What did you do in the Apiary today?

[JamezF]

Get a bigger freezer & develop a relationship with a local taxi company. Stamp duty would pay for an awful lot of journeys!

There are far more issues than that when you live somewhere very rural, sadly. Where we are, there is no reliable taxi service (there is a part-time service, but it relies on volunteer drivers) nor public transport. There are no shops at all within walking distance. Our electricity supply is unreliable (I actually went through my records last night, because it's getting beyond a joke -- we're averaging nine to ten days between power failures since mid-May) and we have no gas unless it's bottled. There's no reliable mobile phone service. A significant amount of our heating is wood that I cut myself.

I love living here and would hate to move anywhere significantly different, but I'm resigned to the fact that if I last that long one day it will just become too much to be able to deal with by ourselves. On the whole I think I'd rather just shuffle off before that happens

James

 

[Sutty]

There are far more issues than that when you live somewhere very rural, sadly. Where we are, there is no reliable taxi service (there is a part-time service, but it relies on volunteer drivers) nor public transport. There are no shops at all within walking distance. Our electricity supply is unreliable (I actually went through my records last night, because it's getting beyond a joke -- we're averaging nine to ten days between power failures since mid-May) and we have no gas unless it's bottled. There's no reliable mobile phone service. A significant amount of our heating is wood that I cut myself.

I love living here and would hate to move anywhere significantly different, but I'm resigned to the fact that if I last that long one day it will just become too much to be able to deal with by ourselves. On the whole I think I'd rather just shuffle off before that happens

James

I agree. I guess I was just pointing out that the costs of moving can justify what might otherwise be considered "too expensive" ways to mitigate problems.
Backup generator and satelite phone?

 

[Penninetrader]

No I don’t but we are isolated here and we are getting old.

I hope wherever you move to, that you are able to keep as much of what you value most in your new home.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Relying on other people just speeds up the loss of your independence. It was bad enough six years ago when I had to be driven for medical treatment to Swansea every day for six weeks. Sometimes we were gone all day.
Some things are just not worth it. The garden is huge and the fields need topping every year. We will be very careful where we end up.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I hope wherever you move to, that you are able to keep as much of what you value most in your new home.

We will. I’ve dodged a pretty big bullet. I’m not wasting my time

 

[Penninetrader]

There are far more issues than that when you live somewhere very rural, sadly. Where we are, there is no reliable taxi service (there is a part-time service, but it relies on volunteer drivers) nor public transport. There are no shops at all within walking distance. Our electricity supply is unreliable (I actually went through my records last night, because it's getting beyond a joke -- we're averaging nine to ten days between power failures since mid-May) and we have no gas unless it's bottled. There's no reliable mobile phone service. A significant amount of our heating is wood that I cut myself.

I love living here and would hate to move anywhere significantly different, but I'm resigned to the fact that if I last that long one day it will just become too much to be able to deal with by ourselves. On the whole I think I'd rather just shuffle off before that happens

James

You probably already know this, but just in case. When doing my research of LPG I discovered that bulk supplies in a partially sunk tank costs half as much as the largest bottles per kg or litre.The suppliers also supply the tank if you so wish. During the crazy gas price rises of line gas, lpg only rose by less than a third at the peak. The thermal values place it lower in cost and no standing charges. I promote the view of not taking an all or nothing view when it comes to future energy needs.

 

[Penninetrader]

We will. I’ve dodged a pretty big bullet. I’m not wasting my time

Yes

 

[ken in NH]

There are far more issues than that when you live somewhere very rural, sadly. Where we are, there is no reliable taxi service (there is a part-time service, but it relies on volunteer drivers) nor public transport. There are no shops at all within walking distance. Our electricity supply is unreliable (I actually went through my records last night, because it's getting beyond a joke -- we're averaging nine to ten days between power failures since mid-May) and we have no gas unless it's bottled. There's no reliable mobile phone service. A significant amount of our heating is wood that I cut myself.

I love living here and would hate to move anywhere significantly different, but I'm resigned to the fact that if I last that long one day it will just become too much to be able to deal with by ourselves. On the whole I think I'd rather just shuffle off before that happens

James

My heart goes out to you- at 74 i'd rather be buried in the backyard than move to a city. bees ( and other hobbies) keep me young; prefer animals to people, for so many reasons. can you rent a room out to a young person?

 

[enrico]

We had 3.5 acres on the Shropshire hillside. It got too much for us and was too steep, I fell in the river running through the plot once too often so we downsized to 1 acre on the levels in Somerset. Flat as a pancake but above any floods. We have a village shop, a pub, the bus stops right outside our house for Taunton. Was worth the moving costs just for piece of mind. 71 years old

 

[MrMouse]

Ventured out on a rather dank day to heft and vape.
Pleased to say all 10 colonies remain strong and heavy. Certainly not clustered up.
Time to keep a close eye on stores for the next few months.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

it was a bit misty when I let out the chickens this morning but a few hours in the fresh was needed so I stuck to plan A and ventured up into the fog to the range to vape the bees, a few trees at the range are still leaning further over the track so having the chainsaw in the truck will be a must until they lean even closer to the horizontal for me to clear them. All hives nice and heavy and bees sound alive in all of them - a few colonies venturing out to see what was going on.

 

[Macbear]

Thick fog for the second day here. My apiary is a mile from home and both of our cars are out of action. My 24 yr old needed a replacement axle - impossible, so it's find another, then on 23rd my wife's car suffered clutch failure. Nothing doing until first week of Jan. Thankfully, visitors staying with us until then. All quiet amongst the hives today - flicked a corpse off a landing board, and no piles of bodies seen elsewhere. Sensible ladies, if I had their brains I would be staying indoors too!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Thankfully, visitors staying with us until then. All quiet amongst the hives today - flicked a corpse off a landing board,

not one of your visitors I hope

 

[juno]

Oh I’ve not seen that type before interesting is it like a sublimox ?
I run my sublimox from a small generator or inverter.

I think so yes, the bottom of the pot thing heats up, sublimates the apibioxal and it transfers into the hive, it’s heated by the big battery I had to lump accross the fields again today in the thick fog for round 2.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Oh I’ve not seen that type before interesting is it like a sublimox ?
I run my sublimox from a small generator or inverter.

I was curious too. I found it on Amazon. It runs on 12volts.

 

[Penninetrader]

Thick fog for the second day here. My apiary is a mile from home and both of our cars are out of action. My 24 yr old needed a replacement axle - impossible, so it's find another, then on 23rd my wife's car suffered clutch failure. Nothing doing until first week of Jan. Thankfully, visitors staying with us until then. All quiet amongst the hives today - flicked a corpse off a landing board, and no piles of bodies seen elsewhere. Sensible ladies, if I had their brains I would be staying indoors too!

I keep commenting that this mist or fog lasting more than 2 days is quite unusual and it appears north to south. Being genteel I gently remove the bereaved into my hands then give give them a post mortem, with pics. Those vehicles, what is the 24 yr old ? Do you do the repairs ?

 

[Penninetrader]

We had 3.5 acres on the Shropshire hillside. It got too much for us and was too steep, I fell in the river running through the plot once too often so we downsized to 1 acre on the levels in Somerset. Flat as a pancake but above any floods. We have a village shop, a pub, the bus stops right outside our house for Taunton. Was worth the moving costs just for piece of mind. 71 years old

Naught but a pup, do you not miss the hills ?

 

[Curly green finger's]

I keep commenting that this mist or fog lasting more than 2 days is quite unusual and it appears north to south. Being genteel I gently remove the bereaved into my hands then give give them a post mortem, with pics. Those vehicles, what is the 24 yr old ? Do you do the repairs ?

What mist and fog it’s been sunny here @ 475m ( clee ) and up on the black mountains for the last three days.

 

[Sutty]

We've had low lying fog for a few days, but above it is glorious!

 

[Gilberdyke John]

You probably already know this, but just in case. When doing my research of LPG I discovered that bulk supplies in a partially sunk tank costs half as much as the largest bottles per kg or litre.The suppliers also supply the tank if you so wish. During the crazy gas price rises of line gas, lpg only rose by less than a third at the peak. The thermal values place it lower in cost and no standing charges. I promote the view of not taking an all or nothing view when it comes to future energy needs.

Many many years ago I swapped out an lpg boiler for a glass door coke fired parkray room heater. I had a calor bulk tank which was on a regular topup visit. Money was worth more in those days and I had a decent income but over four years the tank rental had doubled and the price of liquid gas trebled. The parkray required "driving" but it provided heat 24/7 and had a much reduced running cost supplemented with wood from various sources.
A few houses and years later I installed an oil (kerosene) fired boiler to replace a solid fuel unit. This was a really beneficial move as it permitted seasonal purchasing. (I worked for the local Shell distributor heating department at the time). It was fully controllable and comfortable to live with. Despite often hearing people describe oil boilers as smelly I can assure everyone a correctly installed and maintained oil boiler definitely is not. Currently I have a heat pump which was installed by others when my oil boiler finally gave up the ghost and my fitness levels had faded. It works but it's not a patch on the oil boiler in terms of household satisfaction. Given a free hand and a clean sheet I'd have no hesitation in opting for a kerosene fuelled heating system with a large tank for living in a remote spot. Add a small standby generator to power the boiler and circulation pump plus the house lights and have an emergency camping stove with a few gas cartridges and extended power outages fade to become a minor irritation.