The clover bloom has held up quite well with the combination of moisture and heat. We've steamed our way through heat indexes in the +90F range, so the bees have bounced back from frequent rains much better than if it had been much cooler. It rained in the late afternoon or overnight quite often in the past three weeks, but June heat carrying into the first week of July saved us from missing a good flow in our area.

Ten days ago, I stepped out the door and heard my basswood tree humming with bees despite a heavy rain overnight, and then I began to hope that we would put up some significant honey. Basswood only lasted for a few days, but I hope to detect some of the light mint taste of basswood in some of the honey when we extract. It is an interesting nectar that some customers seek out specifically. We did not get much significant surplus from the black locust trees in May, so maybe the basswood/linden will be our lucky tree this year.

In any case, the last two weeks gave us hope for a decent crop. The yellow sweet clover is gone, but the trefoil, Dutch clover, and white sweet clover are all blooming steadily. The main bloom has passed its peak but remains very strong. Soybeans will be a pretty scattered bloom this summer due to the planting delays. The early beans are starting to bloom now, but there are lots of other beans that are barely out of the ground. Many fields almost didn't get planted at all.

As long as we stay on the current trajectory, we will be in harvest mode relatively soon. I've started to go through the equipment to make sure it appears to be in good order before we bring home any honey. Hopefully the next update will share news of a banner year in honey land!