Creating a buzz

This is the time of year when a huge sense of relief usually settles on me; the munchkins go back to school. I feel guilty even as I write it but to be honest it has seemed to me that parenting is basically an exercise in guilt and sometimes it is more of an endurance exercise. As it is I feel relieved that they return to some sort of normal routine, that I do not have to try and work out how best to entertain them and that finally I can get the house tidied up a bit because the mess drives me crazy. This summer I actually gave up cleaning up after them and for the last week and a half of the holidays I decided to leave it all until they went back...then of course felt guilty for being so lazy that I was not prepared to spend two or three hours cleaning only to find it all made messy again before I had even sat down. Well this summer I have found it relaxing to be able to sit and watch the bees for half an hour or so every couple of days as it is almost a form of meditation watching them zoom in and out of the hive carrying different colours of pollen, looking in the hive when doing weekly checks and seeing all of the larvae and how far they have spread inside the hive. When I am not checking on my bees I am researching and reading about bees. It is hugely relaxing.

Pollen watching

My current reading book

 I brought a couple or drones in to the kitchen for the munchkins and my OH to hold so they could all get used to being around bees. Drones are the male bees and they do not have a sting so they can be handled without any fear whatsoever. This worked really well to calm everyone until they decided to explore the kitchen and JR ate them. It sounds cruel but it was very quick and I am not sure if they would have been accepted back into the hive by the workers if they smelled different or because it is the time of year when the workers usually get thrown out. Now seems as good a time as any to mention that I named the bees after characters in my favourite series; the workers are Esme (all of them), the drones are Ridcully and the queen is Granny. Gold stars to everyone who can name the series and author.

drone in my hand as I write out my hive check notes

I have a little folding stool that I take into the woods when I go t see the girls and I sit next to the hive and watch them for a while until I feel more relaxed and now JR comes too. He doesn't chase Esme and he doesn't try to eat the bees but he sits under the stool and watches them with me which is kind of nice. At the beginning of this week I went and did a hive check then spent an hour splitting wood (who needs the gym?) and after I filled the trailer I took it home and stacked it. My hope is to fill the wood shed and lose an extra inch or so from my waist but either way it is all good. As I was filling the trailer I saw this huge buzzing thing that was definitely not a bee, it was a wood wasp. They sound loud and look scary but they don't actually sting which is really reassuring when one lands on your leg because they are about 4cm long and it looks like they have a big sting but it is an ovipositor which she uses to lay her eggs on the pine tree. Still didn't like it though!

wood wasp with ovipositor clearly visible

In between the cleaning and hive checks there has been a rush in the Christmas crafting area. 'Why so early?' I hear you ask, well this year not only do I have  a lot of people to make things for but I am also hoping to make enough little things to have a stall at one of the local Christmas fairs so I had better start now if I want to be able to get it all done. In the past two weeks I have made one shawl, one pair of fingerless mitts and one toddler hooded cardigan for gifts as well as two baubles for the fair.

crocheted snowflakes and knitted 'scarf'

Looking back I can see it has been busier than I had thought. Oh well, time to go as I have some knitting to crack on with but that is after I go and pick a bunch of roses, the ones that were not ready for the wedding but will get ruined by the rain this afternoon if they are not picked.

Hugs from Haggis land,

Jx

larvae visible and a bee hatching in the top right corner