Melancholic

Its that time of year again, when I begin to realise that the season is coming to a close. It means I  have to prepare my colonies for winter and so will not see the bees and their queens for over 6 months. It leaves me sad.
On a brighter note I saw lots of bees coming back to the hive with a familiar stripe of pollen across their back/thorax; it seems water balsam is in bloom. depending on the weather it may give a useful flow to the bees.