Bees, Chickens, and Cake
We have had a huge amount of rain here in Sussex - and across the UK - recently, and my house is thankfully situated on higher ground so I am not in immediate danger of inundation, although my garden does get standing water in the sunken section, much to the ducks' delight: https://videopress.com/v/LCtFumti?preloadContent=metadata Further down …
We took a trip to Langney Marsh this afternoon to give the West Rise school bees a final check for the autumn. There was a lot of standing water, perfect for the snipe which zig-zagged up sharply as we passed, and we both heard and saw a number of reed buntings as well as the …
Time for a visit to the Marsh bees, to see how both colonies are getting on. The entrance to the top bar hive is facing in to the prevailing wind and, given how the only surviving colonies had their backs to it, we want to make sure that the bees don't have to deal with …
It was a hot and sultry afternoon to meet at the Marsh to discuss hedgerow plans, and how to integrate the various demands on the site in a sympathetic and unified manner. Paul and I met with Mike Fairclough, the Head of West Rise Junior School; Virginia Pullen, Chief Landscape Architect for East Sussex County …
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 …
A beautiful day at the Marsh to check the bees. We had asked Oscar at The Shed to make us a new Warré box for our hive, and he had commissioned Jim and Dino to do so, which they did - out of a former church pew: We wanted to get the next box on …
The bees in the Warré hive at theWest Rise School Apiary at Langney Marsh have done extremely well, considering they got through the winter in one box, and have had no supplementary feeding. Paul noticed that they had filled the previously unoccupied lower box so a new addition was needed urgently! This has taken us …
At my introductory beekeeping courses, I always recommend using a British National hive, or its cousin the WBC, as they are readily available, and provide beginners with large boxes and robust, well-proportioned frames with which to handle the bees. Just because they are used commercially doesn't mean one has to manage one's bees in that …
I've not been down to check the bees at the Marsh since February, although Paul has dropped by to see how they are getting on. There was a chilly breeze and we were pleased to see the bees flying in with pollen. It's amazing to see that they've survived the winter in one Warré box …
It was another beautiful day at Langney Marsh when we went to check the bees: The weather has been very warm and dry recently and we were hoping that the bees would be foraging enthusiastically. We couldn't see a huge number of nectar sources in the immediate vicinity and the prevailing wind was doing its …
Wayward Bee 