Monday, July 09, 2007

We've Got Bees!

Wow! What a day that was!

A friend of mine with a big van and a bee suit (thanks Tony) drove me to Ally's place in mid-Wales. Ally and her lovely partner B sold us 2 colonies of bees in pretty WBC hives. That sounds quite simple doesn't it? But actually it took all day and was quite complicated. Ally and B also entertained us and fed us delicious soup and plenty of tea and coffee. They're lovely people and I'm so glad to have met them. They're going to be fantastic parents.

Driving for almost 3 hours with two colonies of irritated bees was a peculiar experience, and I have to admit the occasional feeling of "What the hell am I doing? I've changed my mind. Let me out!" But we had no escapees at all, probably due to the unstinting amounts of gaffer tape we used to hold everything together. We finally got back to Poynton after 11pm, moved the hives into my front garden and opened the entryways - the bees were making quite a racket inside the hives but they didn't come pouring out looking for blood.

This morning I can look out of my living room window and see the hives with bees busily coming and going. It's a really good feeling. There's nothing quite as relaxing as watching somebody else hard at work is there? And I could do with a rest now.

8 comments:

Joanna said...

Great stuff - and hard work for you, never mind the bees. My uncle tells a story of how, as a boy, he went to collect a nuc, and brought it home on the bus in a cardboard box which he put on the floor. The bees ate a hole in the corner, and he had to squash them, one by one, with his foot, as they crawled out, so as not to cause a riot on the bus. His pain, decades later, was still evident. But he went on to be a highly competent and successful beekeeper

Joanna
joannasfood.blogspot.com

Ally said...

Oh good, I am SO pleased you got back alright, I kept waking up in the night and worrying about you. I had a mental picture of Tony having to brake suddenly and something becoming dislodged! Also, you've left your bee-gaiters and gloves behind :(. Paul's working in GMEX on Wednesday if you're in town, otherwise shall I post them?

As an encore, we have gone through two of our hives this morning and one needs requeening - but the hive I went in to to find a frame of eggs was so busy and so annoyed at us that we have given up and come in for a cup of tea :).

Yellow said...

Wow, I'm so proud of you Mel. But I have to ask - what are bee-gaiters? Are they some sort of new hybrid insect-crocodile monster?

Melanie Rimmer said...

They're things that cover the tops of your shoes and the lower part of your legs. They're to stop bees crawling up your trousers, as Tony discovered.

Anonymous said...

How exciting - your own bees at last. Sounds like a busy day for you but now very satisfying looking at the hives. I hope the bee posts are to "bee" continued!! I look forward to reading more about the bees.
Sara from farmingfriends

Ngaio said...

I am really enjoying your blog Melanie ! I am not as `green` as you but I do have 2 bee hives in the city where I live here in NZ. Good on you, I wish more people would keep bees, it is such a cool hobby - I love it !

Pop into my blog if you get a minute.

Anonymous said...

Nice one. Our bees arrived by courier - the poor driver had brought them all the way up from the Midlands and was a nervous wreck.

I told him they were friendly Italian bees, not tough as nails northern bees. He shuddered and said "No, you've got it wrong. My mother-in-law is a moody Italian and if I'd realised your bees were too you wouldn't be seeing me now!"

Enjoy the bees.

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