sustainable beekeeping and wildlife gardening
There is a still a "very high risk" of avian influenza here in the UK, and we are required to keep our poultry separate from wild birds. Although I understand and respect the reasoning for the reduced freedom of our poultry, I suspect a greater part of the high transmission is caused by the loss …
Continue reading "Bird Flu: why shutting hens in is NOT the answer"
I went to visit the bees at Selmeston which are living in dilapidated Langstroths as I wanted to see how active they were in the good weather. The larger hive seemed very quiet, and on closer inspection it turned out that the bees were nowhere to be seen. I couldn't find any trace of them …
What a glorious spring day! I wanted to see if the colonies were flying and bringing in pollen as it was such lovely weather. The wind was still pretty chilly so I decided against opening them up but it was good to see the leaves starting to appear on the hedgerow trees, and sure enough, …
I have been pondering how to make best use of my garden, now that the chickens are [mostly] contained, and I am very conscious of the looming supply problems we will inevitably face thanks to the Russians invading Ukraine, one of our major grain producing areas in Europe. There's also the death throes of the …
It was raining when I arrived at the Berwick solar farm today, but I'd been to visit a friend nearby and wanted to make sure the bees were ok after Storms Eunice and Franklin. There wasn't much flowering apart from some brave blackthorn blossoms, and I was not expecting to see the bees flying. There …
Way back in 2019, I used to run a great sourdough course with my friend and fellow fermenting enthusiast, Vicky, in her fabulous kitchen at Starnash Farmhouse. Fast-forward to now, and the philosophy behind our baking - to bring the wild levain process to anyone who wants to make their own bread - has been …
I have been part of the Solar Bee Project at Berwick since its launch back in 2019, and although one of its aims, namely to introduce a focus for biodiversity and increase public engagement with solar farms, the Thermosolar Hive and Varroa control part of the project has been a little more of a struggle. …
This year is going to be a little different here at Wayward Bee. I have transferred much of my operation to places beyond Shawpits, so the hens are over at Starnash Farmhouse, and my bee commitments will revolve around the Thermosolar hives, the wild-living bees at Selmeston, and other hives I visit as part of …
A beautiful bright day at Berwick made me keen to see how the site was looking, and whether the bees had decided to make an appearance. At this time of year they can pop out for a few minutes for a 'cleansing flight' but it's easy to miss and fear that your hive has died. …
I visited the Langstroth hives at Selmeston today as we have had some beautiful spring weather and I wondered if the bees were flying. Sure, enough, they were! https://videopress.com/v/ySTaeADc?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata Their hive has completely sunken in to the ground so they are using this entrance which they opened last year. There is some very pale pollen …
Wayward Bee 