Slower Days. . .

The photo above was taken yesterday out of the large window I was sitting by, in a great cafe in the little village of Pirongia, not far from Hamilton. The mountain the village and area is named after, can be seen slightly in the misty background. I was having a coffee and muffin reading over my notes, feeling nervous about the talk I was soon to deliver to the Waikato branch of the NZTCA ( tree croppers) ! The talk went very well plus a wonderful lunch with lots of yummy nut receipes to choose from, eg Chestnut soup, walnuts, hazelnuts and in general, very delicious - plus I nearly forgot, a container with a pump and tap of extremely drinkable apple cider - thanks Rob, that helped settle the nerves !!
I spoke about trees for bees, supplying a year round source of nectar and pollen for honey bees. Which tree sp to plant, especially types that will do well in our Waikato climate. I also touched on CCD and everyone seemed to be keen to hear about my TopBar hive, even convinced afew - I think .. One chap has 1000 hives in the King Country, is selling up and getting a TB or 2 - yah

These 2 cards were made for me by my lovely daughter Pip, one for my birthday and the other for Mothers Day - I cherish them. She loves the old Girls Annual books, using pictures she cuts out ever so neatly and puts together on good card - I just love getting things like this, made with love and thoughtfulness. .
Lia, my grandaughter wrote me a beautiful poem about a mermaid, which will also go into my journal along with all the other precious bits !

It is certainly heart warming to a parent when given something hand-made with love - all mine know what I love doing, know all my little eccentricities . . .

Korimako (Bellbirds) in Hamilton Again . .

Precious cargo, 12 adult Korimako or native NZ bellbird being carried into Te Parapara Maori garden, Hamilton Gardens, 2 weeks ago, to be released into our city environment after an absence of 100 yrs ! The birds were mist caught on TiriTiri Matangi and other areas north of Auckland where they have flourished in predator free sancturies - I truly hope they will flourish here again.
The 2 people mostly concerned with this project, John Innes (Landcare Research, and a young chap from the University of Waikato carried the box onto the garden, welcomed by a kuia from the local iwi, Ngati Waiwere. It always sends shivers up my spine when I hear the haunting call that can either welcome or send-off a being onto a marae or sacred place by these women.
A prayer from the kuia to send them on their way, these native birds once were everywhere throughout the Waikato, but with loss of habitat and introduced predators, they survive only in 2 or 3 isolated bush areas.
aThere were alot of people including children at the Gardens to watch this historic event, it is heartening to see the number of keen conservationists gathered together and so interested. I am very proud of my city for having the foresight to replant and repopulate.
A beautiful male Korimako with his olive green plumage, the female is not quite as green. Their song is truely amazing, check out any NZ bird site and find a recording, sorry, i`m lazy and haven`t done it for you.

TopBar Beekeeping Workshop.

My TopBar hive with the roof off and me unsticking the bars , I didn`t get to into it as it was windy and the bees started to get grumpy - I managed to pull acouple of bars up and everyone got a quick glimpse of wax comb.
This is my first TopBar workshop, held today at my home. I am so excited at how well it all went, even with thunderstorms occasionally ! Everyone was very keen to learn about the TB and beekeeping with no one having seen this type of hive before. I was lucky enought to have a spare empty hive to show them the insides and just how it all works.
I had put together a folder of information I felt they needed to know, we talked about Langstroth hives also and they were able to compare the 2 with my Lang full of busy bees to.
In between heavy showers we ventured out to check out the hives

The observation window was a hit with everyone, the bees having built comb on the inside. My next hive is going to have a much longer window so it will be possible to really get a good look inside the hive.

Aotearoa Autumn . . .

Autumn is my absolute favourite season, I don`t mind a little rain or wind - the days are usually settled with that gorgeous mellow light that bathes everything in a soft yellow/orange glow. Above are the tulips I brought (unseasonal of course) with a bowl of beautiful scented ornamental quince and the gorgeous card my lovely daughter, Pip, made for me - she is very clever, making cards using pictures she cuts out of old girls annuals and the like - this one has a stylised looking `me` with a honey bee on a leash ! There is also a photo of my grandaughter Lia and grandson Elliott taken awhile ago now. I have to be surrounded in my`things` getting loads of enjoyment from just `looking` . .

A busy wee spider had made this perfect web over night - the water droplets caught in the strands glistened this morning on my walk through the Gardens - once the slight fog had lifted everything sparkled, and I heard quail calling.

As I walked across the rose garden this morning this beautiful sight greeted me - the balloon slowly rising through the mist, silently gliding across the city - we are so lucky to live where we are, here in Godszone as NZ is often called - it seems so easy to notice the simple pleasures often overlooked in our busy lives - it just takes time to stop and treasure the jewells we are surrounded by . . .

Easter in New Zealand . .

My eldest daughter, Meg draw the `Last Supper` on the blackboard at her brother Cameron and his wifes` cafe Alimento in Tauranga - patrons loved it

Matt playing aucostic guitar at Alimento on Easter Sat, Pip, Elliott and I called in for lunch - Elliott enjoyed his `kids` lunch !

Elliott and little friend dancing the moves to his and Amalie`s Dads` band in the street on Easter Sunday - so full of joy - I love watching him dance and sing, his innocence at this age is delightful.

Mats` band, `Bare Bones and Cabaret` is becoming popular around the Bay of Plenty, they have played over here in Hamilton and out at Raglan - lots of good `ol rock and roll, all being their own music - Matt is on the right. Elliott loves jamming with his Dad, he and his little cousin Jackson, were playing the drums ( 2 long sticks on a stool top) and he said their band was called `the poopy beatles` - very appropriate !

My gorgeous 2 nearly 3yr old grandson, Elliott Thomas with his best friend, the Easter Bunny in the street at Mt Maunganui, the beach town on the east coast where he lives with his Mum and Dad.

Every Easter there is a large jazz festival held in Tauranga and the Mt which attracts many bands and solo artists, Matt and his band played at the Mt on Sunday. The population of the place swells considerably and for some reason, it is nearly always beautiful weather. When my children were younger, a large group of us, about 6 families, always went camping at Easter. I have so many great memories of those times and so do the kids, there was lots of laughing, playing silly games, afew drinks ( early rising with a slight hangover is not great ) and plenty of eating done - we tried to go to a different beach each year - special times . .

Last Bee Class of the Term ..

This week was the last bee keeping class for the term, the 6th lesson I always have at my place and we check out my hives if the weather is ok. Everyone (only afew in the pic above) was intrigued with my TB hive and I`m pretty sure there will be a number of converts !! I know for sure that one couple have the plans already and will have their TB built in time for spring in Sept. Lifting the roof exposed lots of ants cleaning up a dead cockroach and a small group of bees busy propolising with shiny red something. I did smoke a small amount around the 2 entrance holes as there were people around without protective clothing on.

The first 2 bars have some propolis and a small amount of wax on them, the next one in

having a lovely comb of capped nectar - the bars are stuck together but do come apart easily.Note the different undersides on each bar, Peter experimented with some of the bars but the bees don`t mind as long as there is something to attach the wax to.

It was a warm evening so I took out another 3 bars which were joined with each one having its own seperate comb, all with the bee space between them, some with capped nectar, others to be capped. The bees were so calm, there was no frantic flying around, mind you, I didn`t have it open for that long. I find that by picking up more then one bar at a time the comb feels more stable somehow.

I have the divider just over half way along so the area is not as big and I can add more space next year all going well. I took a bar out of the empty end and the warmth could be felt even through the solid wood divider - amazing.

Article I wrote for local Environment Centre .

TOPBAR BEE HIVE

Would you like to keep honey bees, Apis mellifera, for pollination and honey in your garden or orchard ? In an urban or rural setting ? If so, then I believe this is the perfect hive to keep them in !

The TB hive has been used for centuries in Africa and Asia, not quite in the same shape as the one pictured, but a similar idea of a single box used as the hive body, as close as possible to the bees natural home in a tree or cavity.

TB hives are made from untreated wood, usually macrocarpa or cedar, wood that does not need painting or any chemicals applied to it to last a number of years. It is also thick enough to keep the bees warm over winter and cooler in summer – plus it smells good ! The legs are made from treated wood just so they will last weather-wise and the roof is water-proof, shaped so as the rain will run off – I have had no problems with moisture getting into the hive after heavy rain.

The name TopBar is taken from the bars of wood that lie across the hive, (see pics), to which the bees attach the wax comb they naturally make to fill with nectar, pollen and baby bees ! The bars are all the same width and length and when all are used, form a roof of sorts which the bees propolise to make water tight. I do also have another more waterproof roof over that, see above. The plans for my TB hive were down-loaded free from an excellent English website called `Bio Bees` - I suggest anyone who is thinking about keeping bees read Phil`s words, he is very informative and enlightening.

With a TB hive there is no need for much of the equipment that seems to accumulate with the Langstroth hive commonly used by beekeepers in NZ. You don`t need any extra honey boxes as the hive body is all you use, there is no heavy lifting ( ideal for people in wheelchairs or others with bad backs), because it is a more natural way of keeping bees there seems to be alot less stress on the bees themselves which makes for a far more pleasant task when opening the hive – only taking a bar or two out at a time, allows the hive temp to stay more or less the same, the bees being less anxious and annoyed at the intrusion into their home.

The photo to the left shows a completely natural piece of wax comb built by the bees. They start from underneath the bar and work down to form a beautiful half-moon shape consisting of hundreds of hexagonal cells, everyone exactly the same size, in which they store nectar and pollen or the queen will lay her eggs in.

I firmly believe that this is the way for hobbyists to keep bees, you might not get a huge surplus of honey but the advantages of having happy, healthy bees in your garden to pollinate your fruit and vege is more important than jars of honey ! We need to really start to care for our bees, stop manipulating them and upsetting the delicate balance they have for living their lives in a productive manner – we as humans, will benefit from this far more than we ever realise. Start caring for what is around you and you will be amazed at what you can change !

 

If you are interested in these hives, please ph or email me on 07-8566468 or marcia.meehan9@gmail.com

Yours in beez ... Marcia

Baby Kotare . .

Our New Zealand native Kingfisher or Kotare as the Maori called it, the name meaning a`scrounger, someone who lives off the genorosity of ones friends` - called that may be because kingfisher typically hang around ponds, rivers and lakes waiting for the fish to appear.

Don`t mess with me !

She/he is only a baby, we took it to the local `bird man` and he said it was the 2nd one he had in over the last week. The tiny bird with a very sharp beak, sat quietly while I took pics, excuse my finger in the top one, I will try and get rid of that when I print them out ! It still needs acouple more weeks of being in the nest before it fledges - bill the birdman will keep and care for it until he releases it. And that isn`t my hairy arm - just so you no I`m not a yeti !!

This beautiful native bird was found by a student on the ground, must have tried to fly and couldn`t get back. Kotare nest in holes in banks or trees by waterways normally, they feed on fish, and small creatures like mice and insects. They can often be seen sitting very still on power lines, or branches hanging out over water. Their adult plumage is electric blue - all you usually see of it is a flash of colour and thats that - so special to have held and seen this precious gift up close.

bees in their own places . .

very friendly pair of Pekin ducks..

we found this bees nest in the ground under the alder roots, I thought it was wasps at first, unusual to see bees nest in this sort of place. The alders are planted along the river bank.

Last Sunday I was invited out to dinner to friends who own a beautiful garden and home right on the river bank, just out of the city. Stephen and Janet have owned Moondance for about 5 yrs, they inherited this amazingly formal garden, based on an English theme, and have added their personal touch with an aviary and more planting. The trees are huge , with flowering borders, hedging and areas of NZ native trees planted. There is a large pond that is home to a pair of persil white Pekin ducks and some rather big goldfish, with Swamp Cypress planted on the edge for stunning autumn colour - autumn is breath-taking out there - liquidambers, pin oaks, liriodendrons, copper beech. cercis and other exotic trees adding their colour to the mix.

Above is a pic of another bees nest in a bird box placed on a Liriodendron or Tulip Tree in the garden . I am going to go back this week sometime, climb up a ladder and lift the lid ! i would love to have a quick peep inside and maybe leave a small piece of varroa (organic) treatment inside so may be they will survive the winter. Both wild hives were still quite busy.

TopBar Heaven . .

I pulled the heavy bar out very gently, it was a warm day and the wax comb was soft - the last thing I wanted to happen was the whole lot collapse into a sticky mess on the floor of the hive !I did rest the bottom of the comb lightly on the bars, luckily a friend arrived and I persuaded her to take some photos.

I was thrilled to pull this bar out and find brood and nectar, the queen is obviously laying well with the pattern being healthy - click on the pic and you can see the larvae ready to be capped - exciting stuff !!

Beautiful wax comb being built from the end bars, note the bright red propolis.

Yesterday was the perfect day to open my TB hive, warm with little wind and busy bees out doing their thing .
I had been abit worried that there was not enough room in the hive after I had made it smaller using the divider board - but on taking the end bar out discovered 2 empty bars still waiting for comb. The hive is absolutely humming, I am thrilled to bits at how it has turned out, better then what I expected, so beautiful to look at, even for afew minutes !

The bees were quiet and co-operative, I did wear my veil but didn`t light the smoker as I think smoke tends to send them into a panic which must add stress, (I like to avoid stress of any kind), but with only taking afew bars out at a time the temp stays pretty much as it should be in the hive and the all important pheromones from the queen are not totally lost into the air - the wonderful natural TBH allows for much kinder treatment of your bees - thats my opinion, for what its worth !!

I noticed on opening the hive the bees had been doing a fair amount of propolising with a bright red resin or gum. I do wonder where they are getting it and from which plant or tree. I know there is a large stand of Australian gum trees not far from here which could be the source. One of the (many)things I want to do, is build up a list of local flowering flora in this area, where it is and when it flowers.

A friend of mine down-loaded off a BBC programme, the story `Who`s killing the Honey Bee ?`, a doco similar to `Silence of the Bees` which I already have, but made by people in the UK. It is very good, if you get a chance to view it, do, as it really makes you think about what is happening to bees and how we can do something about it. We don`t have CCD here yet, but it will come if we don`t take notice now of what is happening overseas, learn from what has happened and care for our bees. But I am afraid that the big chemical companies and the like won`t give a fig, it is very hard to fight huge corporations with their endless budgets. We hobbyists all need to unite as one large voice and YELL for the bees, 0k ? Enough of my ramblings . .

The Good Life !

I spoke to the group before opening the hive, I asked one of the ladies to take some pics, they were either miles back or dark - it was a bright sunny day to . . Never mind, at least it gives you as idea of what it all looked like ! Interesting look don`t you think ?? - bee suit and jandles on my feet - I get really hot feet in boots ..

I am standing on this rather old pergola which I had to climb a ladder up to get to, plus it wobbled and I nearly did `freak out` as my daughter would say !
I took one frame of capped honey out of one of the boxes to show the people gathered below, we didn`t get to close as no one had any protective clothing on. The bees were very well behaved, especially as they had had varroa strips put in the day before.

Last Saturday I was part of the yearly summer festival held at the beautiful Hamilton Gardens. A number of different talks were given in the sustainable gardens, including Earthtalk@Awhitu, (check out their great website) 2 women who have developed an incredible garden from a desolate piece of land out on the Awhitu peninsular, Wiremu Puke gave a guided tour of Te Parapara, the first and only authentic Maori garden built in NZ since pre-European days and is one of the Gardens highlights, one of NZ`s well known TV gardeners, Xanthe White spoke about her personal gardens, there was a `keeping hens in the city` talk, composting lessons, worms, a guided tour of our large walled vege garden, herbs for children and finally, me - on bees of course !! It was a very successful day, I had a great group of people with lots of questions and many really keen to keep bees. I have had acouple of emails and by the feed back I got, there are so many interested organically minded future beekeepers out there - even in little old NZ or `Godzone` as it has often been referred to.

This part of the 2 week festival is run by the Hamilton Permaculture group and is always very popular - they had a great band playing, with food stalls, Touchwood Books (another good NZ website), the Green Party, Enviro groups - a really interesting selection of things to look at and learn from. I look forward to it every year.

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 !