sun shines...bees fly

Its been so fab here that i have spent every minute i can outside before it starts to rain again....

I've mostly been preparing, watching & sorting these little pickles....

I have wanted to have bees for years but never knew where to start or have the spare cash to fund them but luckily i have through some great people in my village who are slowly working to a more sustainable lifestyle for those living here I am now the custodian of this wonderful little hive of activity....i could watch them for hours.....

next project chickens arrive.....watch this space rx

hopefully its worth the wait...

 
I have finally launched my little shop selling my vinatge whatnot & handmade wares

 
 We would love you to drop by & have a browse......rx

finally...at last

its live.....the home of ted and agnes is on view to the world & already there are treasures winging there way off around the world....

beatty

edith

dulcie

and finally vera have all taken residence in the shop and are waiting to find new loving homes....Next stage is to get going with my vinatge section but I am finding it a little hard to let go of my stash.. choosing who gets to move along is proving much harder than I thought it would be but it must & shall be done.

beekeeping & all that...

We had a line fault which resulted in a our loss of internet access for sometime...i was bereft. No on-line chitchat, no reading my blogs or other such wonders it has made me realise how much being on-line plays a part in my everyday life....not sure that's a good thing or not!

Anyway onto the bees....what a weekend. It was fantastic and I will be writing a much fuller account here if you fancy a read.

I am completely hooked which is not surprising as its been something i've wanted to do for years but never knew where or how to start & with young children you life seems to always be wandering off to other things.

So my first job was to give some second hand hives a makeover....restoration I here you cry, right up my street that one. But alas no paint, not good for the bees you see so it had to be the trusty bottle of linseed oil.

After a suitable amount of elbow grease & some dangerous wielding of a blow torch, some smart new felt for the roof & the hive is ready & waiting for the bees...

I was quite taken with the old copper smoker & gave it a good scrub with some salt & lemon juice, cleaned up the leather & fired the old chap up....smoked beautifully so hopefully calm bees!

Just got this one to tackle now & i think that it could take a while longer & all my special restoration skills!!

My other obsession has been trying to get a perfect shot of these little fellas...My heart truly lies with the furriest of creatures and now I now what I am looking for & trying to spot the various species, my head turns every time i heard that familiar buzz.

So if you would like to do your bit for these wee stripy ones, leave your garden a bit messy so they have somewhere to nest, plant some comfrey which they seem to adore, sit back & watch them on their merry way.

The rest of my time has been spent getting my apiary site ready, i knew those bits of old wood had a use & the rotten old table gets a new lease of life as a hive stand (well after a bit of chopping & sawing). I have also started to plant a new willow hedge but will have to wait later in the year to really get going on that one. 

So all is well & normal service resumed, looking forward to catching up on some posts .