I'm still here

I couldn't make all the arrangements to travel to Vietnam before Christmas, so I'm still here. Plan B is to wait for 'THE CALL', and hope it comes early in January. Things in Vietnam shut down for 2 weeks for Tet, which is their New Year celebration on Feb 14th. It would be nice to be there to see the celebrations!

I gave my bee hives the winter mite treatment today. It was a mild, dry day, so I took the hives apart and drizzled treated sugar syrup over the backs of the bees. They didn't seem to mind too much, although the Sophia hive is pretty agressive! I constantly had to back away from the guard bees that kept coming at me. I didn't get stung, though - thick clothing and the veil saved me.

The Sophia hive still has LOTS of bees. I saw some mold on the inner cover, and the bottom board was pretty wet around the edges. The Belle hive was drier, but they have a smaller ball of bees. However, I'm happy with what I saw today. I have comfort in thinking both hives will survive the winter. I have no idea how I'm going to be able to take care of the them once Molly arrives, but with a little help from my friends, maybe I can handle it.

The newest offerings from the hives are now candles. My bee club had a candle-making day last month, where I learned how to make molded and hand-dipped candles. I picked up a few supplies afterwards and made some tea-lights and votives for Christmas presents. I'm keeping the cracked and crooked candles for myself, but proudly wrapped up a bunch of tea-lights for my friends and family.