This morning I escaped my mountain of paperwork and disappeared down the allotment for a couple of hours. Upon my arrival, I went around the site to check on the bees. The wild bumble bee hive wasn't active and there was minimal activity in the other three hives. The high wind and threat of rain... Continue Reading →
Splitting hives and planting
I got down to the allotment early this morning to find several people already down and working. Steve caught me and Phil and suggested we split the hive today before the weather closes in. We made a start by cleaning out the nuc box and collecting frames to replace the ones we would be taking... Continue Reading →
Bees 1 – Phil 0
This morning I arrived to find Phil and Steve had been busy sorting out the hives. They had removed the frames from the nuc box and placed them into the box. Unfortunately, Phil had forgotten to check the frames as he was transferring into the hive. They took exception to Phil moving the frames for... Continue Reading →
May showers
Today was overcast and I dashed down to the allotment between rain showers. Everyone was taking cover in the clubhouse, warming themselves up with a cuppa and a slice of meat pie brought by Steve. We put the world to rights before moving off to our own plots. I opened up the greenhouse and checked... Continue Reading →
A slow Saturday
Late this morning, I dragged myself out to the allotment. It's been a manic week at work and I am absolutely wiped. I arrived and spent a happy hour nattering to Cliff, Phil and Geoff. It turns out that while I have been at work, the bees have spent a week away before Phil brought... Continue Reading →
Painting a Queen
This morning I walked down to the allotment in the glorious May sunshine. Everyone clearly had the same idea, and it was lovely to see everyone out and busy. First job was to open up the greenhouse to make sure Emily and her chicks had some fresh cool air. I topped up their food and... Continue Reading →
Chicks and deck chairs
This morning I arrived onto site late but just in time for the mid-morning tea bell. I ran into Cliff and Geoff by the greenhouse, trying to fix the door which spontaneously detached itself and launched onto the main path. Between Cliff, Geoff, Will and myself, we reattached it and put in new glass. All... Continue Reading →
A matter of life or death
I had to run into work this morning quickly before going down to the allotment. Upon my arrival, I was met with some bad news about one of the chicks. Cliff had checked on Emily this morning to find her and only two chicks. No sign of the third. After several minutes searching he found... Continue Reading →
Easter Sunday
Mum and I walked down to do the chickens just before lunch today. The sunshine is still unbroken and the temperature is continuing to rise. We opened up the shed and put up the new wreath that my parents had bought us as a shed warming present. It's absolutely stunning and adds to the crafty... Continue Reading →
5 year Allotment-versary!
This evening, I realised that we have had our plot for 5 years! The time has flown! So in the spirit of celebration, I have dug out photos from each year to share with you. Our first year saw us gain a shed, a large greenhouse and several chickens. We learnt how fast weeds grew... Continue Reading →
Life in the sunshine
This morning, armed with cleaning supplies, I lugged the stove back to the allotment. It had occurred to me that the strong chemicals needed to clean the stove wouldn't be a good mix with my idiot cats. I arrived on site, dumped the cleaning supplies and stove outside the greenhouse and went to join the... Continue Reading →
A day of two halves
This morning we ambled down to the allotment, armed with the last few bits for the shed. We dropped off the final bits outside the shed before looking at the shed in the daylight. All the paint had dried and after a short discussion, we decided to do another coat on the top panel and... Continue Reading →
Into a new year
It's been several weeks since my last update due to the usual chaos that is December (work, visiting friends and family, Christmas preparations etc). So it's about time to fill you in on what's been happening. The winter months are significantly quieter with only chicken people like myself regularly being on site. Unfortunately, Cliff lost... Continue Reading →
Winding down for winter
At this time of year, the allotment is a hive of activity. Everyone is busy preparing their plots for winter, efficiently using the last few rainless days before the notorious British rain commences in earnest. I have been busy hoeing the top section of the plot, trying to clear some of the ground of weeds.... Continue Reading →
Bee inspection
After minimal sleep last night, I dragged myself down to the allotment to sort out the chickens. Upon my arrival, I spotted Steve and Phil checking the bees. I quickly suited up and joined in. All the hives are still busy but they are struggling to produce a decent amount of honey. The plan is... Continue Reading →
Rain, glorious rain!
I woke up this morning to a sound I knew vaguely. I pondered it a while, trying to think what it was. Then it struck me. Rain! It was finally raining! The rest of the country has had rain and spectacular thunderstorms in the last couple of days but there has been absolutely nothing here.... Continue Reading →
Buzzing along
Today I ambled down to the allotment to sort out the chickens and check on our daughter's tree. As per usual, the chickens made a racket upon my arrival and announced their disapproval at my tardiness. Once fed they settled down and got busy with the important business of laying eggs. I had a good... Continue Reading →
News from the desert
The last few days have been so hot, nothing has been done down the allotment. The heat has been intense with temperatures above 30 degrees. Most of the plants on site are managing with careful watering. The levels of water in the water butts is dropping dangerously low. I have been regularly watering or daughter's... Continue Reading →
Flowers and bees
Yesterday I pottered down to our allotment as usual determined to make serious inroads into the jobs list. And, as usual, very few were completed! We fed the chickens who were all pleased to be fed at an earlier time than normal. However, they took exception to what followed. Over the past few months, some... Continue Reading →
Back with a bang!
It's been a busy couple of weeks and now that technical issues are finally sorted, I can recommence normal updates!The last two weeks have seen huge growth down the allotment as we have (very unusually for Northern England) had two weeks of glorious sunshine! Our daughter's tree has been planted and looks perfect in the... Continue Reading →
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