Busy Bees

The summer onslaught of vide greniers continues, this time in our neighbouring village, Naves. There weren't many stalls, but there was a token 'classic car' exhibition, as is typical at these events. The only fly in the ointment of this particular visit, was a rugged, toothless stallholder who kept insisting that I needed his ancient metal watering can with no end piece. Even though I wanted to look at some of his wares, I was driven away by his 'face far too close to my face' zealousness.

 

While visiting Brico Depot in Brive at the crack of dawn, because Kevin likes the free coffee that's served at 7am, we thought we'd pop into the swimming pool store next door. It's nice to dream...

Did we buy a pool? No. The cheapest inflatable types are still not cheap! 

We've been harbouring a secret interest in keeping bees, so we attended a beekeeping taster session at 13Bees at Confolens. It's run by Kevin and Amanda Baughen, who are the Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan of the bee world. We spent time in the 'classroom' watching a slide show and handling beekeeping artefacts, then we retired to the raised terrace for tea and honey cake. I'm not a fan of honey when it's not an ingredient in something else, but there was a honey-tasting challenge, and I found that tiny smears of honey are not so bad. We had to guess the main food source of the bees who produced each honey sample. The answers were:

1. Oil Seed Rape
2. Sunflower
3. Acacia
4. Wildflowers
5. Lime/Linden

Of course, I guessed none of them.

The suits were supplied, but we took our own wellies. We were warned to keep checking that the face netting was well away from our face. I didn't feel nervous, as I've spent time inside a walk-in bee hive in the Portuguese mountains, and the bees took no notice of me. I liked the fact that the suits are freshly laundered for every visitor.

We opened up two different hives and examined the frames to check that the Queen was happy enough and that things were going along as expected. Apparently, bees can be left pretty much alone, but they do need a weekly check for disease or civil war outbreaks. The first hive contained gentle-natured bees, who didn't seem to mind our intrusion. The second hive was a different story. 

It was a recently gathered wild swarm. Amanda broke some juicy honey comb as she removed a frame, spilling honey across the top of several frames, and the bees interpreted this act as an attack. They became very agitated and surrounded us. Many bees sacrificed their lives to defend their colony, stinging our suits. Apparently, the reason the suits are freshly laundered every time is that other bees can smell the sting chemical signifying a life sacrificed, and that encourages them to continue the attack. I stood very still, hoping the bees wouldn't notice me, but they did. It's surprising how terribly noisy bees swarming around you sounds. I resisted the urge to go wild, flapping my arms and squealing, but it was just the inner me that was doing that. At the end of the session, I walked slowly away, and after about fifty metres, the last bee had left me. A particularly determined bee managed to push its sting through the fabric of Kevin's hood, and he received a small red stingy patch.

Once we'd retreated and were taking off our suits, we were shown all of the little black stings in our suits. At that point, two bees came back and stung Kevin the beekeeper! He said that often happens. Kevin and I are rethinking our secret urge to keep bees. We already have many bees on our land, and they seem quite happy not to have human hive-keepers.

Back at base, plans for a terrace are beginning to take shape. Where, previously, there had been lumpy uneven ground to the side and rear of cottage #1, there is now muddy, fairly level ground. We're still a long way from having a terrace, but our friend, Malc, and his digger, have taken us forward a large step!