Beehive Inspection
Yesterday I went along the path to the beehives and inspected the boxes, seeing that the lids were still firmly down and the wire bracings to hold against the gale were all doing their work. As a sort of double insurance, I laid half-bricks on the tops of the hives, examined the entrances for ice or thick frost and gently tapped each one and put my ear to the wall for some sign of activity within. It was asking a lot. No sound came from any hive, but as they are all of very sound and solid construction and each colony well quilted and Protected, I decided that things were as they should be within. There was nothing else I could do, however anxious I was about the inmates. It was too cold to tamper with the hives and in arty case each one has enough food in store to last until milder days arrive. As soon as it I improves, two of the colonies must be given candy, for they did not seem to make as much progress as their larger neighbours. None of the colonies was robbed and our reward for this forbearance is to come, if the apple blossom is plentiful, if the summer is warm and all goes well, which means having more than a little faith.
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