Pig Yard News

I finally finished the job of filling the gap in the corner between the front wall and the side atrium window. I was reluctant to start the work because I had no idea how it might finish up however, despite my misgivings, I’m really pleased with the way it has worked out.

Using the same special, gritty paint that was originally used on the walls it now looks as though it was always like this.

Like all gardeners, when things don’t go well I blame the weather. This year I have good cause because it has been incredibly dry and hot for many weeks. As a consequence the vegetable plot has suffered. The rainwater harvesting tank (3,000 litres) ran dry.

Despite this there are some potatoes, green beans and runner beans. Sufficient for a meal I’m cooking for the neighbours.

I’ve started making notes about my successes and failures in readiness for next year. I won’t be growing dwarf green beans again… the climbers have done far better.

When the house was first built the contractors were never happy with the way the architect had put the windows directly against the wall and said there should have been a return into the corner. This has proven to be correct because as the external boarding and the timber frame has moved slightly a gap has opened up. After several years of ignoring the problem I resolved to fix it. I used masking tape between frame and gap then filled it with expandable foam.

Over the last couple of years this garden bench has been falling apart. I had every intention of trying to repair it but the wood was so badly rotted it was going to be difficult to fix the broken battens.

It is a bench that was bought for our Rothersthorpe house so it is probably 20+ years old – it has lasted well.

I will attempt to repair it and will then put it at the edge of the veg plot where the beehive used to be.

I continue to cycle on Sunday mornings. I’m only cycle when the temperature is above 10 degrees C and the wind is less than 10 mph. It doesn’t always workout and I have been caught out by an unexpected rain shower in the past.

I’m nearly back on form and this week I finished the circuit 30 seconds faster than last week so I’m definitely over the Covid infection.

I’m still using my 20+ years old bike which isn’t the fastest thing on two wheels but neither am I. I have considered buying an electric bike but what would be the point of that? I cycle to keep fit although I could go further with an electric bike without getting too tired. Maybe it is something for the future.

I packed up some homemade mackerel pate sandwiches for a picnic and we took plenty of water.

I was very dubious about the temperature of the North Sea however Helene convinced me it was warm and as if to prove the point she donned her swimsuit, waded out into the depths and attempted a bit of body surfing.

As you can see from the image I did manage a paddle and was surprised it wasn’t too cold. I wouldn’t stretch the truth by saying it was warm.

At the end of a pleasant day we drove home and joined the neighbours for an excellent barbeque.

On returning from Scotland I was feeling a little unwell – blocked sinuses and a headache. Initially I put it down to sitting in an air conditioned car for too long. I did lateral flow tests on Monday and Wednesday… both negative however Helene tested positive today, Thursday morning and so I tested again and here’s the result – positive.

I think I’m through the worst. The headache went on Tuesday, my sinuses cleared yesterday and the aches are easing today, Thursday.

I’m annoyed with myself because I’ve managed to get through 2 years without catching it. I think the latest versions of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 are far more infectious so it was only a matter of time before I caught it.

A fifteen minute drive from the Kelpies is the Falkirk Wheel. We were very fortunate that, despite it being late in the day, we saw the wheel in action. On the left hand side of the wheel there are two narrow boats coming down from the canal above and an empty chamber on the right going up.

We were fascinated to see it in action.

After two nights in Edinburgh we headed south on the final day of our tour. We stopped off in Berwick-upon-Tweed where we ate brunch before walking the walls and defences. Berwick has been on the front line of disputes between England and Scotland for centuries.

We travelled over 1,000 miles on our tour and enjoyed every moment.

This week we went to see Julius Caesar performed by the Globe Theatre at Doddington Hall. The weather was near perfect at we sat down in our fold up seats to eat our picnic prior to the performance.

A two hour Shakespeare play is not everyone’s cup of tea or glass of wine or whisky chaser however it was well performed and most people know the plot so it’s no secret the Caesar is assassinated by his closest allies. It is somewhat similar to current politics with the Tories turning on their leader. Alas, Boris is still Prime Minister as I write this.

One of my favourite places in the garden is the greenhouse. I spend many a pleasant hour sowing seeds, potting on the young plants and generally tending to the tomato, pepper and cucumber plants.

As more plants are moved out into the garden the greenhouse becomes empty. I’m thinking I might start sowing bedding plants for next year.

Although the bees have gone I did rescue the honey they had stored. This is a good frame with capped honey. The process of extraction is long and somewhat tedious but it’s worthwhile.

For my avid readers you may recall a couple of years ago when I was keeping bees and they became very stroppy. They would buzz me in the garden and without giving me a chance to retreat, sting me. This image shows how my reaction wasn’t good.

I managed to take off the honey boxes (Supers) and will extract the honey in due course. There are still a few hundred bees left inside however I will get the leaf blower out to clear the last of the bees off.

This will be the last time I get my own honey. It will have rarity value if nothing else. Now I can focus on the vegetable patch without ducking every time I hear a buzz.

The last time the “family” got together was my 70th birthday. Now that Covid is accepted as an infection we have to live with we (5 couples) spent a week together in a large house near the centre of Buxton.

After walking the reservoir Helene and I headed for the David Mellor design centre, on the outskirts of Hathersage, for lunch.

It was great to sit outside looking across at the roundhouse where fashionable cutlery is made. Lunch was exceptionally good.

Who would have thought that beekeeping would be so challenging, I certainly didn’t. I inspected the colony on Monday and discovered the bees were building queen cells which is always a sign they are preparing to swarm.

It’s best to avoid a swarm because at least half of the colony flies away in an attempt to propagate the species and it reduces the amount of honey they’re likely to produce.

The pictures above and to the right show more queen cells on the top and bottom of the same frame. I had to remove them all before placing them into the new brood box. It was difficult to get clear images because the bees were flying in front of the camera and all around my head.

Once all the brood were in the top box without bees I could close up the bottom box, put a queen excluder above it, add the Supers (honey boxes) and finally add another queen excluder and the new brood box to the top.

The sunny, dry weather continues. Helene came to stay for a few days and we travelled up to Doncaster to visit a Canadian friend of hers who has been in the country for some months. We went to Cusworth House, a family estate that is now owned and managed by Doncaster council. The house wasn’t open but we had lunch outside at the Butler’s café followed by a walk round the grounds.

As we walked nearer to Walesby there is a deer farm with some cute young fawns keeping their distance.

I’m a regular supporter of the hospice because of how they looked after Jane in her final weeks. Over the last few years they have created small steel sculptures for donations. This year it was a heart and all of the hearts were displayed in Lincoln Cathedral gardens.

Below the queen excluder and the brood the bees had built up comb and the queen had laid eggs. The white squiggles are larvae which have become exposed as I took the queen excluder off. Unfortunately these larvae won’t survive. The most probable reason for them doing this is because it is warmer above the clustered bees than spreading along the frames. Hopefully with warmer weather they will stop doing this.

The disruption from having the wardrobe fitted last week has finished and the dust has settled – literally.

It has given me an opportunity to cull my clothes and I have several bags ready to take to the hospice charity warehouse this week. I have four suits hanging in the guest bedroom and haven’t worn them since I retired (12 years ago) so I’m recycling three of them.

The warmer weather is bringing the bees out in great numbers. I need to undertake an inspection in the next couple of days to ensure they are well and the queen is laying plenty of eggs.

In the next few weeks if the colony becomes too crowded the bees will start the process of getting ready to swarm. The way to avert swarming is to split the colony before they get to that stage. It can be a gamble and is more of an art than a science but I’d like to avoid a swarm if I can.