The orchard is now rapidly changing.

Pear Leaves

Flowers on the orchard floor

The buds are opening up and leaves sprouting. Finally the ground is dry most of the water that the ground had absorbed last year has evaporated and it looks like its going to be a much dryer year. Am I going to miss the water not sure at the moment, I'm glad its finally dry and and my boots are sinking into the mud.


The blossom is opening up and I am seeing no pests on any of the fresh leaves yet. I have seen no aphids so far this year.

Ladybird looking for aphids

I think I may have lost two trees over the winter. Two of the cherries trees don't have leaves or buds sprouting which is disappointing. I will continue to leave the trees in the ground for a while and I will replace them with other trees later perhaps a chestnut tree or a oak, just to give the orchard some more bio diversity.

The bees are doing well I checked on them and saw lots of eggs and larvae and sealed brood. Its a good sign. I still need to replace the comb and will get that done once a decent nectar flow is underway. That should be pretty soon as the oil seed rape comes into flower.

Pollen in some of the excess wax.

I can see the bees are bringing in pollen which is a very good sign. That and the fact that the queen is laying is a great news. The whole season is late about 2/3 weeks but that doesn't really matter to me. This includes the blossom. I have added a super to the hives.

Sealed Brood in one of the hives

A new utility truck.

Its like a wheelbarrow but with 4 wheels and I'll be using it to get things from one side of the orchard to the other.

Previously I did use a wheel barrow but its got more than a couple of holes in it ,and the tyre is usual flat and its had a lot of wear and tear. The new one which I bought on ebay arrive a couple of days ago and I put it together and went down to the orchard with my son Hemish.

We started to haul manure straight away from literally one end of the orchard to the other. The ground is very bumpy and uneven so even with a wheel barrow its tough. However with four wheels it was easier even Hemish had a go when it was empty to pull it along.

I saw the bees out and about but didn't go into any of the hives, they have started to being in pollen.

We put manure under several trees before we had rain and called it a day. Hemish had fun. We then went to fed the horses in the next field apples that we had bought with us. Spring has finally arrived at the orchard with the ground level flowers beginning to open. Yeah

British Bee-Keepers Association Spring Convention 2013

I attended an number of lectures on Friday. These included

Reflections on research from the NBU - Giles Budge
Update on pollinator health and Colony Collapse Disorder - Maryann Frazier
Beekeeping without swarm control - Ged Marshall
Everybody talks about climate change - Paul van der Linden

I found all of them somewhat interesting but none had me glued to my seat engrossed by any of the speakers.

These two were interesting
Update on pollinator health and Colony Collapse Disorder - Maryann Frazier
It was an update on the situation in the US and telling people to take the threats of pathogens seriously and for farmers and gardeners to reduce the use of pesticides. I enjoyed the talk. Maryann understands what needs to be done and can talk the talk however the people who can make actual changes aren't listening.

Beekeeping without swarm control - Ged Marshall
This was a talk from a professional beekeeper. It was interesting, he talked about not having the time to check on all the hives weekly. How he uses bait hives to attract swarms and if put in the right location it's very successful. He uses a crown board and an additional super for prolific hives. He made it obvious that he was only in beekeeping to make money. I did have questions like do you treat your bees. Do you suffer losses and a percentage that he thinks are acceptable. Do you care/enjoy beekeeping as much now your a professional beekeeper and I don't think he does any more.

Then on the Saturday I wondered around the convention and bought some new equipment, including frames for all the hives and a new smoker, that was on special offer. I wanted a rather special copper smoker however the suppliers didn't have any in stock and this was on offer. I didn't buy any new foundation as I have some and in the next couple of weeks I will visit one of the Thorne shops.

I have cleaned out dead bee's

I have cleaned out the bees from the hive which had been invaded by a mouse. I found loads of dead bees thousands of dead bees so many I can't be certain that the mice where the cause death. Some of the bees had started to decompose, and fungus as started growing on them.

It could have been so cold that in the ball of bees didn't venture up and eat the food contained within the hive. I also found a couple of frames of honey that still had not been eaten by the bees.

Its a shame, and it only encourages me to check on the bees more regularly, but its very difficulty when its very cold. If you enter the hive when its cold they are more likely to get chilled and as a result die.

Other possibilities include that they bees have a illness and were poorly. I had treated for varroa but it could have been other bee diseases. I over the next couple of weeks the plan is to replace the frames and foundation in all the hives.

I have also placed more manure under a couple of lines of trees within the orchard.

Started to put more manure under trees

This weekend I went back into the hive that had been invaded by a mouse or a mice. I have take some pictures and have uploaded them as part of the the previous diary entry. I have sealed up the hive and will trashing the contents of the hive.

Bovine Manure spread beneath young trees.

Its the spring convention in a couple of weeks and I will be buying some new bits. Which include wax and frames and a new smoker.  The fondant, frames, honey etc from the attacked hive will have to be trashed. However I want the hive up and ready as soon as possible, before the swarming season begins. I am also going to buy some coloured wax to make roller candles, for a school summer fete, I am thinking of doing, and being encourage at my daughters school. My young son Hemish is now keen to suit up and go into a hive with me.

I also started to put manure under the trees again. it will take a couple of weeks as it takes a while to get to each and every tree. I feel I should order more manure but don't intend to until I have used up as much as I can of what is already on site. I put

bovine manure on to give the trees more nutrients and to making the soil beneath the trees of a better quality. It is working. Its hard work and I need to buy a new wheel barrow, something which I may do this week. I have to march round each and every tree and dump the manure. I return later and spread the manure evenly with a spade.

Line of trees with bovine manure underneath

Most of the snow has melted and the animals are coming back into the orchard, or are more visible. I have see rabbits and lots of birds. However though I am not certain, i think the orchard and the surrounding areas have less rabbits than normal. The bird numbers seem to me to be up.  I saw some larger birds around the orchard over the past couple of days.

The buds on the trees continue to grow, and my expectation of planting more pollarded willow hasn't gone to plan this year. Because of the prolonged cold spell that we have had I haven't had the time to source and plant the willow. I will try again later this week however with the Easter break and and normal work commitments it may be difficult.