From A to Bee(35)

As I opened the front door and stepped outside, the heavens opened. I literally mean horizontal rain, the sort only witnessed in the Amazon. I soldiered on, not to be put off, with the true British spirit of 'Don't worry, it's only a shower'. I arrived at the allotment and the foundations I had already laid, and tried to put up one side of the shed. It was all constructed and so was basically a case of putting nails into the four sides and roof. The first of the sides promptly fell back into the hedge and almost took me with it. Saturated, I gave in, acknowledging that I would need a bit of help here, and trudged back to the house in a strop. It was highly unlikely I would get the shed up at all due to the bad weather and lack of help. This was not good news as I needed somewhere to store things like extra frames and supers near the beehives for easy access. I am not sure I would be allowed to keep this sort of stuff in the house.



Back at home with a cup of tea to lift my spirits, I started to have a look at the bee frames. These needed to be built in the next week as I could get the call anytime to go and collect my bees. The first thing I realised was just how many little bits of wood there were! Only two hours ago I was getting angry at the four large parts of ridiculously heavy shed while being pelted with Amazonian rain. Here I was messing around with small fiddly bits of plywood and 15 or 20 millimetre nails (the size depends on where they go on the frame) which, quite frankly, I couldn't even hold, let alone hammer into a frame. Oh I am not in a good mood today.



A dry run got underway and with the exception of putting the wax in the wrong way, forgetting the order the wood is meant to fit together and forgetting that I actually needed to put nails in, I didn't think I did too badly. The wax was only slightly warped and the wood was only slightly out of place. I decided to do the rest this evening once Sebastian has gone to bed.





MAY 2



I must just offer some advice. If you want to survive to a ripe old age, don't build bee frames late on a Saturday night, watching football on TV, drinking beer while your wife is having a little kip on the sofa. My activities weren't well received. It was amazingly productive, though, and almost all of the frames were built and with only a few mistakes.



Very kindly and quite unexpectedly, my mum and dad came over this morning to help me with the Man Shed. The rain was again lashing down. We made our way to the allotment with all the kit and I have to say, it wasn't too bad in the end. The whole job must have taken about an hour and a half with only a few minor disagreements. I would say that about an hour and a quarter of that however was spent fixing the foundation that I had laid but despite all of this my allotment now had a Man Shed; a place I can escape to or at the very least store my beekeeping equipment.



I walked away from the allotment very wet but happy and very appreciative of the help I received from my folks. I wonder if in thirty years Jo and I will be doing the same thing for Sebastian?





MAY 4



No news yet about the bees. I am hoping it won't be too long as I need to get a wriggle on if I am to get this jar of honey. It is looking less likely each day as I had been expecting a call or some contact by now.



I took the finished frames (complete with protruding nails, where I realised pretty early on that using 20 millimetre nails was the wrong thing to do in certain areas, and that was the reason that the instructions suggested 15 millimetres) up to the allotment. My beehive is currently situated behind the shed, facing south-east, which means it will get the sun pretty early on; very important, I am led to understand.



With the frames in the hive, I realised I had stupidly not made enough. I had put in ten and needed eleven. I also realised I was lacking yet another piece of equipment; the dummy board; quite apt really. This is half the size of a frame, and slips into supers and brood boxes and, once removed, allows you to manipulate the frames a little easier. The itinerary of hive-making parts is never-ending. I must write a list next time.



Now, in theory, despite a tiny bit of equipment and a quick repaint in some areas, hive one is ready and I just have to wait for the Beehaus to arrive – said to be the end of the month. Exciting times.



I was thinking today about the bees I will be getting and looked at the map to see how far away they were. It looks like a 15-mile journey to collect them and then, apparently, I pick them up in a little wooden box and drive them back. The thought of driving with bees frightens me; what on earth happens if they escape?



I would think usual, flat roads would be OK and wouldn't disturb the bees too much, but the last 800 yards will be a nightmare. Our farm track has more holes and divots than a golf course. I can only think that I will have to get out and walk up the road with them. The alternative of 5,000 bees all bouncing around before release isn't particularly palatable, especially as I will be in the firing line!