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In the warmth of the day I checked on the bees.  They seem to have taken what comb they drew in the upper chamber and retreated to the lower, which is probably good.  I worry that the hive body doesn't feel heavy enough with honey to get them through the winter, but this is all new to me, so we will see.  I didn't feed them this summer, figuring that since I wasn't taking any honey, they'd be able to forage for what they needed.  Come the first warm days of March I'll see how that benign neglect played out.

While I was away the deer had come and tidied the garden, eating the parsnip greens and anything else that had held up to the frost -- including a gallon-sized summer squash that I had let lie among the died-back vines.  They had also stripped most of the vetch that has infested that part of the yard - and even trimmed back the asparagus fronds.  Probably they're saving the apple trees for later.

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