Busy Bees

At this time of year there is an air of "busy busy busy" throughout Meribel. Chalets are being completed, shelves are being stocked, snow tyres being fitted. At Chalet Vache Bleue we always try to allow a few weeks pre-season not just to open up the Chalet but to add and improve where we can. It all adds up to being busy which made me think about Bees.

Bee keeping is becoming very popular in Australia especially in the cities where rooftop Hives are appearing.We buy Honey in Brisbane from a local who explained to us that as land is taken up for development there is less room for Bees so these Hives appearing in the City are helping to keep Bees alive - and producing Honey of course. It all makes sense to me, warm weather, plentiful sunshine and a great product at the end, what I am surprised about is Bee keeping in and around Meribel.

I have always associated Bees with warm weather and to be honest thought that the Hives we see around the Villages would be out of use for the winter. Apparently not, the Bees are largely unaffected by the cold. Wet damp weather they do not like but cold and snowy - no problem at all. As we ski past the Hives on our way home to Chalet Vache Bleue I have a new appreciation for the many creatures great and small who share this space with us.

Bee Hives in the snow

I hope they have at least a little bit of insulation as the temperature drops. This morning it is minus 3 in the Village, maybe that's why Bees like to keep busy, it's a keeping warm strategy.