Druids huddle in a circle around a cauldron with smoke bellowing. The white hooded garb is emitting a luminescent glow… but something’s not quite right, it’s a bright sunny day. It’s not a midnight coven. This feels like a surreal dream, but I too am clad in a brand-new gleaming, white bee suit and join… Continue reading Close encounters of the third kind
Month: September 2020
Smokin’
Beekeepers have embarrassing secrets. I too have a deep dark beekeeping secret. I am useless at using a smoker! Using a smoker is an essential skill for any beekeeper. You’ve seen them, the iconic pictures of beekeepers wielding a smoker with slow, focused Tai Chi movements gently wafting smoke to calm their bees. Their bees… Continue reading Smokin’
Oh no! I am a scavenger!
This is what beekeeping has done to me! I was never this way but now, well now, you might see me headfirst in a skip with my feet waving in the air as I rescue something that I could use for beekeeping. Recycling, that’s what I’m doing. Yeah. It started during the second year of… Continue reading Oh no! I am a scavenger!
Destructor!
It’s raining…again. My bees must be going spare. They can’t fly out and forage. Bees hate damp. Dampness in the hive will kill sooner than cold. At least my hives have open mesh floors (OMF) which I think provide good ventilation. The bees couldn’t care less about what I think though. They would rather pick… Continue reading Destructor!
Bees, bees and wasps
You can’t just shoo away bees. Waving your arms around a bee (let along hundreds of bees) is the last thing you should do. As for wasps.. they get kicked out of the nest at this time of year and are cranky…very cranky. Keep away” They gravitate towards surgery substances, so you’ll find them where there is jam or such like, or spilled drinks – take particular care around recycling bottle banks at this time of year.
Great expectations…at last…the honey harvest!
It’s impossible not to be excited and optimistic at the prospects of visiting the beehives and taking off their supers full of honey. After the year’s nurturing and monitoring the act of removing the supers and straining under the surprising weight of a full honey super is incredibly satisfying. I always feel that it is… Continue reading Great expectations…at last…the honey harvest!
