My son Adrian, and his lovely wife Lucy have recently presented us with a handsome Grandson, Thomas. My daughter Alison has already given us 3 lovely Grand daughters.
They live 57 miles from us near Morpeth. Thomas lives in Hampshire. Only 420 miles away! I foresee much travelling in the future.
Adrian, who is an Officer in the Royal Navy, http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/surface-fleet/patrol-vessels/fishery-protection-squadron/offshore-patrol-vessels/hms-tyne/commanding-officer/ was able to spend some leave time at the birth, so we took advantage to travel South to meet Thomas and have a rare family meeting.
It is genuinely fulfilling to see new family members coming along, and providing hopes and aspirations for the future. Also, we can play Grand parents even more now!
His Dad has already chosen a mountain bike for him and I am trying to locate a small beekeepers veil and a fishing rod!.
The journey down south is long but easy as long as the traffic works for you.
We make several short stops for breaks and to let Meghan (my Dog) have comfort breaks.
Our first stop is usually at the new service station at Wetherby. Both my wife and I have slight disabilities, sufficient for us to be issued with blue badges to allow us to use disabled parking bays. We only use them when we would have to hobble a distance greater than is comfortable. Whenever we can, we use normal parking spaces on the assumption that someone with greater disability needs the space more than us.
I am always annoyed at the blatant disregard that so many other road users treat the disabled bays and park their motors in them when they don`t have either a badge or disability. Our stop at Wetherby was a case in point. Even from the disabled bays it is a marathon walk to use the facilities here, and inevitably the bays are always in demand. Sure enough a red car pulled in to the bay next to us, 3 young people got out and left the driver in the car. No badge and no obvious disability noted. The driver stayed in the car running the engine to excess. I noted that the car was sign written on the door with the logo of the owning organisation emblazoned thereon. The three passengers eventually returned, to the accompaniment of loud horn blowing from the attention seeking driver, at which point I mentioned to them through the window that they were parking selfishly and that they were stopping genuinely disabled people from using the bays. The driver then hurled abuse at me and tore off at a ridiculous speed. The logo on the side of the car proudly displayed that it belonged to BBC 3 Counties Radio. I am sure that their normally politically correct position would frown on this sort of behaviour.
The chap in the car on the other side of me said that he would have come to my aid, but he had no legs!
I was shaken by the behaviour of the BBC man, and when I arrived at my sons house I looked at the BBC web site and identified the driver from a photograph on the site,as a presenter for 3 counties radio. Obviously not a good man to project the BBC`s image.
Rant over.
We did not let it spoil our day and eventually arrived in Horndean to make acquaintance with young Thomas. I wish him well in life and for the future.
It was quite something to see my son changed from his usual self into a loving and caring father. the pride in his and Lucy`s eyes was obvious to see. Irene and I know that Thomas is in the very best of hands and can look forward to a wonderful future.
Saturday 7 November 2009
Tuesday 3 November 2009
MOVING ON
I am now resigned to the fact that I have probably seen the last of my bees and hives etc which were stolen from Penmanshiel.
The site was particularly good, situated as it is alongside the main East Coast rail line, where it passes for several miles through natural woodland, open country and a considerable area where very little intensive agriculture is carried out. It is also fairly close to foothills where heather abounds. Consequently the forage for the bees was particularly good with a comparatively long series of nectar flows. Unfortunately it was also in full view of the A1. This may have been the reason that it was targeted by possibly an opportunist thief, who had noticed it whilst travelling the A1.
I am now making plans to re-establish my beekeeping activities.
Before the hives were stolen, I had already made an arrangement with a local farmer to place some hives in a quiet woodland area on the edge of my village. This was planned for next season. As I now have only one colony, this move will have to be placed on hold until I have made increase to my stock.
The new colony which Pat so kindly gave to me, is situated in an ideal setting but it is approximately 30 miles from home, so I am probably going to have to move it, or increase the number of colonies in this locality, otherwise travelling costs will far outweigh the advantages of its location. More decisions to make! Meanwhile I have visited this hive and fed the bees via an Ashworth feeder with 10 litres of sugar syrup to ensure sufficient stores to get them through the winter. I am keeping my fingers (and everything else) crossed that they survive until the spring when I hope to use this stock as the nucleus for my new colonies.
One of the things that I learned during a lifetime of beekeeping, is that you have to work with the seasons when dealing with bees. So spring time, when the bees start to stir in their nest and the queen resumes more active egg laying, will be the time to try to persuade the bees to agree to increase.
I am also considering the purchase of several packages of bees to introduce into new hives, although the price required by the bee breeders may curtail this option. Bee packages containing around three and a half pounds weight of bees and one queen were last season costing about £120. Quite an investment for what is now basically a hobby for me. Hopefully I may be able to acquire some stray swarms during May or June, although with so many colonies dieing out through so called colony collapse disorder, and general winter losses, swarms are now a much rarer phenomenon than they once were. The demand for bees may well outstrip the supply and costs will probably rise beyond this next year.
More soon.
The site was particularly good, situated as it is alongside the main East Coast rail line, where it passes for several miles through natural woodland, open country and a considerable area where very little intensive agriculture is carried out. It is also fairly close to foothills where heather abounds. Consequently the forage for the bees was particularly good with a comparatively long series of nectar flows. Unfortunately it was also in full view of the A1. This may have been the reason that it was targeted by possibly an opportunist thief, who had noticed it whilst travelling the A1.
I am now making plans to re-establish my beekeeping activities.
Before the hives were stolen, I had already made an arrangement with a local farmer to place some hives in a quiet woodland area on the edge of my village. This was planned for next season. As I now have only one colony, this move will have to be placed on hold until I have made increase to my stock.
The new colony which Pat so kindly gave to me, is situated in an ideal setting but it is approximately 30 miles from home, so I am probably going to have to move it, or increase the number of colonies in this locality, otherwise travelling costs will far outweigh the advantages of its location. More decisions to make! Meanwhile I have visited this hive and fed the bees via an Ashworth feeder with 10 litres of sugar syrup to ensure sufficient stores to get them through the winter. I am keeping my fingers (and everything else) crossed that they survive until the spring when I hope to use this stock as the nucleus for my new colonies.
One of the things that I learned during a lifetime of beekeeping, is that you have to work with the seasons when dealing with bees. So spring time, when the bees start to stir in their nest and the queen resumes more active egg laying, will be the time to try to persuade the bees to agree to increase.
I am also considering the purchase of several packages of bees to introduce into new hives, although the price required by the bee breeders may curtail this option. Bee packages containing around three and a half pounds weight of bees and one queen were last season costing about £120. Quite an investment for what is now basically a hobby for me. Hopefully I may be able to acquire some stray swarms during May or June, although with so many colonies dieing out through so called colony collapse disorder, and general winter losses, swarms are now a much rarer phenomenon than they once were. The demand for bees may well outstrip the supply and costs will probably rise beyond this next year.
More soon.
Monday 26 October 2009
Recent Events Continued
You can probably imagine how I felt, seeing my little apiary devoid of any vestige of bees and equipment.
Just silence where one would normally expect, even at this time of the year, to experience the sound of bees.
It was a mixture of shock and disbelief, and then the realisation that all my efforts over the last 18 months had also disappeared, refurbished hive parts, and some old but still in use equipment, and an old but complete Glen hive which I kept for nostalgic reasons. Glen hives were once very popular in Scotland, but progress had overtaken them and most hives now in use up here are known as Smith hives. Sad to see a piece of history go with the rest. I am very unlikely to be able to replace that..
The majority of my stocksare were kept in Smiths as are 90% of Scottish bees. These hives are easily constructed, use short lugged BS frames, and are much easier to transport to the heather in the season.
Just silence where one would normally expect, even at this time of the year, to experience the sound of bees.
It was a mixture of shock and disbelief, and then the realisation that all my efforts over the last 18 months had also disappeared, refurbished hive parts, and some old but still in use equipment, and an old but complete Glen hive which I kept for nostalgic reasons. Glen hives were once very popular in Scotland, but progress had overtaken them and most hives now in use up here are known as Smith hives. Sad to see a piece of history go with the rest. I am very unlikely to be able to replace that..
The majority of my stocks
Because almost all Scottish hives are of the Smith design, my missing ones are likely to go un noticed amongst others.
I contacted the local Police Station to report the theft. They were somewhat bemused at first but they realised that the loss of the colonies was probably a crime and they publicised the details. Any news regarding bees soon gets picked up by the media and the police press release certainly had that effect. BBC Scotland news carried the story and local press agencies spread the news amongst the Scottish Press. Unfortunately this has not led to the return of the bees. I fear that they are now long gone. It is a sad fact that bee and hive theft is becoming a growing problem throughout the UK.
I contacted the local Police Station to report the theft. They were somewhat bemused at first but they realised that the loss of the colonies was probably a crime and they publicised the details. Any news regarding bees soon gets picked up by the media and the police press release certainly had that effect. BBC Scotland news carried the story and local press agencies spread the news amongst the Scottish Press. Unfortunately this has not led to the return of the bees. I fear that they are now long gone. It is a sad fact that bee and hive theft is becoming a growing problem throughout the UK.
I said in part one of this blog, that we have many ways to reflect. Bad, puzzleing and annoying are well covered by the foregoing saga, but life goes on. Moments of kindness come when least expected.
Another good beekeeping friend who is soon to move away rang and said that he had a spare colony located in a wood about 20 miles from my home, "Would you like it to start you off again?".
A simple question offering a generous gift, restoring my faith in human nature. To you, Pat, I thank you for your moments of kindness.
I had to cut part 1 of this blog short because of pressing family commitments. I am slowly catching up now, but more happenings have occured, giving me more moments on which to reflect and to continue the theme of the first 2 paragraphs of part 1.
I shall update you later this week, when hopefully some sort of normallity will have returned to my life..
Sunday 18 October 2009
Recent Events
Many things in life can trigger in us, time to reflect.
You know the sort of thing - close escapes, moments of kindness, emotional trauma, unexplained happenings, unexpected encounters, disbelief in the actions of others etc.
Well, the past 14 or so days have presented me with a varied selection of ways to reflect. Good and bad, puzzling and obvious, annoying and gratifying.
Let me explain.
I have been a keeper of bees for almost as long as I can remember. sometimes with success, often with failure, but always with a sense of gratification that the bees exist, not only as part of the greater plan to help our survival on this fragile planet we call Earth, but also to add to the rich and varied life and wonderment of the human race.
I don`t morally own my bees any more than I own the thousands of acres of fabulous and bounteous Scottish countryside, over which they are free to fly at any time, any where they choose. I suppose that I may briefly own bees that I may buy commercially from the bee breeders, but surely, as soon as I hive the bees in one of my hives, the bees are free spirits and can just as easily merrily fly off, to what to them is a more attractive location. leaving me out of pocket and out of luck. I merely own the structures in which I hope that they will cluster and carry out their focused lives. If I am lucky, my clumsy attempts at husbandry do not cause them to decamp and in good years I can steal a proportion of their hard gotten gains - the honey crop.
I don`t own the land on which my apiaries stand either, but I refer to those small parcels of land, as my apiaries as a matter of course. My bee hives are there due to the goodwill and co-operation of enlightened land owners, who appreciate the benefit that bees will surely bring to the flora of the surrounding land and to the eventual mutual benefit of us all.
Bees have been at my Scottish Borders Apiary for around 20 years. I was asked if I would like to take over the site by a beekeeper from Edinburgh, who sadly, through the passage of time, family health problems and the high cost of fuel, was finding it difficult to find the time to tend to the bees. He was given the bees and equipment by another beekeeper who had sadly also been unable to devote enough time to the upkeep of the hives. Unfortunately, among the 20 or so individual bee hives only a few were deemed to be worth saving and restoring. most were not and were beyond any economic repair.
Ted, (not his real name) told me that he thought that several years had passed since the hives had received any serious attention, before he became aware of them, but a few colonies had survived and were worth saving. He tidied up the site and repaired and replaced some hives and they were starting to thrive .
Ted was experiencing difficulties finding time to devote to the bees, and happily accepted my offer to take over the apiary, hives and bees.
So here I was once again patron to bees. This time in the Scottish Borders. I spent time and some money in restoration and made a decision that during my first year with these bees I would assess their potential with a view to increasing stocks and building up the colonies with the aim of better honey production in the future.
New stands were made, frames rescued and fitted with fresh foundation. old equipment was removed and either made serviceable, renewed or discarded, and the bees once again responded and gathered quite large quantities of honey.
Came the time this autumn to assess the situation in the apiary, to see if any colonies needed further help to go through the winter, so I paid a visit to the apiary.
Nothing.
No Bees, no hives, no stands, just empty spaces, a small pile of black ash, some scrap hive parts and the obligatory odd bricks that seem to accumulate in almost every apiary.
The whole caboodle had been removed.
Nothing left at all.
Everything, lock stock and barrel had gone!
More to follow on this theme as soon as I can
You know the sort of thing - close escapes, moments of kindness, emotional trauma, unexplained happenings, unexpected encounters, disbelief in the actions of others etc.
Well, the past 14 or so days have presented me with a varied selection of ways to reflect. Good and bad, puzzling and obvious, annoying and gratifying.
Let me explain.
I have been a keeper of bees for almost as long as I can remember. sometimes with success, often with failure, but always with a sense of gratification that the bees exist, not only as part of the greater plan to help our survival on this fragile planet we call Earth, but also to add to the rich and varied life and wonderment of the human race.
I don`t morally own my bees any more than I own the thousands of acres of fabulous and bounteous Scottish countryside, over which they are free to fly at any time, any where they choose. I suppose that I may briefly own bees that I may buy commercially from the bee breeders, but surely, as soon as I hive the bees in one of my hives, the bees are free spirits and can just as easily merrily fly off, to what to them is a more attractive location. leaving me out of pocket and out of luck. I merely own the structures in which I hope that they will cluster and carry out their focused lives. If I am lucky, my clumsy attempts at husbandry do not cause them to decamp and in good years I can steal a proportion of their hard gotten gains - the honey crop.
I don`t own the land on which my apiaries stand either, but I refer to those small parcels of land, as my apiaries as a matter of course. My bee hives are there due to the goodwill and co-operation of enlightened land owners, who appreciate the benefit that bees will surely bring to the flora of the surrounding land and to the eventual mutual benefit of us all.
Bees have been at my Scottish Borders Apiary for around 20 years. I was asked if I would like to take over the site by a beekeeper from Edinburgh, who sadly, through the passage of time, family health problems and the high cost of fuel, was finding it difficult to find the time to tend to the bees. He was given the bees and equipment by another beekeeper who had sadly also been unable to devote enough time to the upkeep of the hives. Unfortunately, among the 20 or so individual bee hives only a few were deemed to be worth saving and restoring. most were not and were beyond any economic repair.
Ted, (not his real name) told me that he thought that several years had passed since the hives had received any serious attention, before he became aware of them, but a few colonies had survived and were worth saving. He tidied up the site and repaired and replaced some hives and they were starting to thrive .
Ted was experiencing difficulties finding time to devote to the bees, and happily accepted my offer to take over the apiary, hives and bees.
So here I was once again patron to bees. This time in the Scottish Borders. I spent time and some money in restoration and made a decision that during my first year with these bees I would assess their potential with a view to increasing stocks and building up the colonies with the aim of better honey production in the future.
New stands were made, frames rescued and fitted with fresh foundation. old equipment was removed and either made serviceable, renewed or discarded, and the bees once again responded and gathered quite large quantities of honey.
Came the time this autumn to assess the situation in the apiary, to see if any colonies needed further help to go through the winter, so I paid a visit to the apiary.
Nothing.
No Bees, no hives, no stands, just empty spaces, a small pile of black ash, some scrap hive parts and the obligatory odd bricks that seem to accumulate in almost every apiary.
The whole caboodle had been removed.
Nothing left at all.
Everything, lock stock and barrel had gone!
More to follow on this theme as soon as I can
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
