Damp wings

Weather: Cloudy, thundery, threatening rain
Temperature: 18C
Stings: 3
Wildlife: Squirrels, frogs, woodpeckers

Note to self: do not attempt to manipulate the bees when thunder is threatening. I kind of knew that already as my first ever visit to see some bees was in stormy weather and it did not end well. I got stung just under my eye. And I've stuck with it, despite that. Hmm

Anyway, I spent the first 30 minutes of my visit tidying up the allotment plot. Cutting back grass and digging out old brambles. I'm making good progress on that and the place is starting to look (relatively) cultivated.
Anyhoo, I moved over to near the hive where lots of long grass had grown up and started to pull that out. What I didn't realise at the time was that the rain earlier in the day, and the damp leaves everywhere, meant lots of bees were having trouble flying. So they were clambering around in the grass and undergrowth near the hive. As I dragged up the grass one dropped into my glove and stung me on the back of the left hand. Then one stung me on the left wrist and then one on the right shoulder.

At this point I walked away as other bees were starting to buzz around me and one was trying to sting me through my right glove. I decided I'd had enough of being stung so stopped doing the gardening. I put on my gloves and veil to look inside the hive. I opened up the top and had a look just as thunder rumbled overhead and it began to rain. So I gave up and went home. Just as well as it lashed down soon after and alternated between bright sun and heavy rain all day.

From what I saw, it looks like they are healthy enough. They have space and the bees have found the frames up top. I'll have a closer look next week (weather permitting) and might swap the boxes around so they come to the brood frames first. The honey super is pretty much full already.