A Very Windy day in Winter
It had been a few days since I had been to my allotment, so I went down to take some things for my compost heap and feed the birds. I Had a quick glance over at one of my hives. Oh No! With the heavy wind that we had experienced over the last few days, the hive in question was on its side and upside down. It had been a bit unstable for a while and it was one of the jobs I didn’t get round to doing and then I forgot about it.
I thought I would be able to just pick up and reassemble the hive without a suit on. I quickly changed my mind as the bees were not best pleased! I really didn’t expect to be wearing a bee suit in December. I took a few stings for the team. I will see in a day or so if it is true about out of season stings being less painful. So far so good.
On the plus side, I was happy to see my bees had enough stores and that they were alive. I just hope the Queen survived her ordeal of being turned upside down in the cold and wet.
Birmingham and District January Winter meeting will be held on Friday the 26th January from 7.30 pm to 9.00pm at Dame Elizabeth Hall, Firbank Close, Bournville, Birmingham B30 1UA. The talk will be by Hopes Garden Plants and will be about plants for pollinators throughout the year. Nigel’s talk will look at John’s Garden at Ashwood Nurseries over a 12 month period, and will show how your garden can look beautiful, with flowers every day of the year available for pollinators. He will take you through some of the projects they have done in the garden to develop it, giving lots of hints and tips on plant cultivation and pruning.
The next meeting is on Saturday 17th February from 10am to 1pm at Dame Elizabeth Hall, Firbank Close, Birmingham B30 1UA. Sam Walker, one of our Asian Hornet Coordinators, will be giving lots of helpful advice about Hornets. As a special added bonus, Ron Rock from the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust will be joining Sam to give a bumble bee related talk (full details will follow in the next issue of WB.)
Everyone is welcome to attend.
Regards
Richard James