It has been a terrible fall. Not for me, but for the bees. Perfect rainfall amounts. Excellent flowers. Goldenrod and all manner of flowering plants bloomed like mad.. but somehow, the bees have stored nothing. Feeding was undertaken as per normal routine when there is no fall flow.. However, this year, it appears that not only was the fall flow minimal, it was NON existent, as in, my bees could as easily have been floating on a barge in the middle of an ocean. They were fed twice as much as I have ever fed. Some hives receiving five gallons of syrup, and still not having enough. I reserved about 20 frames of honey for emergencies.. also not nearly enough.. So it looks as if I will be checking ont he hives at least once a month. Popping the covers and making sure they have sugar or fondant. It IS going to be a long winter, especially if it shapes up to be as nasty as last winter...