What did you do in the Apiary today?

[victor meldrew]

I’ll second that.

Welcome back VM

Always remember that lovely Sammie of yours.

Ah Sasha she died from diabetes. She died in my arms bless her [emoji22]


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[pargyle]

Ah Sasha she died from diabetes. She died in my arms bless her [emoji22]


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I remember ... sad loss .. we lost our 15 year old labrador to cancer on Trafalgar day last year - we haven't replaced him yet but his spirit is lingering around the house and garden still. Keep seeing him out of the corner of my eye.

 

[Erichalfbee]

And this is my lovely Collie who died in 2016
Here he is immortalised by clever “Swarm”

 

[victor meldrew]

And this is my lovely Collie who died in 2016

Here he is immortalised by clever “Swarm”

So sorry ! He’s around fear not

I see this image every time I step in the apiary !


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[pargyle]

And this is my lovely Collie who died in 2016
Here he is immortalised by clever “Swarm”

Oh my ..he is just so good. I really wish I could draw like that.

Here's our old boy, Leo, in happier times and after he'd been diagnosed with cancer .. still gave us another 18 months of joy.

 

[Bakerbee]

We had a very lucky escape with our 2 year old frenchie. She had meningitis over xmas but has been one of the rate ones to have survived. My heart goes out to anyone whose lost their dog, truly heartbraking.

Today i moved 3 hives to a more secluded bit of our garden which is further away from our patio and veggie patch. No reason , they are well behaved bees other than this new area has finally been cleared of mature hazel which was taking over a considerable amount of room. I had been waiting till they stopped flying but being in dorset the daily temps have hardly been below 8c so have closed them in and just got on with it. They have fondant on and omf so will leave them tucked up for a few days yo make sure they orientate.

 

[victor meldrew]

I remember ... sad loss .. we lost our 15 year old labrador to cancer on Trafalgar day last year - we haven't replaced him yet but his spirit is lingering around the house and garden still. Keep seeing him out of the corner of my eye.

Ive forgotten humans ( well not forgotten ) but they don’t enter my head as often as Sasha does!


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[pargyle]

Had a look through the clear crownboards and hefted all the hives .. all heavy still and bees flying ... one guard bee came out to have a close look at me. Fortunately I'd put my jacket on so she just had a buzz around and then went back inside - obviously approved of me.

No need to feed yet.

One colony looking a bit thin on the ground, plenty of stores in the hive - I could see capped stores across several frames but nowhere near as many bees as I would like to see - I hope they are hunkered down near the bottom of the brood box but comparing the heat on the crown board to the heat coming off the other colonies - not good. Very few flying from this colony - not worth opening up as little can be done. I'll give them another month and see what they are like then.

 

[gregior]

All mine were flying very strongly around dinnertime today temp was 12c .A few with small baskets of hazel pollen but not much else coming in.

 

[Tim.S]

I had a wander up to the hives through the mud as usual this year, stores are going down but no panic needed just yet. I have also been assessing the hives for q rearing this year and am glad to see that my 2 candidates for propagation are doing very well. Out of 16 I will probably cull 2 if they survive (weak, not overwintering well) and the rest will carry on as production colonies with new queens later in the year. I am also going to try to get all 12 nucs up and running for next winter as I never have enough spares! Onward and upward.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Checked fondant and inspection boards and watched pollen going in all hives.
One shows signs of some poo on the front of the hive, the others all clean. Hope it's nothing to worry about.
One cluster quite small but bees happily in the fondant bag.

 

[victor meldrew]

Checked fondant and inspection boards and watched pollen going in all hives.

One shows signs of some poo on the front of the hive, the others all clean. Hope it's nothing to worry about.

One cluster quite small but bees happily in the fondant bag.

Gales expected here , it’s windy already . Still, 20 miles from the Northwest coast , got to expect it !


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[drex]

Am up to date with the bees and the allotment, so despite it being mild and sunny I have been in the shed making up frames. I try to have plenty of spare clean equipment ready before the season starts, so I can react to any situation without panic.

 

[victor meldrew]

Am up to date with the bees and the allotment, so despite it being mild and sunny I have been in the shed making up frames. I try to have plenty of spare clean equipment ready before the season starts, so I can react to any situation without panic.

My annual promise but rarely works out that way !


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[drex]

I did say I "try". Bees invariably catch me out at some point !

 

[Podilia]

Last weekend I checked all colonies and added the frames with honey to some of them. They already have brood. Three colonies will not survive for sure. This is not bad result for me.
This winter is warmest in the history of observation, scientists say. My bees made the cleanse flight in December 18 and in January 28. It is unusual for our climate. No frost, no snow. Actually, the lack of precipitation has been observed since July, every month.

 

[For want of a better word]

Checked 20 nucs this morning (Paynes Polly) thru the clear cover all were clustered OK some were flying despite a bitter cold wind... all hefted OK
Only reason was that we had a report from the cottager who overlooks the site that she has seen a lot of lights late at night, and earlier the locks had been smashed off the lane entrance gates.
No sign of any vehicle tracks... except from my own distinctive BJG mud terrains..
No sign of any shot gun or other cartridges.... but a lot of doggy foot prints and a few size 10's

The Estate's game warden and land agents popped in and said they will keep an extra watch over the area... relieving me of 2 demmis of mead... cold night ahead!

Yeghes da

 

[Millet]

Done a quick heft and check on fondant and then i got carried away..the bees have been on this place for five years now which is basically a pile of rock and sand stone..it has always been horrible hobbling over the stones with 2/3 supers full of honey..(accident waiting to happen) ..so today i took advantage of the cold spell and got the Bulldog spade out..(no Bee suit)
I dug the lot out around the hives and made the full area level..roughly 1.5 ton of rocks and big stones which took around 4hrs...a few wheel barrows of soil to level the spot up for 2x2 paving slabs are ready to be leveled made me feel at ease with the world..
I had nothing better to do with them four hours of my life..but this year i will benefit greatly when carrying supers and working with bees in my little Apiary..

 

[victor meldrew]

Done a quick heft and check on fondant and then i got carried away..the bees have been on this place for five years now which is basically a pile of rock and sand stone..it has always been horrible hobbling over the stones with 2/3 supers full of honey..(accident waiting to happen) ..so today i took advantage of the cold spell and got the Bulldog spade out..(no Bee suit)
I dug the lot out around the hives and made the full area level..roughly 1.5 ton of rocks and big stones which took around 4hrs...a few wheel barrows of soil to level the spot up for 2x2 paving slabs are ready to be leveled made me feel at ease with the world..
I had nothing better to do with them four hours of my life..but this year i will benefit greatly when carrying supers and working with bees in my little Apiary..

I learned the hard way to keep the out apiary regularly mown !
I , whilst carrying two full supers caught my foot under a bramble runner concealed by the long grass . Bust my nose ( nearly broke it ) luckily no damage to super nor honey frames .


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[SDM]

I learned the hard way to keep the out apiary regularly mown !
I , whilst carrying two full supers caught my foot under a bramble runner concealed by the long grass . Bust my nose ( nearly broke it ) luckily no damage to super nor honey frames .

Lol, I did that last year carrying supers down a slope, without the nose damage but a total loss of dignity .
That slope looks like a bowling green now.