Category Archives: Smallholding

Memory Lane, 5th January 2023: Finished smoker

Posted on April 20, 2024 by james

The new smoker is now finished, complete with tray for the smoke generator and drip tray to stop food falling onto it. Time to take it for a test drive!

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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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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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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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Spears at lunchtime

Posted on April 17, 2024 by james

It’s been two and a half years in the making, but this morning my wife persuaded me to cut these so we could have them with lunch. After such a long wait it was quite exciting to finally get to … Continue reading →

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More beehive repairs

Posted on April 17, 2024 by james

I’m not entirely sure where the time went today, but a fair bit of it was spent working on more beehive parts. I filled a few dents in some poly brood boxes and repainted them (and in a poly roof), … Continue reading →

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