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This spring and summer. You would be forgiven for thinking “what about the bees? wasn’t this blog about the bees?” In the same manner my husband keeps asking “what about the Latin? wasn’t this blog about Latin?” Post, ubi iam thalamis se composuere, siletur in noctem fessosque sopor suus occupat artus. Nec vero a stabulis … Continue reading
No rain has fallen, in this part of the land, for an unprecedented time & everything is more red-hot & dried-up than in all my long years here I have ever known it…the thermometer that day in London was 97F; but the hot glare of the South Coast, my parched & blighted garden & the … Continue reading
Sometimes, it has to be rats and pigeons… These are photos from May, during a visit from a niece. The first was from our yard, the second from the Luxembourg Gardens. It seems the best way to unnerve the French is to try to feed pigeons. Who knew? We also tried to feed some crows, … Continue reading
Antisthenes says that in a certain faraway land the cold is so intense that words freeze as soon as they are uttered, and after some time then thaw and become audible, so that words spoken in winter go unheard until the next summer. – Plutarch, Moralia A little late with this post about closing … Continue reading
…I wouldn’t have been surprised. I’m talking about our latest bee inspection. There were high points (our first ‘considerable’ honey grab) and low points (the tumbleweeds). But there were a few gifts as well… Bee inspection: First Hive This bee inspection took place during the first half of July. We had admittedly left some time between … Continue reading
May news, dreadfully behind on posting as usual… Now you see them, now you don’t Well, not exactly. Their way of telling me in early April that it’s time to remove the barriers and welcome in spring. This is the shredded remains of what I had wrapped the fondant from March in. Unlike the hive … Continue reading
Just in case you need some inspiration at the beginning of the most active part of the beekeeping year…. I like the impression created here that swarming is part of beekeeping and not the disaster some beekeepers make of it. I also like the enticement she uses, no, not to attract Troy, but to attract … Continue reading
But it’s not ivy. It’s Fatsia Japonica, one of the monster plants we have in our garden (they are either monster plants and trees or dead plants and trees in our garden). It happens to put out flowers around this time of year that look like ivy flowers. It has become the favorite winter … Continue reading
The closer we examine the honey bee, the more we realise the workings of a beehive encompass territories beyond our comprehension. from Tolstoy’s War and Peace. That Tolstoy knew a thing or two about bees, or I guess he didn’t which is rather the point. This week we will enter new territory by combining two of … Continue reading
Non est ad astra mollis e terris via – There is no easy way from the earth to the stars. (Seneca) This post is dedicated to Roy Eastol, a true ‘fen boy,’ and a beekeeping gentleman of many decades of these here parts. Who forgot more about beekeeping than anyone ever knew (although I can’t … Continue reading
My Latin Notebook 