The white aster are finally in full bloom and with the recent rains, the bees seem to be bringing in nectar for their food stores. They’ve been bringing in a lot of beautiful shades of yellow pollen for the last month or so, but not much in the way of nectar so this is a bit of a relief.

The bees are still foraging on the goldenrod and I can smell it in the hives. A good lesson for new beekeepers is how goldenrod smells in the hive and not to confuse that smell with something bad going on — like European foul brood.

The 3 clovers continue to bloom and we are still seeing quite a bit of smartweed. Vitex are still blooming as well and the anise hyssop is blooming again.

Fingers crossed for a good fall nectar flow so the bees can put on some extra weight for winter.

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