Tales from a down-shifted family
- Making the most of modest means
Thought I’d share this warning from FERA with everyone as I guess it isn’t just beekeepers who could keep an eye out for them and report any sightings. As many of you know, the Asian hornet, Vespa velutina, is a predator of honey bees and other beneficial insects. It has recently extended its geographical range from...
We all went to the National Library last night to watch a private showing of the film ‘More Than Honey’ with the Aberystwyth Beekeepers Association. Not only was it a pleasant evening with our fellow beekeepers, but the film itself was amazing. It’s a documentary providing an in-depth look at honeybee colonies in California, Switzerland,...
It was far too wet and miserable last weekend for any proper beekeeping, but we did manage some – or rather, Anna did. We hired the steam wax extractor from ABKA and extracted all of the old, dark brown wax from old frames that we had lying around. It’s a fairly mucky job but the...
With temperatures ‘soaring’ to 19.3ºC at the weekend it was a perfect opportunity to take another look at the bees and carry out a hive inspection. Pollen We had no real reason for doing so other than the fact that we are itching to get started with some proper beekeeping this year. The hives were...
We had quite a productive day on Sunday. It started with my usual run and swim, but this week I did it in Aberystwyth as the pool in Machynlleth was being used for the Dyfi Dash. We had to be in Aberystwyth for 11:30am anyway for the Sport Relief Mile with the Scouts so the...
Temperature may have only just got into double figures today with the Borth Weather Station recording a maximum of 11.1ºC at 1:47pm, but the bees were busy. We watched them for a while and could see that they were bringing in loads of pollen. There was was orange pollen, lots of white pollen, yellow pollen...
Just thought I’d post an email I’ve just received from FERA, The Food and Environment Research Agency, seeing as it echoes what I have been saying about the risks of bee starvation given the mild winter we have had. With the continued mild weather persisting past winter, it is possible that some colonies may be...
With the mercury rising – into double figures at least, light winds and almost some sunshine, I thought it was time that the bees should start flying. The temperature in our garden peaked at 10.9°C today, but the sun didn’t quite make it out properly. However, I took a quick glance at the hives and sure...
I don’t think anyone would deny that we’ve had a fairly awful winter so far this year. It hasn’t been cold yet, but it’s just been wet, windy and miserable. There does seem to be hope on the horizon though. There’s a brief respite in the stormy weather today, the wind has gone and it isn’t raining at...
After the recent storms and flood damage everywhere, we’ve been wondering how our bees have been faring. It has been a funny ‘winter’ so far as it has just been really mild and really wet. The bottom of the garden, where our beehives are is still waterlogged and flooded, but with wellies on I can...
Fitness / Technology / Triathlon
Fixing the Altimeter on my Garmin Forerunner 910XT
Monday, March 17th, 2014
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