All quiet on the South-Western front

I was feeling a deep sense of joy and relief when I took this photo as, after 2 weeks of crippling hay fever mixed with a cold for good measure, I was finally feeling human again. The sunshine has been lovely but the sight of this mist and rain cleansing the pollen from the air after the recent hay making was quite literally a sight for sore eyes. I’m certain the veg plants are all celebrating too.

I’ve missed posting things here but hopefully the worst of hay fever is over and I’ll be able to concentrate on this site a little more. It’s very much a work in progress that is constantly evolving – sometimes in fits and starts – so please feel free to pop back every now and again to see what’s on offer.

 

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Featured on WWOOF UK Website

The view from my caravan today.

Yesterday the lovely folk at WWOOF UK featured my blog on their Latest News which I’m really pleased with. I suppose it was only a matter of time before the ‘Fun Guy’ puns started to roll in but I’ve had less flattering nicknames in my time 🙂

Thanks to all at WWOOF UK and welcome to all who find this blog through their link. A number of my recent posts are about my time at Middle Ruckham Farm where I’m currently staying. More of my thoughts on WWOOFing can be found on the About Me page of this website.

Building a Portable Reciprocal Roundhouse Frame

This looks like a good project I’d like to give a try and an interesting blog too. The post has a read-online ebook about roundhouses and building one…

To Bee Continued…

After last weeks non-swarm it seems that perhaps we intervened too early in the process because yesterday the same hive decided to go for it again. The mass of bees was much larger and there wasn’t the same hum of bees in flight – Well not until Dave started to brush them off into a bucket anyway.

After relocating the swarm to their new box Dave decided to check on the other hive to see if there was any activity and sure enough there was another swarm gathered in some brambles there too. These bees are a lot more ”feisty” as Dave put it so I didn’t get in so close.

So now we have four hives on the go and are looking forward to lots of tasty honey this year.

Below is a series of photos of Dave transferring the first swarm into a bucket from an apple tree in the orchard that Dave and Rosie planted about 6 years ago. Cutting the tree down wasn’t an option this time!