Well now………. Spring has arrived in Camden and with it a new enclosure for the HC Bee Project on the roof.
My girls in RH1 have been out and about – my mad panic to keep them alive and healthy over the winter has paid off by the thousands. Today was warm and not too blowy so in I went. The eke I forgot to take off last year was filled with capped brood and larva and has effectively meant I’ve had 3 brood boxes on there.
Stores are plentiful and the pollen is going in by the thighload. I have added a fourth brood box to give them some room. All this population explosion is going to be the foundation of the HC Bee Project Apiary. Some of my girls seem to forget they live on the 3rd floor and have been spotted by passersby at ground level.
I have spent the balance of last year and the winter studying like mad and undergoing training at Blackhorse Apiary with John Hamer and Alastair Welch to widen the educational sphere they are so passionate about. I am about to get one of their covetted mentor sweatshirts!
We now have an enlarged Apiary enclosure to house the forth coming increase - RH1 will be joined in goodly time by RH2,3 and 4. My colleagues have been watching and listening with varying degrees of patience and lo! Six have answered the call!
School begins tomorrow! and we are all set to go.
I’m very happy there is going to be a sale on at the Spring Convention – protection for my Bee Students is not going to be a problem. Certainly I can be more excited about this kind of shopping than the offerings in Oxford Street!
I’m thinking the girls like it so much in Camden that they may well consider looking for new desres’s – going to nip that idea in the bud! Artifical swarming and nuc building coming up next!
