todays news

[gavin]

Jings! Ron, Mickey, the one with the shed business?

Was surprised to find my 6x grandmother was from Errol. Lived there 24 yrs myself.

You can come too when I drag Ems along.

Sent from my BlackBerry 8520 using Tapatalk

[Bumble]

but does shin up the local oak trees to do a leafy beverage.

Is the brew any good?

I've got the oak trees and I've got the demijohns, all I need is the recipe.

[The Drone Ranger]

Jings! Ron, Mickey, the one with the shed business?


Sent from my BlackBerry 8520 using Tapatalk

I think he was called Richard
I was between 6 and 10 so 50 to 55 years ago .

[EmsE]

Is the brew any good?

I've got the oak trees and I've got the demijohns, all I need is the recipe.

There are a few recipes on line http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/oakleaf.asp
but I've not tried them yet for oak as the leaves are too high on the oak trees near me and shimmying up a tree just aint gonna happen!!! I did try birch leaves instead (just need to sit on the shed roof) but decided that it took so long to pick the leaves it wasn't going to be a regular brew. From memory, I think it tasted ok.
Of course, coming from the Rhubarb triangle, it'll soon be time to get my staple wine on the go.

[EmsE]

Sounds like my pal Ron has competition. He does rasps the usual way but does shin up the local oak trees to do a leafy beverage. I should drag you along to see the place sometime when you're over.

Do they do tasters

[Dark Bee]

Some rather nice childrens drinks being described on the forum these days.


"At the foot of the hill
there's a nice little still.
Which fills the air
with a perfume rare.
And ' twix both me and you
..........................................."

[gavin]

Do they do tasters

Of course! You might be one step ahead of them with your rhubarb though - don't remember that flavour on offer. *Now* I know what to do with that rhubarb coming up on the allotment.

G.

[gavin]

So, it briefly reached 8C today. The snowdrops are overlapping the willow and it is all a month or more later than some recent years. Red squirrels have spread into the estate - very nice to see.



Did you notice that mouse guard hanging off?



I had six colonies with such a mouse guard rather than an entrance block, and four of them are now off, a couple completely. Their removal has been in stages overwinter. What would do that? The drawing pins holding them in seemed firm in October. Woodpeckers? Hedgehogs? Foxes? Something with a penchant for slightly whiffy dead bees accumulating on the floor?

Mice have been in. I can't see them being strong enough to wrest the front door off its hinges, so to speak.

This one has 6+ seams of bees that appear to be on brood-raising duties (a good size of cluster), plus some fondant which has softened and dribbled down the edge. And a row of mouse droppings at the side.



Whereas this one has more mouse damage with big flakes (comb destruction) and lots of droppings. The bees are hanging on and should build to a decent colony as long as she's not a drone layer.



Not looking in to check though - far too cold for lifting frames. I should get mesh floors on them all. I've much less idea what's going on over the solid floors.

[Neils]

I had something similar on one of mine last year with the mouse guard being removed. I put it down at the time to someone trying to be helpful as it was removed entirely and lying in front of the hive entrance. There was no other sign of disturbance in the hive.

[Feckless Drone]

Hi - how lovely to see those pictures Gavin. Now, do still have geese on the estate? Never seen mention in any books of geese as presenting a problem with an interest in the bees but maybe they like the odd thymol scented - acidic taste of a worker.