeared. We can only assume the bees swarmed and what was left of the colony left to set up home elsewhere. So we were back to square one, no bees.  According to the local beekeepers quite a few hives were being lost to bee paralysis. It seemed some of the qualities that bees required, perseverance and resilience were needed by beekeepers too!