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The Bees are coming!!
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Mrs Fiddlesticks



Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 6:56 am    Post subject: The Bees are coming!! Reply with quote
    

Our nucleus of bees are about ready and we can collect them next Friday evening, dusk time!!

Exciting and a tad scary at the same time. I think we're ready... got all the kit, let the farmer know we're about to start, frantically re-reading the books

Any words of advice? Prefer to panic before the event not during...

 
Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 7:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Good luck and stay calm. The recent warm weather will mean there's plenty of food for them about.

 
bernie-woman



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire
PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 7:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Good luck - you'll be fine (says she who has never kept a bee in her life ) - but you will be and so will they be - now have you got names for them all yet

 
sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales
PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 7:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Just remember to accept no nonsense when you line them up for their weekly inspection. You want all their shoes polished and collecting baskets ready or there will be trouble!

Seriously though, the weather is great for bees at the moment, ours are busy as anything and I'm sure yours will settle in just fine

 
Mrs Fiddlesticks



Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 7:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

bernie-woman wrote:
Good luck - you'll be fine (says she who has never kept a bee in her life ) - but you will be and so will they be - now have you got names for them all yet


well open to suggestions of course But the Fiddlesticks Honey Co-operative as a collective name seemed a good start. We are going to name the queen however (cos that's us ) and were musing on the lines of calling her Rhiannon after the celtic legend of Rhiannon and the White Horse. Since White Horse hill is a local landmark.

 
Bodger



Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 8:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I'm sure you will Mrs F but please keep us up to date with how things progress. I think you have interesting times ahead.

 
jamanda
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon
PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Fantastic. I'll be very interested to hear how you get on. I went to our local beekeepers soc with Alison on Tuesday and really enjoyed it. I've had a couple of offers of places I could keep a hive or two, but I've a lot of learning before I would feel ready to get a hive. Did you take lessons?

 
Mrs Fiddlesticks



Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 8:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Jamanda wrote:
Fantastic. I'll be very interested to hear how you get on. I went to our local beekeepers soc with Alison on Tuesday and really enjoyed it. I've had a couple of offers of places I could keep a hive or two, but I've a lot of learning before I would feel ready to get a hive. Did you take lessons?


we went on an intensive two day course late last summer. First day theory, 2nd day in hives.

We've about 4 beekeeping books, have joined our local beekeeping assoc and get the Beecraft mag. Tim has introduced himself to the village beekeeper and Tim knows someone from his radio hobby who is a beekeeper who lives not far from here. So we've plenty of local support if we get stuck. And I can have a panic on here as well.

 
Mrs Fiddlesticks



Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I have a sense that it helps that Tim and I are doing this together. What one person failed to pick up from the course/books should have been caught by the other. I'm not sure I could do this on my own necessarily.

 
sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales
PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Look, if I can keep bees, you will have no problems at all. We muddle through as seems appropriate (doing it by the book just got us into a mess here) and they still stay in the garden and make honey which they even sometimes share with us, so you will do great

 
joanne



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire
PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 9:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

sally_in_wales wrote:
Look, if I can keep bees, you will have no problems at all. We muddle through as seems appropriate (doing it by the book just got us into a mess here) and they still stay in the garden and make honey which they even sometimes share with us, so you will do great


Sally - Do you have them in your own garden? If so how large is it ? what do the neighbours think?

I'm about to enrol on a 6 week course on beekeeping with my local association and my main worry is that I'll get all fired up ready to have some bees but then won't be about to site them anywhere

Our garden is about 110ft long, 20ft wide - slap bang in the middle of suburbia and the bottom of the garden is planned to be where I site the chooks and the bees this year - I do have a possible alternate site for the bees but I haven't got around to discussing it with the person concerned yet (MIL's boyfriend)

 
lottie



Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion
PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 9:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Jocorlos----although my bees are now in Wales I've kept them in a fairly small back garden with no problems----we just added trellising to raise the hight of the fence and thereby their flight path so they keep away from neighbours/passers by. The one thing I've learnt from bitter experience is always to check [ AND DOUBLE CHECK] I've everything I need in my bee box and I know exactly what I'm going to be doing before I open the hive----bees are great---all mine have come through the winter well and are working like little demons

 
Bodger



Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 9:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Jocorless.
I once saw bees being kept in the middle of surburbia. The hives were on a flat roof which put the bees flight path well above the heads of the surounding public.

 
joanne



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire
PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 9:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Thanks guys - that helps alot

 
Penny Outskirts



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....
PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 07 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Hope we'll be able to come and visit them when they're settled

Silly question, but how do you know which way their flight path will be?

 
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