To me, the bee season never seems to last very long. I’m already thinking about winter holidays and it’s still August. Perhaps this has something to do with all the rain we have had in my area over the last few weeks. As a well padded walrus I have plenty of insulation about me but … Read more
There is an ancient symbiotic relationship between the walrus and the honeybee. We have all heard the expression, “float like a walrus, sting like a bee”, and this bond has been forged over millennia – we depend on each other. It’s not always easy though. I have had plenty of disasters in my beekeeping time, … Read more
I’m back home in Blighty after a wonderful stay in Vermont, a very pretty corner of the USA near the border with Canada which reminded me of parts of Scotland. Instead of whisky they have a big maple syrup industry, and instead of the midge it’s the mosquito. This year they have had lots of … Read more
Vermont based honey farmer and honeybee queen breeder Mike Palmer is a kind, patient and extremely knowledgeable chap. When I asked him what I could bring from the UK on my recent visit to meet him he asked for heather comb honey. Comb honey is what people who really like honey eat, because it is … Read more
Recently I visited waitbutwhy.com and downloaded a sobering document. I’m sober anyway, not having touched the product of yeast + sugar for many years, but this document jolts me into full clarity of mind. Laser focused sobriety. That could be my new super-power. The document is a one page chart which breaks a 90 year … Read more
I shouldn’t be surprised by this; trying to interview busy beekeepers in the middle of the beekeeping season is almost impossible. It would appear to be an activity best reserved for the winter months, when our buzzing little friends are tightly clustered in their hives, no doubt dreaming of the day it will stop raining. … Read more
About 2 years ago I had an amazing life changing experience. Ever since I was 7 years old I had worn eye glasses and I quickly became the shy boy with massive thick goldfish bowls on his face; eyes disappearing into tiny dots, and huge craters on my nose where they relentlessly pressed down on … Read more
I live beside a main road in South Manchester and, despite high panelled fences and a monstous privet hedge, I am very aware of the presence of neighbours on all sides. I like them. Neighbours I mean. They all seem to have small children whereas mine are adults now. Perhaps I am meant to have moved away, to the place where older people go, but for now I’m standing my ground…
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