todays news

[gavin]

The blue pollen there looks like Phacelia. It is quite widely planted by gardeners, bee enthusiasts and even on a field scale. I was delighted to see a field appear recently near one of my apiaries and less pleased to find out that the farmer mowed it in full flower. Rosebay willowherb is more of a slate grey/blue and due to the huge size of the pollen grains the loads have a rough surface.

There is a picture of the pollen load in this earlier discussion:
http://www.sbai.org.uk/sbai_forum/sh.../page277&pp=10

[Adam]

Thanks RDMW. I have yet to make/buy/bodge a solar extractor.. It's probably one of those things that once I have one, I will say that I should have bought one years ago!

[Jambo]

The blue pollen there looks like Phacelia. It is quite widely planted by gardeners, bee enthusiasts and even on a field scale. I was delighted to see a field appear recently near one of my apiaries and less pleased to find out that the farmer mowed it in full flower. Rosebay willowherb is more of a slate grey/blue and due to the huge size of the pollen grains the loads have a rough surface.

There is a picture of the pollen load in this earlier discussion:
http://www.sbai.org.uk/sbai_forum/sh.../page277&pp=10

Thanks Gavin. Haven't seen any of that about but will keep an eye out for it!

[RDMW]

Made some fondant. First attempt. Using 1 kg sucrose and 25 g glucose with 300 mls water and boiled to 240 f.


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[RDMW]

Ok that didn't work! Much too runny and a sugary mess
Al the recipes on the net seem to involve marshmallows and glycerine. Any words of wisdom ( Apart from buying it commercially) I have 40 kg of sugar in the cupboard


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[Feckless Drone]

Fed up of sweating buckets when at the bees and I am either going to need wipers for the glasses or a different suit. There were recent posts about a good suit, possibly Australian, but my searches have not found it. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

[gavin]

Fed up of sweating buckets when at the bees and I am either going to need wipers for the glasses or a different suit. There were recent posts about a good suit, possibly Australian, but my searches have not found it. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?

In this weather?!

You could also invest in contact lenses and use your own natural windscreen wipers!

I've wondered about copying a friend who uses a headband. It makes him look slightly hippyish but I think I could live with that.

I do sweat but I had assumed slender fit guys like yourself may have less of a problem

[fatshark]

I have the physique of a racing whippet (more or less, ahem!) but, despite being a highly trained athlete I still perspire (or at least glow) slightly on a warm day.

I also highly recommend a sweatband. Make sure you wash it as often as you wash the suit - it can get distinctly ripe.

It helps if you also hum along to Twisting by the pool as you prize the crownboard off ...

rs-136407-fd6b474b5bc660366d62adf802daeb106c42e81d.jpg

I'll be marketing a new beesuit for Fife beekeepers next year ... it's made of neoprene.

[gavin]

Can you also buy chestbands and tummybands?!

There was one day in the recent past (might have been early last week) when I spent an hour out in a beesuit in the pouring rain getting colonies ready for a heather move, taking advantage of another wet day to get the whole thing done early. I can confirm that the suit wasn't waterproof. Nor were my jeans, t-shirt, wallet .... thankfully I had left the phone in the truck and the chippie in Kirrie still took damp tenners.

The heavy rain turned into hill fog and lugging hives out on a hillside in that fog in the gloaming with my chosen CD blaring out of the pick-up (no-one for miles) was one of those delightful experiences that lighten the spirits and make it all worthwhile.

[gavin]

At the queen rearing workshop on Saturday my colleagues had insisted on organising a series of gazebos 'just in case'. I had poo-pooed the idea, fool that I am. The rain was torrential in the middle of the afternoon but we just calmly carried on lifting frames, finding queens and sharing techniques for grabbing and marking them. The Amms were all on their very best behaviour and just calmly accepted the situation.