This last week of beautiful weather has given us a good start on the seasons hay making. Phil has mowed every morning from Saturday 28th May until Friday 3rd June. The cut grass has been spread and rowed daily, taking about 3.5 days to dry. The first hay was bought in on Tuesday 31st, with more bought in each day since then. Rain was forecast … Continue reading A Good Start Made
The appearance of the dandelions, which began a few weeks ago, is the cue to think about the “spring expansion” of our Warré bee hives. Last week’s warm sunny weather was the ideal opportunity to carry out the work. Here is Phil and his beekeeping assistant, wheelbarrow loaded and ready to go. In Warré hives, expansion is carried out by placing empty boxes underneath the … Continue reading Spring Beekeeping
While Phil was at the Scythe Festival, a swarm moved into the bait hive we have on top of the red barn. So on his return he took the bees down to his out apiary in the village then put the bait hive back on the barn, complete with a box of natural comb saved from one of our other Warré hives. A Warre box … Continue reading A Swarm in June is Worth a Silver Spoon