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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
I have pledged that I will stop apologizing for not posting more frequently, because at this rate I would be apologizing constantly. I don’t know whether I don’t post because of work, or because there is just so much going on in the yard that I become overwhelmed by all the subjects and procrastinate. The … Continue reading
First the petals… Our garden is filled, front to back and side to side, with snow drops this time of year, starting in February. February 2 if this old rhyme is anything to go by- The Snowdrop, in purest white array First rears her head on Candlemas. Candlemas is the celebration of Christ’s presentation to … 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
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
The last post ended on a bit of a dejected note where we felt like pretty lame beekeepers. And, right on schedule the bees, adding insult to anticipated injury, swarmed again on Monday 5 May 2014. A primary cast of a good 20,000-30,000 bees. But miracle of miracles, instead of going to their usual high … Continue reading
Allow me to introduce you to Bombus hypnorum, the tree bee: Apparently, introductions are required in the UK, for even though this is a bumblebee common to Europe, it has only just recently made its way to the UK (first observed in 2001). It has moved as far west as Iceland in 2008. It has been receiving some attention … Continue reading
Or so the bees thought a few days ago when we had a little spell of warm weather here. They were buzzing all over the hives, and I even caught them at some ivy blossom, just window shopping, mind you. Glad to see them on these rare days of winter, because I can then breathe … Continue reading
Anne, bonis coepte auspiciis, da vere salubri apricas ventorum animas, da roscida Cancro solstitia et gelidum Boream Septembribus horis. mordeat autumnis frigus subtile pruinis et tenuata moris cesset mediocribus aestas. sementem Notus umificet, sit bruma nivalis, dum pater antiqui renovatur Martius anni. Ausonius, Decimus Magnus, with an English translation; Evelyn-White, Hugh G. (Hugh Gerard), text … Continue reading
My Latin Notebook 