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(attribution: Marshman at English Wikipedia / Eric Guinther [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)%5D) Not magic mushrooms, but a continuation on an old theme for me: moon poo or slime mold or false puffball or enteridium lycoperdon. Why, God why, you ask? It’s not me this time. Someone posted a photo of this on the British and … Continue reading
Ducklings always get people’s attention. And now that I have that: I have become a Wildlife Casualty Volunteer with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty for Animals (RSPCA). We volunteers even have our own acronym/title: WCV. Most know the RSPCA for its work with domestic animals. But, they do a brisk business with … Continue reading
Vesper vespere truditur: Sed nunc deterior, nunc melior subit. Anni nubibus insident, Incertis equitant lustra Favoniis, Caeco saecula turbine. Haec, quam Pieria decipimus lyra, Iuncto fulminus essedo, Eheu! Quam celeres hora quatit Notos! Fortunae rerumque humanarum inconstantiam accusat) Matthias Casimir Sarbiewski 1595 Winter 2018 aftermath We’ve had the builders around lately, doing a bit of … 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
Bees are regarded with respect,and the general custom of telling them of a death in the family of their owner is not yet extinct; it is believed in the Golden Valley that they would leave their hives if not told. There was a large apiary at the Moor, near Hay, and when the owner died, … Continue reading
My excuse for the title of this post is the tenuous link that we have had everything except horses in our garden so far this summer (although we have horses regularly clip clop past our house as someone in the neighborhood owns them). Although, do I need an excuse? It is an evocative, almost mystical … Continue reading
Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher, must have known something of the lot of the beekeeper: Plura sunt quae nos terrent quam quae premunt, et saepius opinione quam re laboramus. What a relief! We go through this every apres-swarming season: worry then relief. They never let us down, always demonstrating their resilience. Ain’t nature grand? Of course, … Continue reading
Last swarm of the season (we hope) waving goodbye-or is that hello?- in their own unique way. I wondered about that title when I uploaded this video to YouTube, even with the ‘Nature’ subject heading on it (or maybe especially with that subject heading). But I decided to take my chances. This was the 4th … Continue reading
They were way too well-behaved. Swarm 4 May 2015 It was a nice day, beautiful in fact, but… I have been having my seasonal allergies, plus I think I’ve done something to my back, and well my husband persuaded me to attempt to watch our first box set in one sitting (we failed, well, because … Continue reading
Last week was the most beautiful spring weather, and like every other beekeeper our thoughts turned to the first inspection. What with the death of one of our two hives and other beekeepers reporting not only swarm preparation but also actual swarms, we approached our garage bees with some trepidation. They had been giving off … Continue reading
My Latin Notebook 