APRIL 20
Today I spent some fantastic time on the allotment and in the garden. The free shed I got from next door has finally been transported up to the allotment with the help of the neighbours. I just have to build a base for it now and then start to build the thing!
It is great to see the mangetout looking good and just starting their tangled journey up the pea sticks. The garlic plants are now about 10 inches high and the onions have finally started to get going. The Red Baron ones I planted only two weeks ago so they have some time to go. The shallots are just getting going now and the broad beans are thankfully no longer being eaten by pigeons. The pea sticks are acting as a fantastic deterrent for now.
As for the garden, the early daffs are now dying and the others are in full flower. The plum blossom is sporadic, but just days away from complete bloom. The apple tree is getting there with some sprouting leaves. I have seen one head starting to emerge from the Alliums but none of the others seem to be going anywhere. I hear some beekeepers get two collections of honey; the first being from early blossom like this. I wonder if you can taste the blossom.
Everything seems to be kicking into life. What a lovely time of year. I only hope that next year I will be able to appreciate the blossom while seeing my bees enjoying it too.
Off on holiday tomorrow till Friday so I am going to put my beekeeping thoughts on hold for five days and enjoy the family. I cannot wait.
APRIL 26
What a lovely week, our first family holiday with Sebastian talking and walking around, which made for its own enjoyment and challenges. We went to Center Parcs so he also got his first experience of being on a bike which he most certainly enjoyed – though it wasn't as fun for me as he kept walloping my back from his little kiddie seat attached to my own seat. It was as if I was his servant and not getting him around quick enough. The fact that after each wallop he burst out laughing made it worthwhile though and I was happy to oblige.
Despite promising Jo that I wouldn't work on holiday, I did press upon her the urgency of ordering my frames and foundation. I called a company recommended to me as having the best foundation, which was KBS. What I really liked was the fact that he was happy to sell me the foundation but advised me to buy my frames elsewhere. I love that honesty. Having now ordered both I feel a lot happier.
Arriving back from holiday this evening, I saw that both had landed on my doorstep so I am good to go; I just have to build them all now.
APRIL 28
It is late and I still have the slight smell of smoke around me from my latest trip to the apiary; that smoky smell has already become synonymous with my weekly trips to the apiary, quite distinctive and not at all unpleasant. Today I got the chance to actually lift out a frame from a hive and have a real look around all on my own. It's quite amazing to think that in a few weeks' time, once I have my own bees, this will become second nature. For the time being, however, I still get a little bit nervous.
It was a really nice session, with wonderful weather to enjoy the evening of hive investigation. All the groups split up and tend the same hive each week to see how it is getting on. Sadly our hive is not really doing very much and the poor queen is running the risk of being dethroned by her own daughters in favour of a new queen. She is simply not laying many eggs and so the hive is just not doing anything. Apparently the bees will pick up on this fact and want to replace her for the good of the colony. We shall wait with bated breath until next week…
MAY 1
After the most amazing April when we Brits were out sunbathing, making sure that lobster colour was on full show, the bank holiday weekend brought awful weather – just when my shed needs to be built! It always happens in the UK, just when it looks like we are going to have three nice days off the weathermen decide that this weekend will be terrible.
Having just bought a fantastic new hat for garden duties (the last one died after we thought the snowman's head was cold last winter, it was never the same again), I was ready to stroll out to the allotment with tools in hand to build the shed. The clouds looked a little gloomy but nothing was likely to happen. It takes all of two minutes for me to walk to the allotment and I felt especially good today knowing that it was highly likely I would have my Man Shed up by the end of play. Despite Jo calling it a Wendy House, thanks to its previous use as a children's playhouse when the old neighbours owned it, I have labeled it the Man Shed. In truth it will be where I store my beekeeping equipment, as its preferred location is next to where I think I will pop the beehives. I never thought I would have a shed to put all my beekeeping equipment in like Anne, my old beekeeping next-door neighbour, but here is my opportunity if only I could get a nice weekend.