With all the focus on hedge planting at the graveyard, I almost forgot my own plans to grow a proper hedge along the western boundary of the FY. But as always “Meadowmania” came up trumps with fantastic quality whips. So I set to at the weekend to get them all planted before the cold weather arrived.

I chose the superior mix and received a great variety: Hawthorn, Field Maple, Blackthorn, Dog Rose, Dogwood, Crab Apple, Common Buckthorn, Sweet Briar, Spindle Bush, Hornbeam, Guelder Rose, Honeysuckle and Hazel.

Oh I love to see the cattle in the field behind the Forage Yard! They are incredibly friendly and always want to chat over the fence!

What pleasure little Zina has brought me! She is so happy and content and just a little bit naughty

I have to admit this is not Forage yard honey… Most of the honey produced in the hive is to be left there to give the bees loads of food over the winter. We will however, have a few of the honeycombs in order to sample the difference in taste between Sussex Cottage honey and Forage Yard honey. 

I was delighted to be invited to watch how the honey is taken from the boards in the supers and made into honey in jars! The capping wax on the boards is first heated until it melts enough to allow the flow of honey from the bees stores. Then the boards are placed in a spinner and rotated until the centrifugal force on the boards forces the honey to the sides of the drum where it dribbles down to collect at the bottom of the spinner. When enough is collected it is drawn off and filtered through a sieve to remove bits of bees and other debris. At this point it can be jarred but it is rather nice to pour it through a finer sieve so the jarred honey looked like liquid gold.

Lots of hard work but this time not for me as I was a mere observer!

The willow was recovered from the pond this afternoon. The trunk had to be sawn into several pieces in order to lift it out, so I decided to use those pieces to create an insect metropolis rather than just an insect hotel! 

Hmm…. but I wasn’t considering the impact on the current residents who live close to the pond. The wasps must have thought I was going to interfere with their nest dug down into the soil. First one sting on my knee – not too bad so I carried on. Then they must have got really mad at me, for one flew up my shorts and left his sting buried deep in my thigh and another went up  the back of my T-shirt. I’ve learnt my lesson…. I’ll finish the job when the nest has died out in October.