Monthly Archives: April 2024

Beekeeping jobs backing up in the workshop

Posted on April 20, 2024 by james

I’m starting to back up jobs in the workshop… I brought home another two roofs I’d replaced today so now I have four to be repaired. They all need new sides. I’m sure I have some offcuts of cedar gravel … Continue reading →

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Colony inspections today

Posted on April 20, 2024 by james

The first apiary I visited today was the one I’ve been setting up for a local charity. I’d taken a second brood box and spare roof as I knew the roof needed some repair work and I was kind of … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 3rd January 2023: Christmas T-shirts

Posted on April 19, 2024 by james

Gifts from my children. And so appropriate that it’s almost a shame to wear them when they might get damaged 😀

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Apiary land(e)scaping

Posted on April 19, 2024 by james

I stopped by an apiary this evening to find out what state it was in and how much work was required. The brambles were starting to encroach a bit at the end of last Summer and I’d decided to take … Continue reading →

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Splitting a hive with a queen cell

Posted on April 19, 2024 by james

I decided this morning that despite the breezy weather I’d crack on and split the hive I found a queen cell in yesterday. I gathered all the parts for a new hive together and placed then next to the existing … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 3rd January 2023: Time for a new smoker

Posted on April 18, 2024 by james

I kept my old (cardboard box) smoker in the greenhouse because it was way too smelly to stay in the house. I fetched it the other day intending to do some smoking and discovered that smoked cardboard is in fact … Continue reading →

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Dealing with a swarming colony when you can’t find the queen

Posted on April 18, 2024 by james

As I wrote in my previous post, it appears that one of my colonies may be about to swarm. It’s so stuffed with bees that there’s no chance of finding the queen easily, so I really need to deal with … Continue reading →

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Time to move home

Posted on April 18, 2024 by james

Well, not “move” so much perhaps, as to get a new one. It was a very pleasant morning this morning when the wind wasn’t blowing, so I decided to swap three colonies of bees from the boxes they were in … Continue reading →

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BT are utterly bloody useless, part 4

Posted on April 17, 2024 by james

At last today I’ve been able to get access to my account details once again. Possibly I could have done earlier, but no-one has actually bothered to inform me of the fact. I just had to try it after the … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 21st December 2022: Winter solstice

Posted on April 17, 2024 by james

So what on earth are these dandelions up to?

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