- Joined
- Aug 24, 2009
- Messages
- 2,024
- Reaction score
- 577
- Hive Type
- National
Oh the woes of being back at work again !! Apart from the fact it is great to be working again, it does mean my 3 month between work holiday has come to and end and all the things I did daily somehow have been placed on the back burner....mowing the lawn, cutting the hedges, digging the allotment and, of course, the bees.
Taking each one in turn..
Mowing the lawn - interestingly the regieme I have followed this year - less cutting, higher setting, has resulted in both lawns bursting into swathes of white clover and other yellow and purple flowers (the estate was built on an old meadow I believe 40 years ago) which I have left to flower and go over.
The hedge - well not bee forage unfortunately, but the cotoneaster has seen lots of activity, so too has the bramble that I cannout find the source of that lives within the beech hedge.
The allotment - oh dear. what an embarrassment. shoulder high parsnips in flower, ditto green manure planted last autumn (alfalfa) and old brassicas. At least my little patch at home is a little better with some fine (my best ever) broccoli just coming into season, but the lettuce has all gone to seed :-(
and finally the bees.
ok. where is the GUILTY smiley when you need it ?!
I haven't looked at them for at least 3 weeks. Not. One. Hive.
With 10 assorted nucs, full colonies and collected swarms to look through, might I suggest to all beeks with not alot of time on their hands that 10 is probably the maximum one should look to run if they want to have a full time job too . . . just my opinion, but today I will try and see how they are all doing. Not too bothered about honey this year as I still have plenty left and a fellow beek has said he will keep me topped up if my outlets sell out.
So a beekeeping I will go.......
what a lovely day - and not a vuvuzeala in earshot !!
S
Taking each one in turn..
Mowing the lawn - interestingly the regieme I have followed this year - less cutting, higher setting, has resulted in both lawns bursting into swathes of white clover and other yellow and purple flowers (the estate was built on an old meadow I believe 40 years ago) which I have left to flower and go over.
The hedge - well not bee forage unfortunately, but the cotoneaster has seen lots of activity, so too has the bramble that I cannout find the source of that lives within the beech hedge.
The allotment - oh dear. what an embarrassment. shoulder high parsnips in flower, ditto green manure planted last autumn (alfalfa) and old brassicas. At least my little patch at home is a little better with some fine (my best ever) broccoli just coming into season, but the lettuce has all gone to seed :-(
and finally the bees.
ok. where is the GUILTY smiley when you need it ?!
I haven't looked at them for at least 3 weeks. Not. One. Hive.
With 10 assorted nucs, full colonies and collected swarms to look through, might I suggest to all beeks with not alot of time on their hands that 10 is probably the maximum one should look to run if they want to have a full time job too . . . just my opinion, but today I will try and see how they are all doing. Not too bothered about honey this year as I still have plenty left and a fellow beek has said he will keep me topped up if my outlets sell out.
So a beekeeping I will go.......
what a lovely day - and not a vuvuzeala in earshot !!
S