Ordinarily, I would write my newsletter based upon what we, as a club, experienced in our meetings, re-capping what we had done and who had come to talk to us. Our meetings are always a good mix of social, fun and education and we really have had some excellent talks.
However, I do not think these are ordinary times as mother nature throws us another curve ball in the form of endless rain and widely varying temperatures. Two years ago, Spring was similar, though to a lesser extent with less extremes – half the State wasn’t under water!  In addition, we have the incursion of Varroa in NSW and its knock-on effects to deal with. 
We’ve had many discussions and talks about biosecurity and how we have to be super vigilant to protect our colonies from invasion by pest and disease but I, for one, am finding it difficult to keep up! Having caried out Spring inspections on one pair of hives I’ve been unable to complete my obligations on the others – the weather has been erratic, grass is growing like the clappers, as are the weeds, and there is so much to do around the place. 
And here comes the crux of my point – those issues really don’t matter!  I have to make the time so that when a weather window opens, I will drop everything and finish the job. The weeds will get sprayed eventually, the grass will get cut and all the other jobs will get done. Unfortunately, if the bees are under biological attack, they need help now, not later.
And, so what?  We all love our bees but we are also ‘busy bees’ and sometimes do not prioritise something we might later reconsider.  If we haven’t already managed to carry out these extremely important Spring checks its high time we did so. I, for one, have re-aligned my thoughts and have pushed the girls to the top of the priority list!
Enjoy your bees; I really hope they thrive under your care.
 
Andy Teitge
President
South Gippsland Beekeepers Club