White Park - I was going to ask you if you kept cattle. That looks a beautiful beast. I am very envious if you can keep livestock like that. I can't even keep chickens where i live.
Most of my neighbours know I keep bees and several have said they want to buy honey when i start producing. One next door neighbour has come round and donned a bee suit to look in the hive. The new neighbour did not seem impressed but she cannot complain as they fly over her garden ar about 8 feet up and they have not put her off barbeques. Funny woman- erected high fences as soon as she moved in and seems to want to have nothing to do with any of the neighbours.
Even though I have two other locations to put bees i do always intend to keep a couple of hives at least at home. I think it is important that people realise that bees can coexist with people in towns....and anyway there is better bee forage in town.
I do find that the media attention is getting honey bees and bumble bees a lot of public sympathy. When I get swarm calls and they are about bumble bees or masonry bees everyone has been happy to live with them after I have reassured them about how gentle those bees are. I have only had to rehome one nest of bumble bees and that was because the shed above them had been demolished - they are doing very well in their new home on my patio. Unlike the honey bees they stick round the garden and add interest to the flower beds. The honey bees bugger off somewhere else most of the time!
