First honey crop this year

It hardly seems that this time last year, I was getting my first colony of bees and here I am - one year on - extracting this year's first crop of honey that the girls have been busy making. Since breaking out of their winter cluster, Lizzie has been a prolific egg-layer and her family has increased into a good strong colony which means they have a good foraging force to bring back nectar and pollen.

There was the worrying time during winter when the colony had a high infestation on varroa, which threatened the girls and the odds of getting them through into spring was a real concern. It seems managing varroa is going to be a constant challenge all year round. So while the girls go about their business, I'll be doing my best to keep the varroa level at a manageable level - more about this later.

With one year of keeping bees under my belt, I'm now eligible to take my first beekeeping exam which is something I've been wanting to do along my beekeeping journey. I believe this will help me extend my knowledge about bees. After all, we are responsible for their well-being whilst in our care. So, the entry form was sent in a couple of weeks ago and the date for the exam is next week. Again, more about this later with hopefully some good news!