The weather

Finally the weather turned and the bees and I are out and about in the garden, And if that isn’t enough the flowers have joined us too. Everywhere things are in bloom. Not the planted variety but the things that grow in the grass whether you like it or not. According to Timothy the beekeeper worker bees visit around a 100 flowers a day. It would seem that there is enough for everybody. But after the cold spring the bees are in a feeding frenzy. They do not tolerate anybody else around and least of all me. I used to put one of those easy to fold chairs out in front of the hives about ten meters away and watch the activity as I would watch the tv: but not anymore. A defending bee is send out and first starts to annoy me and if I stay put to attack me. Now they even come after me as I’m weeding my veggie patch, well out of sight and the way. This picture of the new additions to the hives I took just before I was stung in the eyebrow. And me writing a blog about the little feckers… No gratitude!

The weight of the stores

Timothy the beekeeper is detecting a problem in his hives: the feed stores are low. He checked the stores by weighting the frames in his hands. In Polranny they seem alright for the time being, but it might come to pass here too. I quote freely from his recent entry on Facebook Clew Bay Honey: ‘Most years have a gap in nectar producing plants in the summer. This is called by beekeepers in Ireland "the June gap". Normally bees store enough spring honey to get them over this gap and into the main honey flow. This year it is very possible that I shall have to feed the hives instead. This leads to an interesting problem: making sure there is no feed ending up in the honey that is harvested in August. If I feed too much I risk mixing and if I feed to little the hive dies… ‘ But today the sun broke through the clouds and the bees are in a feeding frenzy. I’m already stung when I went to spy on them. Photo Karin Daan

Fit to be tied

I was so upset about what the sheep had done to the hives that I was fit to be tied. I was sure the exposure of the inside of the hive to the elements would lead to the death of the whole swarm. What would that do to Timothy the beekeeper? Only one day after he managed the hives and so deftly and knowledgeable cared for his beloved bees. I was sure he would deem me unfit to host his bees as I could not even protect them from fecking sheep! Timothy would pack them up and take them away leaving me all alone. Then I knew that the bees had entered my life big time. But Timothy was unimpressed: ‘No harm done’, he said. ‘This is sheep country. Something like this is to be expected. It could have been worse. I should have tied the hives up properly.’ What a relief!

Damaging sheep

The next morning I was in total despair. Over night the sheep of neighbour Peggy , foraging for food away from home, had dislodged one of the hives. Part of the inside of the hive was exposed and bees were flying around angry and disoriented. I called Timothy’s mother as I didn’t have his phone number, to ask if she could tell him that there was an emergency. Then I got into the car to get Peggy and drag her to the scene of the crime to get her sheep sorted. But Peggy was nowhere to be found, probably hiding under the bed as soon as she saw my red car racing up the driveway.

Ring around the Queen Bee

Once Timothy and Amanda had found the queen, they placed a metal ring around her. The metal ring had spikes on the underside that fixed it to the combs. Now the queen was isolated from the other bees and helpless. The beekeeper could perform his evil deed on her.

Amanda and Timothy Stevens in Beekeeper's suits

On April ninth the white van drove up again. This time Timothy the beekeeper was accompanied by his wife Amanda. Both got into white beekeeper’s suits complete with mesh hoods. It made them look like space travellers. Very impressive. They asked if I wanted to wear a suit too or at least a hood. I declined. I intended to stay far away enough not to be in bees way. But I did take my old mobile phone with the trusted camera along.

Intruders

The next day the sun got out and a week of glorious weather started. Spring was in the air and the bees ventured out into their new foraging grounds. But the bees were not the only ones who wanted to discover new territory. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence is what the sheep think. Especially when their own patch has been eaten bare and the growing season has started everywhere else. The fences of the Polranny Pirates have been neglected since sheep were not allowed in the road anymore. That made the growing grass in the Polranny Pirates’ garden an easy target for the hungry break-away sheep of neighbor Peggy. She has only eight sheep but they sure can be a nuisance as we will find out later on.