Ok, so this is a bit of a departure, but it ties in with some thoughts and other discussions, so bear with me... Sustainable beekeeping to me is having hived bees in such a way that incorporates them in to the local area so that we can share the fruits of their labours, but not … Continue reading House Cat, and Sustainable Bees
Category: Wayward Bee
Apiary Update
We've had a beautiful couple of weeks here in Sussex, and I was wondering how my bees were doing. We have had a distinctly unbeautiful patch of weather during June and I was appalled to see on Twitter that many people's colonies had starved, having been caught short following the removal of a spring crop … Continue reading Apiary Update
The Street Lamp Bees
Following on from my previous post... Yesterday I was contacted by a site worker from East Sussex Highways about removing the panel from the street lamp so that I could access the bees inside. We met underneath the lamp (although that's where the similarity with Narnia ends), and after a few deft stabs with a … Continue reading The Street Lamp Bees
Bees will be bees…
On Sunday, I was called out to a swarm of bees who had decided to make their home in a lamppost. They were flying in and out of the access panel, and as they were in a residential area, and their flight path at small-child's-face level, I was concerned to get them out before pest … Continue reading Bees will be bees…
Starnash Farmhouse B&B…& Beekeeping
I am always keen to meet up with like-minded people, and I love using honeybees as a way of reconnecting people with our environment. I had a meeting last week with Vicky of Starnash Farmhouse B&B, and after coffee, walking and talking around the beautiful surroundings, it was obvious that it would be a perfect … Continue reading Starnash Farmhouse B&B…& Beekeeping
National Trust Bees
I visited these bees with Paul a few weeks ago to see about removing them. The cottage is due to be renovated at some point, and as we wanted bees for the Marsh, it would be somewhere to relocate these bees before work began. Now is a good time to try and remove bees as … Continue reading National Trust Bees
Squash court bees
I rescued these bees with a friend of mine from the panelling of a wall in a social club that was going be demolished, on April 10th, 2016. It was a cold day and a bit drizzly, and the location of the colony was near the car park for a popular bridleway/public footpath, and it … Continue reading Squash court bees
The Humble Journey to Beeswax Wraps
Fab post by Rebecca about using the beeswax from my ethically-kept bees.
https://humbleideas.co.uk/2018/07/16/the-humble-journey-to-beeswax-wraps/
Being an ecologically minded individual and following the worlds ever saturated issue with plastic it got me thinking one day, when I ran out of clingfilm…. there must be an alternative. So, that’s where I began my internet search and I found clingfilm alternatives.
The two alternatives I was looking at were silicone wraps and beeswax wraps. I’m a natural researcher and wanted to find the most sustainable alternative. Silicone is a very popular idea, but, and now this is a big but, silicone, although food safe, non toxic and easily recycled, once it’s produced it doesn’t degrade, so here we have a similar problem as plastic (but without the toxicity) that once something is made from it, it never goes away. So this rules silicone wraps out, despite them looking rather cool and interesting. Plus, I have silicone ice pole molds and those tend to split after…
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Beeswax Wrap Party
As mentioned in a previous post, I am working with Rebecca Cordery of Humble Ideas to produce beeswax wraps; I do the hard work with the bees, she does the hard work with the wraps! We thought it would be good to showcase the wraps (and Rebecca's other products) and also give people an opportunity to find … Continue reading Beeswax Wrap Party
Summer vs Winter honey
How and when bees store honey alters the composition and taste. In conventional beekeeping, all the honey from the preceding season is taken in late summer/early autumn, and the bees fed a sugar syrup to replenish their stores. I don't do this. Instead, I take honey little and often through the summer and leave the … Continue reading Summer vs Winter honey