Summer is fading, and so has the nectar. Our bees are gathering pollen for the winter, and busy converting the sugar water we feed them into honey for the winter.

Bees are fed this time of year to induce the queen to produce more winter bees that will hatch out in late September. They will be better suited to winter over, and will live through the winter. Beekeepers are busy treating their hives to ensure the bees are healthy, giving them food, preparing to protect them from a harsh winter, all the things that will pay off in the early spring, when the buzz of a new year’s bees fills the air. Gardens large and small, orchards and flowers, all benefit from these wonderful little creatures.

Come to the next Polk County, N.C. beekeepers meeting at the Mill Spring Agricultural Center, 156 School Road, Mill Spring, N.C. on Sept. 15 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. We will be having an open discussion of our year and Mr. Phil Holbert will be there to field questions in general. As always, we will be having a potluck dinner, so bring a dish to share and come on. For more information, please contactlisakrolak@hotmail.com or 828-279-9643.