Wednesday 29 April 2015

Beekeeping Apprentice

I love it when someone wants to know more about beekeeping,  I can bore for England when it comes to talking about beekeeping! but I LOVE it even more when someone wants to come and have a look through a hive....particularly when there is work to be done.

Its fair to say I leaped at the chance to have an apprentice to help bring in the spring harvest!!

Jenny (who I work with) has a son who calls me the "the bee lady" and he wanted to come and see for himself what the inside of a hive is like, so ..time to suit up...


Mum came too - which is a major achievement as she is distinctly skittish about the idea of being close to bees... 


It must be something about the confidence, or fearlessness of the young, but a quick squirt of smoke and a demo from me...

 
and  he was straight into my smallest hive and looking for the queen within minutes...

 

I had a small side bet with Jenny that they'd be half way home before she got that predictable question; "Mum....can we get some bees?"
I was wrong..... big time.....


We were just over half way through the first hive!!!

I'd better disillusion him and work him harder...onto hive number 2...

 

Maybe an afternoon of extracting will get him sooo sticky he'll go off the idea...

 

oh dear.....apparently not...


I may have found someone who is as happy with a jar of honey in their hands as I am!!

Saturday 25 April 2015

Shaunitentiering - London (part1)

Two families, 50 sheep, one day,it was going to be a challenge....
Might as well start at the top, not the most flattering angle of the Shard...


Thankfully "Rainbow" wasn't all the way at the top...


It quickly became apparent (to me at least) that today was going to be as much about unusual views of familiar landmarks as it was about finding sheep....

 


Onwards with exploring the Southbank....

"Mittens"




"Petal"
"Lenny"




I'm saying nothing about Australia being on the butt of "globetrotter"

"Globetrotter"
 


Love these glimpses of the shard between other new  and behind old buildings....

 

Across Tower bridge....



"Yeoman of the Baard"
"Shaun xiao"

"Liberty Belle"
"Kanzsashi"

I'd forgotton that the Lloyds building was what we once thought the height of modern building would look like....


and the Cheese grater to one side and the Gerkin to the other....

 

Amazing then, that Leadenhall market is just around the corner.....


"Shanghai Shaun"
"Robo-Shaun"

Finally, a "proper" traditional London building, Royal Exchange...


On to "Ruffles" in Devonshire Square... only I could find the bee on his butt.....

"Ruffles"
 

Mr Shaun
"Pearly King"

Onwards to the Barbican (or should that be Baaaaabican?)

"Counting Sheep"
 I'd forgotton all about the gardens inside the Barbican...

 


 

Onwards towards St Paul's to find....

"The Guardian"
"Fine and Gandy"

"Woolly Wiggle"
"a Capital View"

" Chelsea Pen-shaun-er"
"Sheep shape & Bristol Fashion"

Loving the beach huts and cartoon London on either side of "Out of this world".  I certainly would be out of this world if I found a wool shop in the shadow of the Gherkin!!!

 

 





"Literary Lamb"
"Hamish"

Slight distraction for a few minutes....I figure if you are going to get married at St Paul's you may as well hire a couple of other London icons to transport your guests to the main event!


But soon we are back on the trail, over the Millenium bridge.... another angle of the Shard to welcome us back to the south side of the River...


One last glance at the north side....


and then along another section of the South bank to find....

"To Sheep perchance to dream"
"Br-ewe-nel"

"Frida Baa-hlo"
Then over Waterloo Bridge....



to find...

"Pinky Plum"
"Candy Baa"
and into Covent Garden.... 

"Paradise Bunch"
"Another one rides the bus"




"Flash"
"Jingtai"

By this time it would be fair to sat that 16 feet were beginning (Massive Understatement) to protest so we limped to Leicester Square for a reviving Hagen Daz...
Where we also found...

"Mossy Bottom"
"Woolly Jumper"




Strangely, the Hagen Daz didn't quite hit the spot ..so there are 14 Shauns we didn't spot.

Not sure I'm gonna be able to persuade my fellow sheep spotters to come along in half term to find the missing ones....

But that won't stop me trying to persuade them into Shaunientiering part 2!!
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