Two years ago last month this blog started. I continue to be amazed at how many people visit the site. This year has also been quite extraordinary – having caught about 8 swarms of bees. We now have a total of nine colonies. Quite an increase from single old Faith at the start of 2008! [...]
Archive for the ‘Bylaugh’ Category
Two Years On!
Posted in Bee Law, Bee Lore, Bee Present, Bee-ology, Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween, Bylaugh on August 20, 2009 | 2 Comments »
When it all started
Posted in Bee Lore, Bee Present, Bylaugh on November 1, 2008 | 1 Comment »
What luck! My sister dug out my mother’s old photographs of the swarm that we had back in 1986. They are the original photos which start the Bylaugh storyline which is tagged as a separate part of this blook. Here is the swarm on the fence after it had landed and before it was caught. [...]
A Year On
Posted in Bee Lore, Bee Present, Beekeeping, Bylaugh on July 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It was a year ago yesterday that I started writing this blook. I never dreamt that it would get so big and have so many entries and have received so many hits by now. It has been a great way to relax in the evenings after work as well as a good place to record [...]
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 [...]
Honey for Tea!
Posted in Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween, Bylaugh on March 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The beekeeping lady then worked quickly. She put a large sheet on the ground and put the box with the bees on top. In a very short space of time all the bees were gone and there was no more noise. She slowly lifed the box and put it back into her car. She then removed [...]
Defying the Law of Gravity: Melting Bees Uphill
Posted in Bee Law, Bee Lore, Bee Present, Bee-ology, Beekeeping, Bylaugh on February 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Then the veiled angel lit a match and put it into the can she was holding. The “smoker” started smoking. She squeezed a small contraption on the end of the can and smoke appeared from the nozzle. She said at me in her low, chanting voice: “It reminds them of a forest fire and although [...]
Talking to the Bees
Posted in Bee Lore, Bee Present, Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween, Bylaugh on February 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
She went back to her box, picked it up and can and then carried it slowly up to the swarm. And she started speaking in a low voice. It was almost like singing. Her hands were bare, yet the rest of her body was covered in white. I did not understand this, because I though that [...]
An Easy Job!
Posted in Bee Present, Beekeeping, Bylaugh on January 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Then she started chanting in a very soft and gentle voice. It made me feel very calm and I lowered my voice in sympathy. My head filled with questions that I wanted to ask, but her calmness somehow slowed down my racing brain and I remained silent so that she could concentrate on what seemed [...]
A Radiant, Veiled Angel
Posted in Bee Present, Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween, Bylaugh on January 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I was still intrigued about the whole affair when the beekeeper arrived. She parked her car well down the road and walked up the small drive in a white bee-keeping suit. She had a hat on that made her look like the cross between a nun and Joan of Arc. A veil hung down from [...]
The Value of a Swarm of Bees
Posted in Bee Lore, Bee Present, Beekeeping, Bylaugh on December 13, 2007 | 1 Comment »
I was surprised that the beekeeper was so willing to come to our house so quickly. Later I discovered that collecting a swarm of bees is not like sending for a rat catcher. It is not even like mole catching. A swarm of bees has a value – and if you want to take them [...]
