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Ramblings of a beekeeper:.....
The new season is here at last!
I hope everyones bees have survived the long winter. We lost 2 colonies, one went into winter way too small, just 2 frames of bees. We should have amalgamated it with another but circumstances prevailed and it was overlooked.
The other one was ok when we started feeding fondant in January and it was eating about a pound a week, but it just stopped eating and the bees died of starvation, clustered just under the food source! Silly Bees.
After last years threats Maureen refrained from saying "how nice the hives look in the snow".
From the beginning of February we started to check food supplies on a weekly basis as most of the colonies were eating the fondant rapidly.
Sugar syrup was given to them all on the 27th March, 10 days later than usual but it had been too cold until then. They were packing in the pollen on sunny days.
The feral colony in the mill roof at Lockwood is flying very strongly, the roof void where they have built their nest has a radiator under it, obviously a great help!
Once again we managed to house a mouse in one of the hives over winter, it left a comfy looking little nest and a lot of damage.
Now is the time to start a programme of swapping crown boards & floors for clean ones. we do 2 or 3 at a time then clean up the old ones.
We have a colony to move from a garden in Brockholes, it is on a ledge on top of a steep banking, (must have been crackers to have put it there in the first place!), we could be looking for volunteers to assist, is Edmund Hilary reading this?
We have recently returned from a weeks holiday in France. During this trip we visited the town of Bayeux and in an antiques shop found a smoker. It is an ancient thing but just like new, resplendent with red leather bellows.
Friends have asked if we visited the tapestry museum - I am not mean you understand, but I was not prepared to pay all that to look at a bit of old rag!!
Happy Beekeeping
Jim
Any comments? Contact me on jim.rooney80@ntlworld.com