Wednesday 30 January 2013

B is for Bees and C is for Course.

Well I guess you have all figured out now that I am quite keen to keep bees. But not just honey bees. I want to help all the bees and so create an environment that they could all live in together. With this in mind I have been researching the different sort of homes that bees like to dwell in and so for Christmas I received a wonderful solitary bee hive.

A Solitary Bee Hive
A Solitary Bee Hive
Solitary bees live alone and like to find a crack that they can go into and lay one egg and they will then spend the summer looking for nectar to put inside for the egg. At the end of the season they seal this and the new bee hatches out the following year. Although you don't get honey from solitary bees they are just as important for pollinating crops as are the bumble bees who do live in a colony but not large enough to create enough comb and honey for us to eat. 
The best thing about solitary bees is that they are non-aggressive and have no stings. This makes them great little pollinators to attract to your gardens if you have children...or even for schools to think about putting in their nature and sensory gardens.

As for courses.......

Bee Keeping Course in Grantham.
Bee Keeping Course in Grantham.


I have signed up for the above course. It doesn't start until April but I am quite looking forward to it. I don't have to go onto a course but there is quite a lot to learn about keeping bees so I figured this was the way to go. As I had signed up for the course I was invited to a meeting of the Grantham Beekeepers Association which took place last night so I popped down and met a few Beekeepers and also a few others that have signed up for the course. They were a friendly bunch with a lot of knowledge to share and I was given lots to think about. It was here that I asked about keeping different sorts of bees in close proximity and I found out that one of the bee keepers actually had bumble and honey bees residing in the same hive and did so in harmony all of last summer.

I was given plenty of information on what I would need and what sort of places to go to to purchase my items. There is a lot to get but I am not in a rush as I want to take time getting equipment that is right for me and my bees and have a lot of things to sort through.

On a totally different note, we have a village lick magazine delivered once a month. It isn't something you subscribe to and it is delivered free to our doors. Inside it is a 'Barrowby News' section and my blog got a little mention which was really nice so if any of you reading this are from the local area thank for coming by and I hoped you enjoyed my ramblings and visit again!!
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Monday 28 January 2013

A is for Apiarist

Apiarist...the keeper of bees
Apiarist...the keeper of bees.

Yes...this is my big venture for 2013. I'm not doing this on a whim. It's something I have thought about for a while now and at the last committee meeting we had I was finally told that yes I could have the half a plot that nobody wanted as it is in such bad shape and I can put bees on it. 

It will be a while before things get up and running, there is a lot to be sorted out, but I am very much looking forward to this new hobby.

Sunday 27 January 2013

Silence is Golden....

.....Well it is when you have nothing much to say and manage avoid writing a totally boring topic-less post like I did for so long. But alas...it will come to you now as we are nearing the end of January and this is my first posting of 2013....seriously only the second time I have written that date too so i am impressed I keep getting it right!!!

So why haven't I written anything?? Well it's not that there wasn't anything too write...there is always 'stuff' to be said whether it's on or off topic of the blog but the fact is there is nothing going on down the allotment and if I'm perfectly honest I haven't even been down since before Christmas as everything is at that stand still time of year and I so badly want to get started and at the moment it just isn't possible!!

So I just avoided everything 'allotmenty' for a while and played my game instead....which incidentally is about farming and growing crops and stuff so I guess I couldn't totally leave it alone. I was told by a work colleague last week that I 'Need to get out more.'....and I am in total agreement with them, it's high time the weather picked up and I could get back down the allotment> Another colleague told me how they had been watching 'Allotment Wars' on T.V. and thought of me. Guess it's nice that they take the time to think of me out of the workplace!!

So we are already on the 4th Sunday in January which means that next week will be taking us into the second month of the year...kind of scary how quickly the time goes by but I guess it's no quicker than normal....just seems that way when you can't get on with the things you really want to.

We saw the new year in with some mild weather and I remember saying to my Hubby the first weekend of the month how if i didn't know better I would think it was mid April. Of course all of that changed as the cold snap enveloped us and the snow hit. It wasn't too much snow to be honest, and I certainly didn't get any time off work for it, although somehow the bin men managed to get a week off and I was told by the local council that my bin would not be collected for a fortnight due to health and safety. Funny how they didn't give everyone the time off and pay them....surely the rest of the towns safety was at risk?!?! OK, rant over and moving and moving on.....( just so you know apparently it's been that long since I typed anything I keep hitting the 'caps lock' button instead of 'a'...how bad is that!!)

Anyway the weather warmed up yesterday and for the first time in a week and a half I saw my garden....WHAT A MESS!!!....please come back snow!

I'm not a fan of the snow...but it does mange to brighten up the winter a little. Of course if it just thawed I would be out there getting on with something...but no it has to warm up and pour with rain and get windy all at the same time. You just have to love Mother Nature!!

Hhhmmmm....With all that said I now sit here wondering what to write. I do actually have a few things up my sleeve but nothing that should be put in this post to be honest. Also I need to get back into putting up some recipes....and talking about seeds and gardens and nature and taking photos. I'm sure it will all come flooding back to me very shortly and I will get into the swing of things again.

I really should have got out with the camera during the snow......maybe got finished knitting that cardigan.......or planning what to plant.....guess there is some stuff to get done so I will leave you all alone now (breather a sigh of relief!) but I will be back later in the week with some good news...until then.

(See I told you silence was golden!!)

Oh hope you all enjoyed whatever way you chose to celebrate the New Year coming in.