Bees & butterflies

I was about to write 'last Sunday' but I really don't know where this month has gone and it was actually the Sunday before last that we attended an introduction to bee keeping taster session organised by the West Norfolk & King's Lynn Beekeepers Association.

Bee keeping is something I've thought about for years but it wasn't until we visited friends earlier in the year, who now keep bees, that I decided to do something about it. Although bees don't bother me (as opposed to moths!) I have never been close to an open hive so we thought the taster afternoon might be a good start. We were a little worried about the weather as the previous day had been very thundery, which leads to unhappy beees, but we were fortunate that the rain dried up and the temperature dropped a little.

After being kitted out in bee suits and a short, but important, health and safety talk we headed out to the hives. I'll let the photographs do the talking.

Bee proof

Off to the apiary

Lighting the smoker

A big thank you to all the association members who gave up their Sunday afternoon (and I suspect a lot more time in organising the event) and showed such enthusiam for bee keeping.

So what next? I'm hoping to do the theory course next February, followed by the practical. My only concern is that I start my own hive just as we think about moving to France, but as Andrew said you can put things off forever.

We've noticed quite a lot of bees and butterflies around this year. On Sunday we came across a section of overgrown hedgerow in the orchard covered in butterflies and I managed to photograph two.

Finally, something I don't usually do, a plug. Anthea is an interior designer friend of mine who has just opened an online home accessory store - if you love dogs you'll love some of her items! So have a look at Anthea's Home Store.