Category Archives: Bee-keeping

Memory Lane, 14th February 2023: Bees love the Sun

Posted on April 23, 2024 by james

It may only be scraping 5°C outdoors, but the Sun is shining and bees are on the move, foraging for water in the condensation on the tank we use to catch rain from the roof of my father-in-law’s greenhouse. And … Continue reading →

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First roof replacement

Posted on April 23, 2024 by james

This evening I finished gluing together the new sides of the first of four beehive roofs that I have to repair. It doesn’t look too bad I think, considering the lump of scrap that I started with. Hopefully tomorrow I … Continue reading →

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Visiting the last of my beehives for the first time this Spring

Posted on April 23, 2024 by james

The closure of a local bridge to, well, almost anywhere really, meant that the shortest two alternative routes (at least for small vehicles) took be past almost all of the hives that I hadn’t yet visited so far this Spring, … Continue reading →

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Busy as a bee(keeper)

Posted on April 21, 2024 by james

After getting through other stuff today I thought I’d push on with a few things in the workshop to try to clear a bit more space. First up was turning some old frames from which I’d recovered the wax ages … Continue reading →

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Super super

Posted on April 21, 2024 by james

I went out to put a super on a hive this morning and to deliver a few (rather late) jars of rent. As I was suiting up two young girls, perhaps five and seven years old, ran to the gate … Continue reading →

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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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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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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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