This seemed like a good idea at the time...if you need a translation, then give me a call and I'll make something up. There is a Part II, but I think Part I is enough...
Five years ago we planted 20 hazel saplings, the idea being to coppice several every year to provide useful (straight) sticks for the garden and to encourage new growth. They are growing well, and this year's harvest can be seen in the photos. Products include runner bean poles, pea sticks and pegs for tying down netting. Coppicing the hazel (a clean cut just above ground level) helps make the hazel grow much straighter poles. In the veg garden the rhubarb is starting to grow well, and for the first time we have forced some.
On Sunday we inspected the bees and found some queen cells; they were capped which means a swarm is imminent. There are various options including doing nothing but that would mean you are likely to lose half of the bees when the old queen flies off with them. Another option is an artificial swarm, and after midnight discussions with Sarah, that's what I tried today. With one slight modification! We are unable to spot our Queen (v hard in 50 000+ bees when she is not marked) so rather than move the old queen as you are supposed I moved the queen cells. Before the move ( empty WBC on left, full colony in National on right):- I placed a new brood box to the right of the old colony, then smoked the old colony like mad hoping to drive the old queen down to the bottom of the hive. Then took the super off the old colony and placed it to one side. Then took the half brood box (containing the queen cells) and put it on top of the new brood box to the right. Put its roof on. ...
Its grim here today! The temperature is hovering at zero, we are shrouded in low cloud, and there is freezing rain (FR) (last night Eno (BBC NW) got v excited about explaining this phenomena; we blamed it on her being a regional broadcaster, but then Darren Bett (BBC's weather anchor also got v excited). The view from my window looks like this:- Very unusually, I have not yet ventured outside. And the FR means that I'll probably be insulating the loft this afternoon. We might have FR, but we also have BT Infinity, ie very, very quick broadband. I researched this last week, and not being that techie (I am so not techy that I am not even sure how to spell it), I almost fell off my chair when told we could get it, and how fast it might be. Its the result of the big fibre-optic rollout that is occasionally in the news. So, our exchange (New Mills) is now connected to Hayfield via the new fibre-optic cabling, and from there it's (still) copper to the house....
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