New beginnings and one sad Mum ...

Mt Ruapehu through the toe toe . .

Last weekend I drove my youngest daughter to Wellington to begin her new life at University. We went as far as Fielding Sat to stay with my cousin Theresa and family, then on to Wellington on Sunday. It is a 7 hour drive from home through really pretty countryside most of the way. I chose to go down through National Park and back on the Desert rd, both trips on either side of the mountains. In the middle of the North Island are 3 large mountains and the biggest lake (Taupo) in NZ - a volcanic region with both Ruapehu and Ngaruahoe both letting off steam now and then. The weather was great both days, I just wish I had felt more like taking photos, instead I cried most of the way home - thank goodness for sunglasses ! Ellena is my baby and it has been just her and I for the last 10yrs - I miss her. . She has worked so hard and has wanted to go to Uni in the capital city for most of her High school years.

In the pic above Ruapehu towers over the small ski resort town of Ohakune - this place is very busy in the winter with many chalets and places to stay - not alot of snow on the mountain at this time of the year.

The Wanganui river winds its way from its beginning on the mountains all the way down to the west coast - through the King Country region I grew up in. I was shocked to see how small it is now compared to when I was a child - there is a dam controlling the water flow further up really reducing the amount of water flowing down - a real shame as there are some amazing rapids along the river and it is a wonderful place to canoe on.

Bee hives belonging to a commercial beekeeper in the King Country - I saw his hives alot along the road through to the mountains - he is one of the few who paints his hives all the same colour - I think they look good.

We Build Everywhere !

This was taken with a flash last evening, looking through the small window of my TopBar hive at the comb the bees have built on the inside of the perspex, most of it is full of honey. They are doing so amazingly well these bees, I might even manage a small piece of comb to squeeze the honwy out of and keep the wax - the wax is so lovely, smells divine and is clean as clean. I am so pleased I have allowed these bees to live as naturally as possible, they seem to go about their business unperturbed about anything. I am going to dust them with icing sugar in autumn and treat with ApiVarLife, the organic varroa treatment, then leave them for the winter with enough stores - it will be interesting to see how they go compared to my Langstrothe, which I will treat with conventional strips as it is a much larger hive.

Pure Sunshine . .

Tall, beautiful sunflowers growing in the walled vegetable garden here at the Hamilton Gardens. The sunlight was shining through the leaves and petals, it is such a gorgeous sight.

A burst of sunshine - cheerful faces, always a hit with the children who come into the garden. We do loose the occasional bloom and veges, but it is not to bad really, considering the number of visitors.

The pollen looks like golden droplets, the petals like velvet - such perfection . .

Look at all those yummy seeds - we leave the flower heads on for as long as possible for the birds, but with this garden being part of the actual Gardens and a public place, it cannot look to untidy !! Many people visit every day - we sell the produce once a week for a very low price, it is popular with the students and older folk who make the trip down especially to buy seasonal veges.

Complete circle ..

Bumblebees originally shipped to New Zealand to help farmers produce better clover crops are soon to be re-exported to their native Britain, where the species has died out.
The short-haired bumblebee, (Bombus subterraneus) was one of four species exported from Britain to New Zealand between 1885 and 1906 to pollinate clover crops.
It was last seen in the UK in 1988, but populations have survived in New Zealand, though it is the rarest bumblebee in this country and found only at a few inland sites in the South Island.
In a recent survey of 1984 bumblebees in Canterbury and Otago, only 38 were from the short-haired species.
As many as 100 of the bees will initially be collected in New Zealand and a captive breeding plan has been created in England, with the aim of eventually releasing them at Dungeness, Kent, where they were last seen.
The bees, known scientifically as Bombus subterraneus, will be flown to the UK in cool boxes so they will hibernate during the journey, the BBC reported.
The re-population scheme's project officer, Nikki Gammans, said the bumblebee was a "keystone species" which was key to pollinating around 80 per cent of important crops in Britain.
"By creating the right habitat for these bumblebees, we are recreating wildflower habitat that has been lost, which will be good for butterflies, water voles and nesting birds."
Conservation group Natural England's acting chairman, Poul Christensen, said: "Bumblebees are suffering unprecedented international declines and drastic action is required to aid their recovery.
"Bumblebees play a key role in maintaining food supplies -- we rely on their ability to pollinate crops and we have to do all we can to provide suitable habitat and to sustain the diversity of bee species.
"This international rescue mission has two aims -- to restore habitat in England, thereby giving existing bees a boost; and to bring the short-haired bumblebee home where it can be protected."
Researchers at Canterbury University and Lincoln University have been developing a DNA test for the species as part of a project to better understand why its is not thriving.
New Zealand has 28 native and 13 introduced species of bee.
NZ Herald 2009
The short-haired bumble bee is a very fussy eater by all accounts, it must have fresh, high protein pollen collected every day ! The queen bumble bees are to be flown to Britain in plastic hair rollers (?) blocked at each end with corks, at 5C, at this temp the queen will go into hibernation.
This bumble bee was last seen in the UK in 1998 and declared extinct in 2000, 3 out of the UK`s 27 species have become extinct over the last 70 yrs and 6 more are on the endangered list. Loss of habitat is the main reason for the loss of this insect, along with the over-use of pesticides etc.
We seem to see alot of bumblebees around these days, it is the more common variety, Bombus terrestris, which is found through-out the country.

My dreams are getting closer ..

This morning I drove out to an organic dairy and beef farm situated in the beautiful Waitetuna Valley, half way to Raglan on the west coast. Max and Madeline, the owners had read the article about me and the bees in the local newspaper recently, and had emailed to ask if I would be interested in coming out to meet them as they are very interested in having hives on the farm. The valley is very picturesque, with farms that stretch high up into the steep hills on either side, a small river that runs down from the west side of Mt Pirongia the length of the valley and runs out into a finger of Raglan harbour.
M and M milk just over 100 cows, run wiltshire sheep ( these sheep don`t need shearing as they de-fleece naturally), and some cattle on their 600 acres of mainly steep hill sides and some river flats. The farm is certified organic with no sprays or artifical fertilisers used. The paddocks and stock all look very healthy with the stock being able to eat all the good herbs (weeds as some would call them) such as plantain, chikory, dock, and many others. Fresh, raw milk is sold at the dairy that is part of the milking shed, which is in high demand as all milk has to be pasturised in NZ, raw milk is only allowed to be sold at 5 litres per person a day and not advertised - the dairy board seems to think it is bad for people ??

There are a number of wetland areas that have been fenced off and planted back with native plants and trees like Swamp Cypress, Liquidambers and other exotics that provide duck food and autumn colour, plus all those root systems soak up any run-off from the land. Many birds are returning to the farm with a recent sighting of a pair of NZ falcon, really rare now as the introduced Australasian falcon has pushed them out of their natural habitat.
Anyway .... getting back to my dreams, Both M and M are very keen to have a number of hives, we will start with 2 TBH`s as they are really keen on the natural principles as I am - they will be my first customers !!!! ekkkk - I`m terrified, I am really going to do this, it feel so right, I know it will take a while to get things sorted, but the more I think about and talk about these ideas of consulting, putting hives on and caring for them for people, the more I feel in my being that it is the right way for me - I want to go TBH as much as possible so now I have to get cracking and get my friend to make some.

I have driven past this sign a thousand times over the years on my way to Raglan, today it was a sharpe left turn and into this pretty valley. The old settlers would have used part of the road or track, I think it was an old Maori walking track also, over the ranges down to the Waikato plains below.

This is the view from the top of the deviation looking back towards Mt Pirongia with the Waitetuna valley over the lower hills to the right. Mt Pirongia can be seen from most parts of the Waikato, it is a range of extinct volcanoes that once spread over the valley. I lived on the southern side of Pirongia as a teenager, after moving there from the King Country further south. It was isolated, we lived at the end of a metal road, right on the bushline - I would give anything to live there now, at that age all I wanted to do was go to town !!

This pretty little jenny (female donkey) watched me drink my coffee at the Herb Shop Cafe on the way back into Hamilton this afternoon. This great cafe is at Whatawhata, a small settlement on the Waipa river flats just after the city side of the deviation - nearly home. It is always a welcome stop, browse around all the wonderful herbs Linda sells and buy my free range eggs.

Well, that has been my day so far - I am on a high right now, with a million things going around in my head - best I relax with a nice glass of red and chill out !

Natural Comb . .

My swarm in the TopBar hive is amazing !!! In just 2 weeks they have built at least 4 combs that I can see, acouple of them just about down to the floor of the hive. I haven`t gone all the way into the first comb to check for eggs but it must be happening as there is quite alot of nectar and pollen stashed away. Isn`t it the most beautiful creation of nature ?

Like the other swarm, I haven`t had to wear a veil or use my smoker when I have opened the hive, I only take 2 or 3 bars out at a time and the bees just don`t seem to mind - there is no mad buzzing around. I am going to get another TB hive built for next year and I think it will be the way to go for me - so much easier on both the bees and moi !!

Looking into the hive as much as I can without taking out more bars - you can see 2 longer combs behind the smaller one in the front. The bees just carried on with their business

The chap who built the hive called in yesterday with his family, he will build another hive for me and is willing to build for other interested TB beeks. It was so cool to beable to show them what the bees were doing, his young children didn`t seem at all worried about the few bees that were flying around and eve his wife, who is very afraid of bee, came up for a closer look - go these gentle bees !!

Bush Hives . .

These hives were quite a way off the road leading into the Awakino gorge on the main road from New Plymouth to Hamilton. It is steep bush land, not great soil but would have been covered in broadleaf podocarp forest when the first Europeans came here in the early 1800`s, with most of it logged, small patches of unreachable land left. There was only small scrubby manuka and some taller trees which I presume were totara and other native and exotic plants.

The hives are surrounded by an electric fence, probably to keep stock out. The hives are all painted soft pastal colours, very typical of NZ commercial hives dotted all over the countryside. I didn`t fancy walking across the paddock to get closer, there were some dodgey looking cattle wandering around.

Days Away in Taranaki..

Mt Taranaki, the iconic symbol of this region of the North Island, about 3 hours south of my home region, Waikato, can be seen from all most every corner of the region - a tall volcanic cone reaching up to the clouds set amongst very fertile dairy farming land and a stones throw away from the roaring Tasman ocean. She is usually covered in snow most of the year, has wonderful walking tracks, a world famous Rhodendron garden, Pukeiti, (google it) on her slopes and views to die for from the top.

I am staying with friends who live in the city of New Plymouth, the only city in the area, lots of small towns around. NP is sited on the west coast of the North Island, not as big as Hamilton ( my home), but older, with lots of character and one-way streets - which makes for interesting driving !! I really like it here, in fact, I could live here. The climate is cooler then home which really suits me as I hate the heat !
The light shining through this Strelitzia or Bird of Paradise makes the flower glow - I couldn`t resist this photo. With the soil being volcanic, everything grows here. Where I live it is pretty good also, but it does not get as humid here so there is less disease. The further south you go in NZ, the better plants like roses, rhodos, camellias and other cool climate plants grow . Ali`s hostas are magnificant, with hardly a blemish or snail bit on them - I feel so much more energised with the cool days.

Part of the port area in NP with the open ocean out beyond the man-made barrier of stone. It is a deep sea port with tankers coming in all the time. Oil has also been found off the coast and alot of people from here work on the rigs. It doesn`t look it, but the waves were 5 metres high that day, crashing up and over the barrier in the distance ! When the first settlers from Britain came here in around 1830`s there was no harbour and they had to basically surf in to the beach on small boats, the sailing ships having to anchor quite away out. The west coast of both NZ `s main islands is wild and woolly, so much more interesting then the east side - I prefer being here .

These seagulls were drinking from a fresh water stream that runs through the city and out into the ocean. There are many rivers and streams that run down off the mountain, through bush and farm land and out to sea. NP city has a number that they look after really well with planting of native plants, nothing nasty running into them, walkways along the edges and generally encourage people to use them - they all come out into the sea at some point.
The early town planners of NP had the great sense to leave pockets of native bush all through the city, hence there are lots of native birds here. Compared to home it is stunning, with Keraru, native pigeon, Tui, kingfisher, bellbirds and others all abundant and hanging out in backyards - I am very envious ..

Exciting Year Ahead . .

Happy New Year all my blogger friends - I think 2010 is going to be an interesting year for this strange middle-aged lady.

Today my first blog entry was published on a NZ website called Happyzine, check out the link below. Charlotte, the editor, came across my bee blog and asked me to contribute to the site with fortnightly blog entries - wow, so many wonderful things have come from keeping bees, I really believe it is my mission to go down the road of educating people about the importance of these tiny insects in our lives, more importantly, to care for them, provide food and habitat and to stop destroying their natural world. Roll on more teaching and speaking to groups, my first year without any children at home to nuture, will be full of interesting and challenging adventures !!


http://happyzine.co.nz/2010/01/02/bee-keeping-reclaiming-the-ancient-craft/

Summer Delight . . .

I love this photo, to me it epitamises what summer is all about in this water loving country of mine, no where are you ever far from the ocean, rivers or lakes.

Elliott Thomas, my delightful grandson with the look of sheer delight on his beautiful face, is falling about in the waves with his Grandad Paul , who was out from the UK with Nana Jane on their first trip to NZ - guess who didn`t want to go home to the cold and snow ??

Elliott has absolutely no fear of the water, or anything for that matter, you cannot take your eyes off him for a second, but when those 2 dear little arms wrap around your neck and `I love you Nana Marcie` is whispered in your ear, you can forgive him anything . . .

The Pohutukawa blossom symbolises Christmas and summer to New Zealanders. Bees love this nectar producing flower, the honey being pale and some say, tastes slightly salty - although I think this might be wishful thinking as the tree also grows inland, miles from the sea. It has strong leathery leaves that have a white furry underside, all the better for putting up with salty wind and sea spray. The tree grows knarly and strong, often called, along with its` close cousin the Rata, NZ`s iron wood trees. Long air roots often hang from branches like a beard and these ancient trees that have grown along our North Island beaches for centuries, will always hold a special place in my heart - I can never resist photographing them or simply just sitting in their shade .

Best ever Christmas Eve present !

I was rung on Christmas Eve about a small swarm at a property about 10 mins away, on the edge of the city - did I want it ??? I had my TB hive all ready to put bees into, cleaned out the ants and let the sunshine in to air it all out - you bet I wanted them !!
Once again, the swarm had landed right at eye level and were very easy to capture. This time I used a large drawstring bag that air could circulate through but bees couldn`t get out, put the bag`s wide mouth under the bottom of the swarm, pulled the bag up to enclose all the bees and shook the small tree hard - with that, most of the bees fell into the bag, I pulled the drawstring closed, after waiting for the few hanger-ons to re-group, shook them in and away we went.

Bees busily fanning at the entrance of the TB hive, alerting all the others still in the bag, to get in here - quick ! I have used the solid partition board to halve the space in the hive for this swarm, as they increase i will add more space and also beable to close it down over the colder months.

It was simple to pour the bees into the hive, interesting enough, most of the bees seemed happy to stay where they landed with not many flying up and around.

I am very happy to have bees in my TB again, I was so dissapointed about the spraying incident and my neighbour has promised he won`t spray anything again,hopefully, he has learnt a good lesson. I am going to write about TB hives into my teaching material for next year if I teach again (depends on Govt funding) during the school terms. I really hope so, I did enjoy spreading the beekeeping word.

A Summer Christmas in New Zealand ..

Merry Christmas and a Peaceful New Year to all my blogger and bee friends - thank you so much for all the great comments and interest in my blog.

As I sit in the sunshine, I will think of you cosy and warm with snow outside and raise a toast to all of you who are making a difference in our shared love of bees.

Summer in NZ means long hot days, pohutukawa trees in bloom all along the coast and inland as well - the early settlers called it the NZ Christmas tree - it is spectacular and always full of humming bees and nectar loving birds.

We have our 6 weeks school holidays from now and most of us take 2/4 weeks off at this time also - I am looking forward to having 3 weeks to relax. I will spend some of that time with my family at the beach - top photo very similar to Papamoa where 2 families live. I also want to catch up with friends in other places and in Feb will be taking Ellena, my youngest daughter down to Wellington where she is beginning her University life for 3 years.

I intend to keep myself very busy next year, it will be the first time in about 35 yrs that I will be on my own - you know the story - home,to flatting, to marriage and children - well, mine will be minus all that which I am totally ok with, this will be the start of an exciting new chapter in my book of life ! I have been asked by the local paper to review books for them and have been approached by the editor of a NZ website called `Happyzine` to write a regular blog entry about bees , sooo, I am going to be busy, plus I intend to update my blog more regularly. I am treating myself to a new laptop when Ellena leaves which will make it alot easier to work from home.

aroha to you all and bless the bees !!

Beekeepers BBQ . .

The 2 cooks hard at work at the Waikato Domestic Beekeepers Assc Xmas BBQ - the sun shone and wind was gentle - a good turnout ensured an enjoyable evening.

A view of the happy beekeepers enjoying a very nice meal - lots of different salads and meat plus pavalova ( a meringue dessert - very kiwi ), ice cream and strawberries ! The club always supplies the meat and dessert, we all bring our drinks and salads - this year the event was held at the superb country home of Roger and Jenny Collins - lots of room for the kids to run around, a beautiful garden and very relaxing jazz played on the outside speakers.

When I first joined the club 4 years ago there were not many members, mainly retired beekeepers with lots of knowledge. I needed somewhere to learn and gradually the membership has built to 60 paid up members and new people coming along each month. Teaching the 2 night classes a week for 6 months really got more interested and I believe most have joined the club - I an really proud of what I have achieved with growing the membership, through acouple of interviews in the local paper, the teaching and generally bending anyone`s ear who would listen !

Hobbyist clubs are an important part of local beekeeping, they are a place to learn, meet other like-minded people, mentoring and be part of the world-wide adventure that is keeping bees !

My Sad Day . . .

All I have left of the small swarm that was doing so well in my new TopBar hive . . .

I have lost all the bees from my TB due to a neighbour spraying fly spray all over his flower beds and then roundup everywhere else - the bees took acouple of days to die and it was devastating. This small colony was building up slowly with brood and stores starting to be seen, plus the gorgeous combs being built from the bars. They were gentle, I never had to smoke them as long as I was quiet and calm around them. I now have to hope I can get a swarm before the season comes to an end or buy a nucleous from a beekeeper.

I have spoken to all my neighbours and asked them to let me know in advance if they intend spraying anything.

Monday Night Class.

Last night was the final beekeeping lesson for my Mon class - a visit to my hive. Above are afew of them that stayed on for a cuppa and piece of delicious honey cake. It was a beautiful warm evening and the bees were well behaved. I have really enjoyed these classes, hopefully I can carry on teaching next year with the Govt wanting to cut funding to night classes I may have to go private - teach from home. Nearly all the adults in my 4 classes this year have gone on to buy a hive and start beekeeping - I am delighted with the outcome - my aim is to get as many people into keeping bees as I can !

The gorgeous honey cake beehive was made by Sue, one of my students. She used an American mold, brought here in NZ. It was so good ! I also received a packet of seeds from one of the other ladies and flowers from another - spoilt or what ?? Just to share the passion I have for these little creatures is enough for me

A wee bit of smoke, I try not to get carried away with the smoker, I don`t believe it does the bees any good - probably sends them into panic mode and I would rather work with them as calmly as possible. I need to open all the boxes for a good look at what is happening plus check for any nasties. It seems to be a strong hive and hopefully hasn`t been affected with spray like my TopBar - more on that disaster in next post ...

One of the new frames broke as I pulled it out, must have been stuck to one under it ! Bees have half filled it, the students were able to see nectar and capped honey, plus afew drones. The honey tastes very sweet - lots of different floral sources around where I live.

I have been asked for an interview for the local paper next week and also featured in good magazine - I will make those bees famous yet !!

For the love of bees
The world’s honeybees are vanishing and NewZealand teeters on the brink of a catastrophic collapse in our bee population. Sarah Heeringa investigates the strange phenomenon of colonycollapse disorder, discovers amazing facts about bees and surprising new ways we can help them

When your baby grows up . . .

This is what happens .... My beautiful youngest daughter, Ellena Roseann, went to her school`s Leaving dinner and Ball last night. She looked like a princess with her Irish green long dress, ( our ancestory),wearing her namesake`s cut-glass 1920s earings and her sparkling blue eyes she inherited from her beloved Grandfather ( my Dad) - the only one out of 4 children to have the pale blue eyes my Dad and Grandmother had. She looked amazing, I am so proud of the young woman she has grown in to - off to Victoria University in Wellington next year to study for a BA in linguistics and classics - must have her mother`s brains !!

All Information is good ..

Trees for Bees’ programme - The Federated Farmers Bee Industry Group has established the ‘Trees for Bees' programme in order to ensure that bees have the opportunity to gather pollen and nectar, providing the vitamins and minerals required to maintain optimum hive strength and a viable pollinated bee force.
Farmers will appreciate that posts and wire offer little to bees and the practice of denuding the countryside of trees, gorse and broom has threatened the health of bees.
The Federated Farmers Bee Industry Group is producing brochures, by region, which make suggestions about what you can plant throughout your farm and along the riparian margins in order to support bee health. The brochure will also include what plants and trees by region are banned by regional councils and highlight those which the bee industry do not want to see planted, including Tutin.
Sustainable farming encourages natural pollination. The honey bee is responsible for over 80 percent of all pollination and relies on programmes such as these.
The regional brochures can be downloaded by clicking here. The national programme brochure is available below. Trees for Bees Programme (536kB) Thanks to Federated Farmers website

I have just included this article in the monthly news letter I write for the Waikato Domestic Beekeepers Assc and thought it may be of interest to my blog readers. Even though we have different seasons and alot of the trees are NZ natives, many can be brought in the UK, not sure about the States.

I am just delighted to see more NZ `s getting involved and informed about the importance of bees, especially those in rural areas where there is the need for more planting of bee food.

Rose show with Japanese twist ..

For the last few days the annual Rose Show has been happening down at the Hamilton Gardens. This year it has had a Japanese touch with a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony to open the event - all the officials were there including the Mayor, rose breeders and Japanese Govt reps.I think the ladies in the picture above look so elegant and beautiful - I had to sneak up and look inconspicuous to get that photo !

There were lanterns hung in the trees, these were in the Gingko and big flying fish banners which made a colourful sight. I would have had photos of the roses but the weather has been very windy and quite cold, not alot of sun, the roses are out but not at their best. My poor girlfriend, Alice, who is charge of the rose garden, has been pulling out her hair and gnashing her teeth over the crappy weather, it is usually much warmer by now

The pretty opera singer must have been freezing, the wind was blowing and we all had jumpers on ! She sang beautifully, a trio of songs from Madam Butterfly, one of my favourite operas.
The Gardens are the perfect place for these sorts of occasions, during the summer festival there are plays, shows, music of all sorts and general good fun.

Swarm to catch !

On a bright sunny evening last Sunday, my friend and I captured this beautiful swarm hanging in a very convenient place under the grape leaves on a neighbours` vine - it was just about to easy to get, I half expected them to turn ferel and sting me !! They didn`t, and it was a super swarm to catch.

It was such a nice size that the complete swarm nearly did fit into the nuc box I was holding. It was a case of hold the box under the bees and shake the branch, we couldn`t cut the branch they were on as it was a main leader and I don`t think the bloke next door would have been happy with me.

We swept the rest off the branch, managed to get most of them, I popped them in the back of my car, my grandaughter, Lia was with me and she wasn`t the slightest perturbed, in fact she took some of the photos ! We drove out to the beautiful garden I was putting them in with me in my bee suit, Lia in summer clothes and the bees all covered up on the back seat !!

I poured the bees into the hive I had set up in Moondance Garden, check out their website, www.moondance.co.nz, and I`m sure they will be very happy there, the garden is stunning, huge with river views. Stephen and Jeanette are a lovely couple and I intend to see more of their gardens and them of course ! The hive is surrounded by perennials, all flowering, roses, big trees, a pond - you name it, plus a magnificent manor house. Perfect place for weddings.

I went out last night to check the hive, all looks well with plenty of bees flying around, orientating and checking out the food supply ! If all goes to plan, I might put another hive out there next year. The owners are very keen to have the bees in their garden, the hive really looks nice in the setting - adds to the ambience !

Comings and Goings at the TB

It is a very busy bustling time at my TopBar at the moment - I have yet to decide on a name for this hive - I vary between a Maori name like my other one or something from the classics, I think I might let my grandaughter choose.

The bees don`t seem to have a problem with the 2 round holes as entrance ways, they actually line them up, the guard bees also manage to do their job sucessfully. I have been reading Phil Chandlers book, `The Barefoot Beekeeper` every night, it is such an interesting read. having my own TB makes it all the more fascinating, it is easy to read and makes so much sense I can`t believe no one else has ever come up with the idea !! TB hives are not a new thing, but I don`t know anyone else here who has heard of them let alone wants to try one - I am going to change all that !