An Excellent Hangi ..

Some of the men uncovering the hangi pit - the soil is quite hot at this stage

Last evening Ellena and I went out for dinner - to a hangi - what is a hangi you are thinking ??

It is a meal cooked under the ground in a pit with stones that are heated to a high temperature by fire, then the fire is put out, the food in wire baskets is put on top of the stones and the whole lot covered in cloth and then the soil from the pit - left to cook in the steam all afternoon.

With the cloth drawn back and steam let out of the cooking pit.

The last layer of cloth is sacking which is very good at keeping the heat in - the smell by this stage is something else.

The veges are wrapped in tin foil

Some of the 100 people there !! Stew and Leah who put this feast on ,own 2 very trendy cafes in Hamilton, Ellena works at `Jacks` on the weekend, hence our invite - this evening was a `thankyou` to staff, clients, family and friends who have all helped to make their business`s so successful - a really nice young couple ..

One of the 6 baskets of meat !! Pork, lamb and chicken were wrapped in cabbage leaves to keep the salty juices in and cooked to perfection - the meat actually fell off the bones

Stew, the chef, busy cutting the meat - there was so much food plus salad followed by brownie and cream - all very yummy. I hadn`t eaten hangi food for many years and had forgotten the `special` taste the food has, a mixture of earth and steam if you can imagine that ? Maori cooked in hangi, there are many old pit sites around the country with shells and bones in them. Other Pacific Islands have their own version called an Umu, which is run the same way. Any fat in the meat tends to run out the bottom onto the rocks. Maori still cook in this way especially if there is a big event on, in Rotorua a tourist centre, the food is placed in baskets and left in the thermal hot pools to cook, tends to have a slight sulpher taste then !

Beekeeping Workshop at Raglan.

Yesterday I spent a remarkably good day out at a small, quirky seaside town on the West coast, about 40 mins drive from where I live. I had been asked by the local Whaingaroa (Raglan) enviro centre, along with a friend who lives out there and who has a hive, to put on a beekeeping workshop. The picture above is the view from Barbara and Pat`s gorgeous home, nestled in the bush on the side of a hill overlooking the ocean - I was in heaven !!

This is not a flattering photo of Barbara, but does show her lighting her smoker - she, like me, has trouble keeping it going at times !! After we had finished the demonstration at the hive the flaming thing sent up yards of smoke after going out acouple of times when we needed it - murphy`s law !

A healthy looking frame with pollen and nectar starting to be brought in - the hive is on the side of a hill with a great view out to the sea and native bush. There are a number of trees flowering, Pohutukawa, Karo ( Pittosporum crassifolium), Kowhai, (Sophora tetraptera) and alot of Kanuka which will flower later. Barbara always get a good yield of honey which a yummy bush flavour.

Most of the class had brought their bee gear or borrowed some. It wasn`t a great day weather-wise, but we opened the hive for a short time so everyone could get an idea of what it looks like inside a working hive. Barbara took out acouple of frames, one with brood and the beginnings of a queen cell. Barbara keeps black bees which were the original English honey bees and has mixed with Italians and Carniolins over time - they still are alot more aggresive then the others, which is why she keeps them as they have a big problem with wasps killing hives over summer and autumn in bush areas.

Above is the group shot - me being at the front on the left - I usually avoid photos, but I figured being that far back I might fade into the distance ! Everyone is very keen to keep bees which is what I feel so passionate about - getting the word out there and showing people that it isn`t hard and you are not going to get stung to death if you do it properly and wear the correct protective clothing. They were amazed at the fact I don`t wear gloves - I put my hand gently into the hive to demonstrate that bees are generally far too busy going about their business to stop and sting something that isn`t hurting them !

Last but certainly not least, here is a photo of a puffed up Tui - all very territorial at the moment, swooping from tree to tree and vocal ! Tui are a NZ native bird, quite big and have the ability to mimic a huge range of other birds and human sounds. There was a story about them in the old days when our beautiful bush was being felled, Tui would mimic the axe chopping and the voices of the men. If you listen closely you can hear snippets of other bird song plus a creaky door and then a beautiful melodious tune - very clever birds. They are an irridecent black/bluey green with a white fluffy piece under their chin, hence the name `parson bird` by early settlers. They make quite a loud wooshing sound when they fly, are bossy and tend to chase smaller birds away - there were so many out at Barbara and Pat`s place, I am very envious . . .

Well, that was my day, I caught up with my eldest daughter Meg before I left the township, Meg and my grandaugher, Lia, have lived at Raglan for about 10 yrs now, if I didn`t have to commute every day I would live there to - it is still NZ as it was but with all the mod cons and far enough away from the cities to be peaceful. Lots of very interesting people live there, wonderful artists in all mediums, folk whose families settled there over a hundred years ago - a real mixture. I drove home after calling in to see friends and pick up free range eggs, with a contented smile and mark knoffler playing his magic guitar - it is good to be alive !!

Class Trip.

I have just finished teaching 2 beekeeping night classes for 6 weeks at a local High School with the last lesson a visit to my hive - please excuse the state of my back yard, I have no time for gardening at the moment !!

Some of the students watching me take the top off the hive, as there are alot of bees in the hive at the moment and quite afew people don`t have their protective gear yet, I didn`t take the top board completely off. As it was, the bees were very well behaved and no one got stung !! I had another 7 or so people standing on the other side of me, all very interested and keen to keep bees.

It was the first time I had opened the hive for acouple of months and they have made quite alot of comb, especially where there were no frames. I don`t mind as it is easy enough to strain the honey out, I will most probably leave it there for the bees to use and put a honey super on top fairly soon. If this hive does not swarm I may have a go at splitting it, never done that before it can`t be that hard ??

I think the comb is beautiful, such a work of art and when they make it naturally it just seems to glow.

I don`t wear gloves as I find them to bulky and I end up squashing bees, this way, I go very carefully and usually don`t get many stings, none yesterday which was good for the students to see.

I have been asked to teach the course again next term which is in about 3 weeks, heres` hoping we get the numbers again, it was so popular I ended up doing 2 classes. The verbal feed back has been very encouraging, I seem to have taught them what they needed to know and instilled confidence enough to at least think seriously about keeping bees with many actually doing it - just what I intended - more beekeepers in our world !

Beautiful days . . .

Once again we have stunning spring days. The trees are bursting into leaf or flower with the Horse Chestnut above sending out star shaped leaves from a sticky bud. I spend alot of my day looking up !

The native Kumarahou is flowering everywhere, all along the sides of the road in rural areas. The bees love the yellow pollen and sticky nectar from the early spring flowering small tree, it grows well here in the Waikato.

The amazing Ginkgo - what a prehistoric looking plant this beautiful tree is. I love the way the flowers and leaves grow from the wood, the waxy leaves spreading out into tiny fans, the bright spring green colour heralding the new season.

I am enjoying playing with my new camera, a Canon PowerShot SX1015 - I still have lots to learn about it, so as you can imagine, the camera goes everywhere with me - my family ask when am I going to take photos of humans ?? I have 3 grandchildren that get photographed alot, I need to get some printed, it is easy to forget with a digital camera, I miss not actually having a hard copy to look at.

Acer rubra - Red Maple flowering . .

These 2 photos were taken one week apart - I just love the simplicity and beautiful shape of first the tight buds, then the soft coloured stamens waving in the breeze - nature at its best ..
Spring is so full of anticipation - where ever I walk in the Gardens there is a tree or plants ready to burst into flower some are already just magnificent, especially the magnolias - they deserve a post of their own !!

Educating the young . .

Last week I was invited to a local primary school to speak to two classes of 8/9yr olds about beekeeping. They had been studying bees, so had many interesting questions to ask me !! Gulp - some really made me think like, `do bees fly backwards ?` and `do bees live in blended families ?` - a sign of the times maybe . . .
I took along my suit, blower, some wax and frames plus honey to taste. I was going to take some bees as I do have a small case with glass sides for showing a frame, but the day was quite cold and windy and I didn`t fancy opening my hive. Still, they were all very responsive and I enjoyed spending the time with them.
The children had done some amazing artwork which I am going to ask their teacher if I can have a copy of acouple of them, wonderful poetry also - it is so encouraging to see these little people learning and interested in bees - all is not lost for the future I believe . . .

More Spring Things ..

The first cherry to blossom here is Prunus campanulata, the Tui tree. It attracts the birds and bees and always heralds the beginnings of spring for me. It is now classed as a weed species as it pops up everywhere, even in the bush - I still love it though. . .

Ma and Pa Duck checking out the accomodation in the Romulus and Reamus pond which is part of the Italian garden here at the Hamilton Gardens - we have many duck couples around now, some even with babies in tow - very cute .

What would spring be without crocus blooming at the base of the almond and cherry trees - this is once again taken this morning in the Italian garden - I love my job !!

A Hint of Spring . . .

On a hill over looking Hamilton Gardens http://www.hamiltongardens.co.nz/ , there is the old city cemetary. I happened to be up there today collecting tree samples and saw the first snowdrops of the season, I also noticed some of the early cherry trees budding and heard a tui - that was the bonus !

The cemetary isn`t used for burials anymore, unless you have a family plot, it is a very peaceful place to be with many of Hamilton`s early settlers resting there, plus a large soldiers plot. The saddest part for me is the childrens area, so little and so many - often from one family . . .

Still, spring is heralding her coming with buds bursting and bright, clear days.

Winter Bees - Sylvia Plath Poetry . .

Below are 2 of my favourite Sylvia Plath poems centered around bees with her very unusual understanding and slightly mad interpretations. Sylvia, born in Boston USA, had a short but interesting life, suffering from depression after a breakdown during her college years. Her father kept bees and had written 2 books about bees - Sylvia had a very close relationship with her father and was devastated after he died.
Her marriage to English poet Ted Hughes produced 2 children, but the unhappy, unbalanced woman committed suicide in 1963 in England.






WINTERING
Sylvia Plath 1932-1963

This is the easy time, there is nothing doing.
I have whirled the midwife`s extractor,
I have my honey,
Six jars of it,
Six cat`s eyes in the wine cellar,

Wintering in a dark without window
At the heart of the house
Next to the last tenants rancid jam
and the bottles of empty glitters ....
Sir So-and-So`s gin.

This is the room I have never been in
This is the room I could never breathe in.
The black bunched in there likle a bat,
No light
But the torch and its faint

Chinese yellow on appalling objects ....
Black asininity. Decay.
Possession.
It is they who own me.
Neither cruel nor indifferent,

Only ignorant.
This is the time of hanging on for the bees...the bees
so slow I hardly know them,
Filing like soldiers
To the syrup tin

To make up the honey I`ve taken.
Tate and Lyle keeps them going,
The refined snow.
It is Tate and Lyle they live on, instead of flowers.
They take it. The cold sets in.

Now they ball in a mass,
Black
Mind against all that white.
The smile of the snow is white.
It spreads itself out, a mile long body of Meissen,

Into which, on warm days,
They can only carry their dead.
The bees are all women,
Maids and the long royal lady.
They have got rid of the men,

The blunt, clumpsy stumblers, the boors.
Winter is for women ....
The woman, still at her knitting,
At the cradle of Spanish walnut,
Her body a bulb in the cold and too dumb to think.

Will the hive survive, will the gladiolas
Succeed in banking their fires
To enter another year ?
What will they taste of, the Christmas roses ?
The bees are flying. They taste the spring.




THE ARRIVAL OF THE BEE BOX

Square as a chair and almost too heavy to lift.
I would say it was the coffin of a midget
Or a square baby
Were there not such a din in it.

The box is locked, it is dangerous.
I have to live with it overnight
And I can't keep away from it.
There are no windows, so I can't see what is in there.
There is only a little grid, no exit.

I put my eye to the grid.
It is dark, dark,
With the swarmy feeling of African hands
Minute and shrunk for export,
Black on black, angrily clambering.

How can I let them out?
It is the noise that appalls me most of all,
The unintelligible syllables.
It is like a Roman mob,
Small, taken one by one, but my god, together!

I lay my ear to furious Latin.
I am not a Caesar.
I have simply ordered a box of maniacs.
They can be sent back.
They can die, I need feed them nothing, I am the owner.

I wonder how hungry they are.
I wonder if they would forget me
If I just undid the locks and stood back and turned into a tree.
There is the laburnum, its blond colonnades,
And the petticoats of the cherry.

They might ignore me immediately
In my moon suit and funeral veil.
I am no source of honey
So why should they turn on me?
Tomorrow I will be sweet God, I will set them free.

The box is only temporary.

Starting the next Venture . . .

Abit blurred I know, but hey its a start to my next venture !! My son Cameron manages a printing firm and very kindly, for his dear old Mum, printed my business cards and they are cool. Bright yellow with black writing, the bee being drawn by my youngest daughter, Ellena, on the lovely Mothers Day card she made for me - I love it, so decided to use it for my cards. Ora means pure in the Maori language. I will get the stickers for the honey jars in the same design.

Don`t you love that happy bee ? ? - although those wings might prove a tad useless - at least she hasn`t got a sting !

Favourite Reading . .

Above are some of my `bee` titles, ( my copy of `Robbing the Bees` is lent out) I do have a small collection of much older, some from last century, beekeeping books and a huge, some would say, over-the-top amount of infomation I have gathered about bees, beekeeping, anything remotely connected to bees - especially historical .

Most of the books I have had to send overseas for, the older ones I have found at second-hand book shops. My blogger friend Julia very kindly sent me a copy of her book `The Sweet Life` which is full of her beautiful photos and well written story of her and her family`s first year of beekeeping - her blog is great also, check out `Henhouse Pottery` .

One book I would recommend reading for all beekeepers and anyone who cares about what is happening to our world, is `Fruitless Fall` by Rowan Jacobsen - you know how everyone scoffed at Rachel Carson after she wrote `Silent Spring` ( another `must` read for all humans), well, the day has come my friends, and we are are going to have to work very hard to make things right or even , just abit better . . .

Winter morning market place . .

On a brisk, sunny winter`s morning the monthly farmers market is held at Tamahere, a small district on the outskirts of Hamilton city. The market, which has over 100 stalls, is held in the grounds of St Stephans, a delightful old wooden church, surrounded by trees and gravestones. In fact, the oldest and largest Rhododendron tree grows in this churchyard.

The stalls sell everything from fresh fruit, veges, all seasonal and fresh from the orchards that surround this area, plus nuts, coffee, yummy pastries, honey and home-made crafts. I particularly enjoy the plant stalls as they are always good value for money and healthy plants. A friend has a herb nursery and she always does very well at this market. I never buy eggs anywhere else as I know they come from happy chookies who roam free - the eggs look and taste different anyway !

This is a very popular market, one of many held around NZ on a Sat or Sun. It has grown hugely, is a great place for a wander around, taste the cheeses, sip a good hot coffee, have a yarn to someone you know and take life abit more gently then usual . .

There is often music playing, a South American group with their flutes, youngsters busking - nothing to loud and distracting - all in all, a very pleasent morning spent.

Frosty Morning . . .

Winter has certainly arrived with her frosty breath , -4 degrees C, frozen grass, brilliant blue sky with the last of the autumn colour slowly falling to the ground to end the yearly cycle once again - something I alway marvel at and never tire of . .

A fantastic frosty morning in the Waikato this week,a Gingko tree in the Hamilton Gardens looking spectacular with it`s pillow of fallen leaves which the gardeners leave as long as possible, mowing a circle around the tree !

How lucky we are to live in this energising place . . .

Club Honey Show 2009

The Waikato Domestic Beekeepers Assc held their annual Honey Show at the May meeting. It was very successful with quite afew of our new members entering honey and winning prizes !!

It is judged by taste, with light, medium and dark in both the runny and creamed classes. Wax and mead were also judged and I must admit, one of the mead samples had a real kick to it !

It is a fairly laid back affair and I would like to make some changes next year, maybe get judges in from commercial honey producers - make it more interesting. The number of exhibits has grown alot over the last couple of years, I think it is time to make it more professional.

We hold our meetings in a classroom at the Horticultural campus of Wintec, which is a large learning institution in Hamilton city. It gives us lots of room to spread out, we can show DVDs and videos, plus there is a laptop and projector for power point presentations. The biggest bonus is where we are situated . . . the Hamilton Gardens - my favourite place.

Alot of the honey was quite dark in colour, probably due to the pennyroyal around in lawns here in the city during autumn. Most of our members are from the urban area, with afew out of towners on life-style blocks or close to the bush areas.

Our club is growing rapidly with many more people interested in keeping bees, I hope after the adult night class I am teaching in August we will have many more wanting to help pollinate our world . .

Honey Jar .

Is this not a cool honey biscuit barrel or a large honey jar ? My friend gave it to me afew years ago and I love it !! The detail on it is beautiful and it is in perfect condition. I have a small collection of honey pots, but I think this is my favourite .

NATIONAL BEE WEEK IN NZ.

Below is an extract from the Organics Aotearoa web site. It is Bee Week here in NZ, focusing on the importance of bees in our lives. There has been articles in the news papers each day, so hopefully more and more people will become aware

01 May 2009
Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) is putting a focus on bee-friendly farming, calling for reductions in toxic agrichemical use and increased organic research as Bee Week begins on Monday 4 May.
"Bees would not survive without human support, while a third of all the food we eat depends on bee pollination", said Dr Jon Tanner, OANZ Chief Executive Officer.
"During Bee Week, OANZ will advocate for reductions in toxic agrichemical use and more organic research", Dr Tanner said.
"There is mounting concern at the world's declining bee population, with agrichemical use a leading cause.
"Increasing organic research would allow all farmers to reduce their reliance on harmful agrichemicals.
"Greater research is particularly necessary around varroa, where we do not yet have organic options which can control the early stages of infestation. Beekeepers face having to abandon organic production until effective treatments are found.
"New Zealand produces around 300 tonnes of certified organic honey annually, mostly for international export. Organic bee products typically attract a price premium of around 25%.
"Organic beekeepers are required to locate hives more than five kilometers from intensively farmed properties, and to abide by certifiers' standards for hive management.
"Despite the challenge posed by varroa, organic beekeepers are generally positive about their future. Consumers are demanding the greater traceability which organics provides, and more farms are making the switch to organic production.
"OANZ is pleased to work alongside the National Beekeepers Association, Horticulture New Zealand and Plant and Food Research in coordinating Bee Week", Dr Tanner said.
ENDS
Three organic case studies are available for download:
Waitaki Honey Company
organic bee products exporter John Hartnell
the New Zealand Beeswax Company
There is also a media backgrounder with information about the themes of Bee Week, and more information is available on the National Beekeepers Association website.

Wild Hive

The alders are in a group on the river flat below the gardens, the mighty Waikato river flows through the city of Hamilton and is edged with great river walks and gardens.

Foraging bees at one of the entrances

Last week I came across a wild bee hive high up in an Alder tree down on the river flats below the Hamilton Gardens, I was so excited to find it as there are so few wild bees in NZ now. It was up to high to reach, had 2 entrances and the bees were very busy flying in and out.

It was most probably a swarm from one of the hives here in the sustainable garden, I was told that there had been a swarm acouple of months ago. I just hope it survives the winter and doesn`t die from varroa or other diseases.

CLUB HONEY . .

Summer is definately over down here in the Antipodes, Autumn and all her glory has arrived and I for one, am very pleased !

We extracted the honey from the club hives a couple of weeks ago, I am President of the Waikato Domestic Beekeepers Assoc, plus librarian and news letter editor. I really enjoy working with the older members of the club who have been beekeeping for generations, they have so much to teach. About 9 of us turned up on a beautiful morning to take the honey off the hives of which one of them had 8 supers on ! (see above pic) An hour or so later there were thousands of annoyed bees everywhere, I wasn`t worried as we were all kitted up in protective gear and no one was stung. I had the regal job of brushing bees of frames and filling the empty boxes with loads of delicious capped honey. We also added the Bayvarol strips, 2 in each hive for the treatment of varroa mite, these will be taken out in 6 weeks. The hives are on a farm on the outskirts of the city, they seem to do well on the clover, barberry hedges and large country gardens .

Afew days later at the monthly meeting, more of us gathered at one of the member`s homewhere the supers had been taken, (Roger has a large shed which is ideal for the messy job of extraction) for an evening of uncapping, extraction and friendly banter ! I can`t remember how much honey we ended up with, about twelve 20 litre buckets I think - all of which will be sold.

This is a great learning exercise for the newer members of the club, real hands-on stuff ! The evening finished with cups of tea and biccies.

bees at work ..

The beginning of December brings sunshine and flowers and many busy bees in my back garden. My girls have had flowering Manuka and Pittosporum eugenoides, Lemonwood, to choose from plus a wonderful big garden across the road that is full of flowering summer plants.

I have noticed that Miro, the taller hive is quite abit stronger then Rimu, hopefully this 2nd hive will catch up with her sister bees in time.

My 3rd hive, Matai, is at my friend`s place in the city and doing really well. I hope to take some honey off at the end of the month all going well.

Using Organic Treatment

Acouple of weeks ago I opened my hive, Matai, at my friend`s place, it had been a swarm I had collected a week before and I wanted to put a wafer of ApiLife Var, the organic varroa mite treatment on the top of the brood box.

Look at the pretty comb my girls have been making, I always feel bad when I have to scrap it off .. The organic wafer is put into the hive and because it evaporates, you can leave it there and not have to worry about taking it out later - it is very strong smelling, lasts forever on your hands if you do what I did and forget to wear gloves. I had meant to bring some thin surgeons gloves as I don`t wear any at all when I work with the bees, the leather ones I find far to cumbersum and end up squashing bees .. Apart from afew stings I have not had a problem having bare hands, the bees feel warm and velvety.

It will be very interesting to watch how this treatments works after using Apistan strips before, it just feels so much better to me NOT putting any sort of chemical into my hives - we will see . .

Spring and the bees are buzzing ...

My hive at home is waiting for a swarm, hopefully soon, as I can`t wait to have bees right at my back door ! There is a high fence for them to fly up and over before hitting the neighbours place and is sheltered from the cold southerly winds by the fence and an orange tree - also, it can not be seen from the road. I am also looking forward to showing my Grandaughter Lia the bees on a closer level, she is keen so I want to encourage her. I had better warn the lawn mower man ...

The Kowhai, (Sophora tetraptera) are in bloom - one of the first signs of spring in Aotearoa. The Waikato river that flows through Hamilton where I live, was once lined with this smallish feathery-leafed tree - old Maori memories say that the river water tasted of Kowhai ..

The nectar eating birds like Tui, Waxeyes and Korimako enjoy the sweet delight hidden well down in these bright yellow flowers - the leaves come out after flowering and it is semi-deciduous here in the Waikato.

We don`t have many brightly coloured native flowers here in NZ, so the Kowhai is extra special .