Hives into the winter house today. Fifty. We closed the door at dusk. Tilek says that it is the first time he heard the hum with his own ears: he put his ear to the box and went quiet and said, "Ata, it sounds like a road."
I said: yes. That is the road.
@end
Tilek and I. 50 hives. 23 kg a hive. Mountain flowers 38 som a kilo, sainfoin 30. This summer the buyers in Talas who always paid in dollars said they cannot get the dollars. So they pay in som, and the som is enough for a man who lives in the mountains.
Gulmira apa, if you read this: I kept your 12 kg. The cake maker can come on Saturday.
This year Tilek ran the extractor, I watched. 24 kg a hive. I did not touch a frame. It was strange, but he does it better than me. My hands tremble.
He wants to build a second shed with a proper floor. I said, build it.
After the winter: 50 hives. I lost nine. Age. My back. I decided to keep fifty and not buy new. Tilek is 21 and studies in Talas but comes on weekends. He says he will take the apiary when I cannot. I told him to learn first.
Everyone is careful this autumn. Nobody asks me about politics. They ask if there will be more honey next year.