Get a grip woman!

Suffolk_lass

Flatterers! I'm blushing! Really. I feel really lazy. Not least, the un-bar-coded stamps were only posted on Sunday!

Merlin's_Beard said:

Me three!

Can I ask - what do you do if there are two queens, remove one and then continue as you did with these two?

Bees
@Merlin's_Beard to answer your question, you have to kill one.

I don't mark ours (people add a coloured spot, depending on the year they were made - this year is red) and when I inspect, while I may notice the Queen, I am not trying to find her; only look for signs that she is there (BIAS, or brood in all stages, and pollen going in - they only collect it when there is a queen laying, or getting ready to) so I only unite a colony I know believe to be queenless.

Having worked with a simple split all summer (that is where we split a huge colony into two, so there was a queen in one place and the rest of the colony in another hive), with BIAS, so they could make a new queen, the new queen fell foul to hawking birds, flying in our garden, picking off the bees.

Next we tried a frame of young brood. Both the queen cells came to nothing, then a unite with a nucleus from a friend (they killed her!). So they began to fill all the frames with honey, and we kept putting in a test frame of BIAS; eggs, larvae, capped and emerging brood, so their numbers stayed high and they did not turn one of the workers into a queen who would only have laid drone eggs, as she would not be mated. The smell of the brood should stop this. After three months I was confident there was no queen and their behaviour (ansi and flying out to meet me) reinforced this. So for the first time ever, I have bought a calm mated queen to introduce. Yesterday we went to check and add a final frame and there were several sheets of beautiful capped pale biscuit coloured brood. So now I have a new queen arriving next week and nowhere to put her. We will make up a nucleus so she has some nice bees to look after her. Unfortunately we will be going into winter with two more colonies than we wanted. 

While we were there, we checked the two hives next to this one and they are OK - defending against wasps and plenty of stores. We closed them up quickly so as not to attract more wasps. The other two had guards outside, guiding the bees home and defending against robber (bees) and wasps.

starnac

@Suffolk_lass I am amazed at how much work goes into bee keeping. I just didn't realise! It is so interesting. 
Is there a reason you have hives in 4 different locations? Is that to avoid having too much competition in one place?

Suffolk_lass

@starnac Well we have been at the farm for maybe three years. We have five there because he has planted 17 acres of wildflower meadows under the Defra scheme that is sponsored (he has a number of different seed mixes so they can evaluate the impact on pollinators and pollination levels) - this is our oldest apiary away from home. The other two out apiaries are new, all swarms from this year so not doing more than building themselves up. The locations are because they asked to have a couple of hives (both have grounds, rather than just a garden) and I think they like the idea of having bees both to improve pollination and so they can gift local honey to their friends and family, saying it is from "their" bees without the trouble of looking after them. They receive a tithe of a jar of honey for each season, but can buy more if they want to give it away. Both these locations have gardeners (part time, we are not talking stately homes!) The fourth location is at home and I like to be able to see what is going on but I have to take my neighbours into consideration, so there is a compromise. Ironically these have been the most productive this year. Ideally I wanted eight but we have 11 currently with a twelfth imminent.

Suffolk_lass

Money
A quick check round all the accounts this morning and DH has won £100 on PB, and I think I have won £50 (it logged me out after I clicked back in the only way visible after reviewing my trusted devices - I don't like that website, it is written for/by a government department and not for customers). When checking DH's credit cards the Halifax one has his DC pension pot balance visible. It is back over £12k and I will suggest he takes it now. The intension is to close it this financial year so that when he receives his state pension next year, there is no tax implication for taking money from the account. The last of four years where we have done this. While we are gradually depleting our savings in this window between stopping work and receiving state pensions, this approach has supported us well in the interim.

In terms of outgoings, it is far less positive. After the three regular CC have gone (with two in the running costs account that his smaller pension goes into), that running costs account will have £120 for the month! No, it won't be enough and we will have to top it up (again). "My" bills account has under £100 in it - as there is a gap between all the 1st of the months payments and my occupational pension arriving, five days later. At least the garden is producing now!

MSE things
Groceries - I have a click and collect to go and get at ten, taking advantage of the last of the four required spends within six weeks to receive £27 of vouchers. I feel a bit like I was suckered in but have stocked up and bought nice wines while they are 25% off 3 bottles. I have also bought ice cream and lollies ready for the heatwave! No, before you ask, we have eaten them in our jumpers!

I want a couple of things from Sainsbugs too that Morries don't do (cane sugar, MaMade) and I shall buy some stone fruit there too. We have not had any this year except the very first mirabelle plums from outside in the garden. Let me see how much peaches, apricots and nectarines are, while I am there, Oh, and check the nectar prices too. Apart from subscriptions, milk and eggs, that should be it for August.

Made my declaration to the Save £12k in 2023 thread, even though my target is £5k and @simplyfading has been MIA since February. Completely understandable after a catastrophic domestic event for her and her boys. We are ticking along there. 

I am going to follow @foxgloves' approach and do a meal-plan for August of things we can choose from. All from within stores. Last night we had refried potatoes (from the garden) with buttered steamed beans (also freshly picked) and two poached eggs. So delicious!

Suffolk_lass

Oh yes, we picked a good handful of beans, a yellow cucumber, half a dozen tomatoes and a good punnet each of blackberries and mirabelle plums in the garden. 

I also made courgette soup, two portions for lunch, 6 left, and froze a big bag of courgettes as they have finally started to produce (well, the green ones have!).

I shall try and go foraging for more blackberries, that we spotted on our dog walk yesterday, but it is raining here at the moment and I need to dash out for the Morries C&C

Debsnewbudget

I use the N S &I Prize checker app rather than the clunky website
it doesnt tell you anything about your holdings but tells you whether you have won and how long to next draw.
i have also linked my grandsons accounts, so clicked on at 2:30 this morning and found we had won £50 and smallest gs had won £100

rtandon27

150 on the Premium Bonds!  How lovely SL - do you roll your winnings back into bonds or withdraw & use to boost your cash flow?

beanielou

If I was nearer I would bag some courgettes! 

Karmacat

I've seen blackberries ready to forage round here too, SL, amazing at the end July/beginning August.  And now I'm off to the premium bonds prize checker

Suffolk_lass

rtandon27 said:

150 on the Premium Bonds!  How lovely SL - do you roll your winnings back into bonds or withdraw & use to boost your cash flow?

Thanks @rtandon27, we roll them back in. I have three times as many as DH s usually I win more but as I won £300 last month I can't begrudge it. We are gradually moving "spare" money to PB so that we can cash in if needed (both cars are getting on a bit now). 

It was too late to go out to the fields foraging for blackberries yesterday but I'm hoping to go today. I will need wellies as many are surrounded by waist high nettles. I did manage to pop out about 8pm when DH took our dog for a walk to harvest a few garden bits - three small mini-munch cucumbers in the greenhouse, just three sungold tomatoes, 4 courgettes, I always think of @beanielou when I pick courgettes (all chopped and in a bag and ready to freeze as of this morning) and a handful of purple and green beans. I am watching the gages in the garden and there was just a little give in them. Another week and we need to time it just right to beat the wasps!