My brain ticked fast to work out what was going on, but it did not come up with an answer! The only similar experience I had ever had like this was a few years before. I was getting off a bus with a load of other people in (what was then called) Rhodesia in Africa. The [...]
Archive for July, 2007
Partial Eclipse of the Sun?
Posted in Bylaugh on July 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
The Largest Aircraft Carrier in the World
Posted in Bylaugh on July 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
And then the noise started. It sounded like a frenetic buzzing coming from the sun. I looked at my sister in sheer amazement. She looked back. We were used to the American air force jets buzzing about overhead. The local air force base often used the surrounding countryside as a mock war-zone. They flew particularly [...]
The Omphalos from Delphi
Posted in Bee Lore, Beetwixt & Beetween on July 22, 2007 | 5 Comments »
An omphalos is a religious stone artifact in the ancient world. In Greek, the word omphalos means “navel”. According to the ancient Greeks, Zeus sent out two eagles to fly across the world to meet at its center, the “navel” of the world. Omphalos stones used to mark this point were erected in several areas [...]
Aristaeus: Discoverer of Beekeeping
Posted in Bee Lore, Beekeeping on July 22, 2007 | 2 Comments »
In ancient Greek mythology, Aristaeus (or Aristaios) was credited with the discovery of bee-keeping. He was the son of Apollo and the huntress Cyrene. Aristeus (meaning “the best”) became a cult title in many places in the Mediterranean. Which, co-incidentally, is where I was born! More about Aristeus can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristaeus.
Spot-Dark
Posted in Bylaugh on July 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
For about second (although it seemed like several) the darkening sun and the slowness of time was mesmerising. The haze still hung in the valley below. The willow still breathed not a whisper. I looked down the field to the trees near the road to see if there were any long shadows there. There weren’t. [...]
Cakes for Tea?
Posted in Bylaugh on July 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Mole trapping is not really a team sport and we soon became bored looking at Dad’s intensive trapping routines. So we went round to the willow tree to see if there was anything interesting going on there. Maybe Mum had made some cakes for tea and had put them out early. It was nearly 4 [...]
On Queen Bees
Posted in Beekeeping on July 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
There are exceptions to all rules – and I believe that others have found an exception to this rule. But I have not. So far as I am concerned this rule holds true: that there is only one Queen Bee in each Hive. And when there are two queens – such as when a new [...]
The Power of Now
Posted in Bee Present on July 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Five years ago, a good friend told me about a book. I read the book and it somehow changed the way I look at life. It is by Eckhart Tolle and it is called “The Power of Now”. The theme for the book is very simple -and I have since discovered is the basis of all religions. [...]
Moles and Mines
Posted in Bylaugh on July 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
It was one of those hot, hazy summer days. The holidays seemed to have gone on for weeks. The willow in the garden was silent. Normally the willow rustled in a kind whisper from the slightest breeze. But today it was completely still. The air across the valley to Bylaugh hung like a hazy lazy [...]
Our Dependency on Honeybees as Pollinators
Posted in Bee Present on July 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Bees are more important to us in their role as crop pollinators than as honey producers. One third of our food is the product of pollination and honeybees perform approximately 80% of all crop pollination.
