Nine years ago, during the darkest times of being bedbound with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, I would pass the time imagining a future where I would be able to walk and partake in life. Grief I had a lot of grief with accepting that my career as an artist was over and so to try and […]
Bee Lady
Telling the bees Unfortunately, I had reason to tell my bees of a dear friend’s passing recently. The tradition of telling the bees goes back far longer than anyone can remember. As my learning about bees increases, the more sense all these traditions make. It feels as if we are all just remembering past wisdoms […]
Field Honey
Annual walk My former neighbour and long term friend, was staying in Swanage, so our annual meet up for a walk, swim and chat was due. We have one of those friendships that just carries on in between the sometimes lengthy breaks. Wendy is sporty and has had a long career in teaching sports and […]
Drone Congregation areas
It was when listening to Jacqueline Freeman’s book on my way to visiting Clare Denesley at Buckfast Abbey that I first heard about Drone Congregation Areas (DCAs), and I was absolutely fascinated. DCAs at Ancient Sites The thought that drones left their hives each day and gathered together with other neighbouring drones, simply hanging out […]
She shall have bees wherever she goes…
The past week Mr C and I were fully immersed in the local Contemporary Performing Arts festival, otherwise known as ‘Glastonbury festival’. Having grown up in this area, I still think of it as ‘Pilton pop festival’, yet only became a fan and actually attended two years ago. Thankfully, we were lucky to get tickets […]
Lime Trees and Bees
I only really got to recognise and truly see Lime Trees two years ago. One of my bee clients has an ancient Lime tree with wild bees living in it. There aren’t any living there at the moment, having died out earlier this Spring, but I’m hoping when the weather warms up a new swarm […]
Bee Garden Party
The Bees for Development Garden Party is a key event in the calendar for everyone who is anyone in the ‘bee world’. Numerous bee friendly celebrities attend at this major fundraising event for the worthy charity which helps establish beekeeping and pollinating businesses across the globe. Bees for development assist in farming and small business […]
Swarms in the Grass
The past few weeks has been extraordinary with bees swarming. I am noticing that bees tend to swarm around lunch time, in heavy hot weather, preceding a storm. It didn’t appear to be any of my current colonies swarming, but new bees arriving and unusually settling not on a branch of a tree. These bees […]
Bumble bees need help too!
Yesterday I attended part of a fabulous free workshop run by The Bumblebee Conservation Trust, at Frogmary Green Farm near South Petherton. I’ve been working with Daisy and the Trust , gaining information on bumble bees on behalf of my work with clients around the area. It is interesting that initially I was focussed on […]
When dreams come true…
Vivid dream Twenty eight years ago I awoke from a very vivid dream where I was sat in a small plane next to my mother. I was looking out of the window down on a tropical island. Young ‘hippies’ were sitting on rocks dangling their feet into the crystal blue waters as coconut palms shaded […]