Sustainable beekeeping, chickens, and cake
I designed this poster a few years ago, as I wanted an aide memoire that was less focussed on traditional beekeeping, and more about honey bees. If we want to keep bees in tune with their natural development and lifecycle, it's important to have a greater understanding of how bees function and many of the … Continue reading Beekeeping Poster
Here is the recipe that features on my weekly vlog, The Shawpits Diaries. Head over there for the method, but here are the ingredients: 250g prunes250ml hot Earl Grey tea Steep overnight. 1 egg250g plain flour1tsp baking powder 150g soft brown sugarZest of 1 lemon (preferably a bergamot lemon) Mix the dry ingredients gently in … Continue reading Earl Grey Tea Loaf
This Christmas is going to be a strange one for many, although less so for me as I usually spend Christmas Day on my own or with my children, and actually I find it blissfully relaxing! My older two have moved away so now it's just Rosie and me, and this year we have our … Continue reading Bee Courses for Christmas
This recipe is from Top With Cinnamon - the method is on my vlog. I used a 6 portion muffin tin greased with melted shredded suet, but you can use butter and flour. Streusel topping: 2tbsp flour 1tbsp rolled oats1tbsp soft brown sugar1/4tsp cinnamon Mix together to form a rubbly texture Muffin ingredients: 1 cup … Continue reading Carrot Struesel Muffins
My kitchen smells fabulous. I saw an Instagram post on Hodmedod's feed about an interesting new grain blend from Venessa Kimbell, founder of The Sourdough School. As she rightly points out, even whole ancient grains and heritage wheats to grind at home are sold cleaned and graded, unlike the inclusions our ancestors would have inevitably … Continue reading Botanical Bread
The UK is currently under high alert for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N8) so even those of us with a few hens are required by law to adhere to the biosecurity measures set out by government. Oh, if only it were as simple as donning a mask and maintaining social distance... I am disappointed as … Continue reading Bird Flu
In this week's vlog I tackle another bundt cake, which I have pinched from this website: the naptime chef. I realised it was a large amount of batter and I have so few eggs I decided to halve the amount, and actually it fitted the bundt pan I have perfectly, although mine is an 8" … Continue reading Spiced Apple Bundt Cake
Some of us, (and by that I mean me), are looking forward to autumn and a quieter time of year regarding all things Outside. The bees are preparing for winter, so have ousted the drones, who by now will have missed their chance to contribute to the next generation. The foragers are gathering both pollen … Continue reading Winterising your hives
I have been in my house for nearly 12 years now, and one of the first things I did was to plant some crocus bulbs. They are the early flowering purple ones - a variety I never manage to say correctly on the first attempt: Crocus Tommasinianus (it's up there with 'diatomaceous earth' which I … Continue reading Bulbs for Bees
I set up my sustainable beekeeping Patreon in March so that I could continue to share my observations and experiences with other interested beekeepers as we learn so much more from sharing what we see and do. I normally run workshops, but with the current restrictions due to the Covid pandemic, that has not been … Continue reading Meeting my Patrons