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 …
Winter at the Thermosolar Hives
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. …
Wild-living Honey Bees in January
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 …
How to Grow Bees
Yes. Growing bees. I had this thought on the way home from meeting my friend Paul, where we had been lamenting the problems of 'wildflower meadows' in community spaces, as he is masterminding in the churchyard at Winchelsea. The difficulty is that the public perception of a wildflower meadow is cornflowers, poppies, daisies, waving grasses, …
Winter Solstice and the Thermosolar hives
It's the shortest day today, and the weather has been calm and cool. Rain is forecast for the rest of the week (including, obviously, the Christmas weekend) so I wanted to go and check on the Thermosolar hives while it was at least dry, if a little cold for the bees to be flying. A …
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Christmas Shopping
I have a very low threshold for shopping, but I do love food and Christmas is a great excuse to indulge that. One of our favourite places is Plaw Hatch which is part of the Tablehurst biodynamic family of farms in Forest Row. The veg, meat, and cheese is all of such tremendous quality and …
Omlet Eglu Go for Guinea Pigs Review
I recently had to have my lovely rabbit Rhubarb put down as he developed an aggressive Pasteurella infection which couldn't be treated in the long term, so the vet and I felt it kindest to have him euthanised. I lost two guinea pigs a few months ago, which could have been from the same thing...difficult …
Dawn Silence
My dog is still on British Summer Time so has his breakfast extremely early (he's a Lab...not one to have any truck with "no you can wait another hour for food"), and I take him out just as it's getting light. I take my binoculars to scout for deer before letting him off as there …
The Henclosure
I have always allowed my chickens to free-range, but the bird flu shenanigans last year made me reconsider how I could continue to let the have their outdoor space but in a more manageable way. In addition, the covid shenanigans have encouraged me to think more holistically about the garden and how to make it …
Late Autumn and the Thermosolar Hives
I wanted to pop in and check the inspection boards of the Thermosolar hives to monitor the mite numbers, and generally make sure all was well. It was a cool day but there was some sunshine so I hoped the bees would be flying. https://videopress.com/v/uKhpxIBe?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata Sure enough, the second hive was active, with bees steadily …
Wayward Bee 