Beehives

 The Birds and the Beehives Continued …

   So to make a bit more sense of last weeks blog. Here I am again still trying to explain the Birds and the Bees! Or at least my theme which this is week is Beehives. Now we have heard the numbers of bees are dwindling.  According to the Guardian insects, on the whole, are in trouble? Why is this happening? Are these stats true? Anyhow cut a long blog short, if they die we die? The good news is the planet will survive. You always hear people say the planet is doomed!

Regeneration in nature

  The ecosystem that supports our life might well be doomed.  If all the food dies we die all the animals and insects die. The planet will still exist, it doesn’t need us or dinosaurs or any other being. It may regenerate an environment that may well support life. Its generous like that Planet Earth. So rest in the knowledge that even if we have messed it all up. Its only for ourselves the Earth will heal in time and we all be a distant whisper in some airy-fairy history book like Atlantis. Also before that happens God just may just wipe us from the face. Before that happens Jesus also might return with a judgment day scenario as predicted in some airy-fairy history book.

   Bees 

  We should learn more from bees. We won’t however and will probably get our answers from the internet. I got into bees when someone asked to make a hive. Don’t get me wrong I’m no beekeeper, although I Have got bees. Who made it through the winter with a brand new queen who was left by the old queen before she swarmed off. So she is now a local queen. I think, you see I don’t really know enough about it to claim the beekeeper title. However, I am learning. With a short attention span and some boring beekeeper friends, I plod on. I do know how to make beehives however and I do a variation on the one size box developed by an amazing beekeeper called Tim Rose. As well as the old national box. I prefer to use the one size box because of its simplicity. 

 One size box

 Perfect how to video from Tim so know you know how to makes hives too. Yay, I all hear you scream as you all run out into the workshop.  The National grid nearly goes down as you all turn on your spindle moulders at the same time. Most of you may not have a workshop or a spindle moulder, that’s why I’ve taken the liberty of selling them here in the shop.

  https://www.royalleamingtonsashwindows.com/shop/

 Tallest & Strongest Beehives

  Can learn a lot from this guy a real beekeeping expert. Let me tell you in the season this fella must be flat out. That is the problem with beekeeping if you’re into it at that scale. Full-time job between making hives and servicing bees. However, I just have one hive which I don’t try to expand at the moment through lack of time and I just leave it be so to speak. Making sure it’s not honey bound, and reducing the size of the hive after some swarmed, and hopefully can expand the one hive with my new now local queen. You can buy queen bees and get them in the post, at quite a price. 

  The Benefits

 Honey

 Honey being one although I don’t personally harvest much. Apart from being lazy and not having a honey spinner, which makes it quite a time consuming and boring messy process. The main reason is I keep a reserve amount of honey in the frames to give back to the bees if they’re in trouble or if they’re short for winter supplies. Benefits of eating honey are much too much to mention here. (did I mention I’m lazy) Will give you one interesting fact. Eating local honey can help with the hayfever from those local crops that give you the hayfever.

  Getting Stung

  Also getting stung can help with all sorts of stuff unless your allergic! Quite an expert on getting stung partly due to the fact I don’t own a Bee Suit! I would advise getting a suit though not all bees are as placid as mine, and it would probably make you less stupid than me. Also, my other less stupid friend carries an EpiPen in case anyone who is allergic gets stung. I’m definitely not allergic and have to admit I get a “buzz” out of it after the initial pain you can feel an antiseptic type feeling in the bloodstream. My advice though if you do get stung and the bee has left its sting in you a tiny natural hypothermic needle. You would want to get that out immediately as it has a signal or a scent that all the other mad dog bees (the guards) can sense and will home in on that exact spot and try to sting you again and again. Try not to panic and get rid of that sting even if under attack. Hard to do if you have gloves on, one argument for not wearing a suit. 

 Getting stung by experts

  Beeswax

    Apart from the joy of watching your own bees flying in and out of your hive on a hot summers day on a 33.3 degree predetermined flight path outgoing and in going. Outgoing on the left in coming on the right. The joy of assembling your own hive purchased from our shop. My little gain from them is the beeswax. I love this stuff, on furniture its shiny. The more elbow grease the shinier. Beeswax it is great, my little mix is 2 parts wax one part olive oil. With a natural antiseptic built in. It is high maintenance on floors or tables or anything that gets a lot of traffic. So if u have kids or dogs forget it made that mistake. Unless you one for polishing every single day… Finish wise on a high grade sanded length of wood with good sand and sealer has to be very close to french polish. The carbon footprint of using beeswax on furniture = zero. Skin problems rashes and the like, beeswax. Proven saw it work in a couple days on an Eczema condition on a friend who read it might help. Staying with me for a couple of days and saw the beeswax hanging around. (cos did I mention I love beeswax) Try’d it and two or three days cleared up. Should have written a whole blog about beeswax. I love this stuff so much but maybe I will if I’m struggling for content later on in the year. Also candles and so much more.

  Keeping the human-bee relationship going

  Humans and bees have had a relationship since the Egyptians or even before that in Atlantis? Why? Can’t answer that here without researching loads of stuff that might not be true and I will be up all night. Then I goto cycle 3.6 miles to the workshop in the morning. I could get a car then I could also get a bee suit. Anyways I have a theory we think we are using bees but in fact, they’re using us! 

 That’s right these clever little bast~rd# are getting queen bees sent around the world via the internet. Carpenters or bee enthusiasts knocking up beehives willy nilly. Hopefully, you’ll be one of them via my shop. People spending a lot of money and time. Do they need us? Who knows really but we definitely need them and the more the merrier. 

  Same size hive

  Here you can see a customised same size hive, in Jamaica’s colours. With a Beech landing pad and roof. Mahogany legs and winter closer. Think the customer had a gold coloured metal roof made for his blinged hives. let us look forward to a few variations in the shop. Or do you want your hive custom made? Please don’t hesitate to contact us.

                                 Warren G 

Wazza or Mr Gatland or whatever you want to call him. Has a massive job this weekend of ripping the wheels of that sweet chariot. Can he do it? Making the England Wales game this weekend almost like the final. Not writing Scotland or Italy off, but if England wins this and retain form they will most probably grand this slam. True that Wales could also do the same, but looking at there performances so far. They need to improve. So how can they stop this English side? Also is that tiny picture of Wazza G going to look stupid on a smartphone once this blogs published?

 How to beat England 

• Upfront Physicality

There you have it. If you’re reading this Warren that is how you beat this very physical English side.

Best of luck to all teams and all of you this weekend

Thanks Martin