First find your bees a settled sure abode, Where neither winds can enter (winds blow back The foragers with food returning home) Nor sheep and butting kids tread down the flowers, Nor heifer wandering wide upon the plain Dash off the dew, and bruise the springing blades. Let the gay lizard too keep far aloof [...]
Archive for May, 2008
Two Thousand Year Old Advice on Siting an Apiary
Posted in Bee Lore, Bee Present, Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween on May 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Busy Bee has no Time for Sorrow…..
Posted in Bee Law, Bee Lore, Beetwixt & Beetween on May 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees. He whose face gives no light, shall never become a star. Eternity is in love with the productions of time. The busy bee has no time for sorrow. Extract from Proverbs of Hell by Willam Blake
…… if God is the Hive and the Honeybee ……
Posted in Bee Lore, Beetwixt & Beetween on May 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“I do not believe in God because I’ve never seen him. If he wanted me to believe in him, then surely he would come and speak with me. He would come in through my door saying “Here I am!” But if God is the hive and the honeybee, and pollen and nectar and sun and [...]
What do Ceremonies and Wax have in Common?
Posted in Bee Lore, Bee Present on May 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
One theory for the derivation of the word “ceremony” suggests that it is derived from the Latin word cera meaning wax. It reflects the importance of wax in olden times. Bees wax was involved in many aspects of life, and greatly used by the religious community. Religion, which dominated life, was a great consumer of beeswax. [...]
Given a Solar Wax Melter!
Posted in Bee Present, Beekeeping on May 21, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Andrew made a solar wax melter (from the instructions below) and gave it to me for my birthday last week. Very kind. It it a good design and has been melting wax since the weekend to great effect. The old comb from the brood box (which has gone very dark brown) does not seem to [...]
Tonight I Caught my First Swarm!
Posted in Bee Lore, Bee Present, Beekeeping, Bylaugh on May 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A lady rang this evening to say she had a swarm of bees in her garden. 3 feet off the ground in a young oak tree. Ideal! I said I would be there for 18.00. I used a nucleus box and shook the swarm into the box. I forgot to put a sheet under the [...]
Two New Colonies!
Posted in Bee Present, Beekeeping on May 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Today we picked up two new colonies from a beekeeper in Essex. He is a the third-generation beekeeper – but we did not meet him as he was delivering some other hives to the West Country. The total round trip took five hours – and it was a hot day – but the bees travelled [...]
5,000th Hit!
Posted in Bee Lore, Bee Present on May 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The site achieved its 5,000th hit today. Thanks for all the interest! Keep coming and adding comments!
Weekend Inspection and Other Beekeeping Ramblings
Posted in Bee Present, Beekeeping on May 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I went to see Faith, my last remaining hive at the weekend. All was not well. The bees were buzzing and bringing in nectar and pollen – but there was no sign of a queen or recently laid eggs. And only two frames of brood. Exactly this happened to two of my hives last year. [...]
Bluebags and Beestings
Posted in Bee Lore, Bee Present, Bee-ology, Beekeeping on May 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It’s now springtime here in Australia … my favourite time of the year. Not that winter in Brisbane is too bad mind you – shirtsleeves weather for much of the time. Anyway, springtime invariably brings strong memories of my childhood, growing up in a sleepy seaside suburb full of old timber houses that time forgot [...]
