Beekeepers are obsessed with the weather because it has an enormous influence on outcomes. Good weather makes everything easy, and bad weather can make for a terrible year.
Many people, myself included, find spring to be their favourite season. The arrival of snowdrops, then crocuses, blackthorn and early blossoms together with frantic pollen-collecting activity by the bees is a welcome antidote to lockdown. Sometimes beekeepers get a little too excited and forget that we can still […]
Sometimes we look at life on our beautiful planet with wonder and awe at the incredible way in which it all fits together so perfectly. Perhaps some people with a religious or spiritual leaning can see a guiding hand at work. Other times, bad things happen; floods or […]
This summer has been a damp squib. Literally damp, but what on earth is a squib?! I always wondered about that expression. Apparently, a squib is a firework, so a damp squib would be a disappointment if you were expecting an impressive explosion. Damp squib: “a situation or […]
I have been keeping a low profile of late because I have a touch of walrus flu. I don’t think it’s anything exciting like that Covid-19, but who knows? A couple of weeks ago I got back from the gym feeling decidedly green about the whiskers, and since […]
As I was thinking ahead to next spring and summer, and reflecting on seasons past, I decided to check my records to look at swarming. In the season just gone swarming kicked off much earlier than I’d seen before. I have detailed records going back to 2013, which […]
As I was planting out some tomatoes at my Mum’s place today, I became aware of a voice emanating from my back pocket. I grabbed my phone and was horrified to discover that I had “butt called” Murray McGregor of Denrosa Apiaries. I’m crazy busy right now, what […]
What a difference a few weeks makes, weather-wise, in this crazy country I live in. As I munched my way through two slices of malted grain toast with butter and orange marmalade, I looked out this morning on incessant rain. A few weeks ago we were basking in […]
Hotter than Athens A couple of days ago we had a Winter heatwave in the UK courtesy of air being brought up from much further South. On 26 February the Evening Standard reported, “UK February temperature record broken for second day running.” Where I keep my bees, the […]
Here in my part of England, the weather is currently absolutely perfect, and we have shaken off the oppressive depressed state induced by a long cold Winter followed by a miserable Spring. It is incredible how rapidly Nature responds to such changes. We went from skeletal trees and […]
