A short ride out

I recently noticed that my little Heiniger mini trimmer was not performing well, when I attempted to trim the hair on Wilson's paws.

I am hoping that it is simply a case of blunt blades, so I reached out to a local chap, who sharpens scissors and clippers, and arranged to drop them off with him.

I used the need to deliver the blades as an excuse to have a ride on my bike, so the BMW was wheeled out of the garage. I had a splendid run over to Cleeve Prior via Wixford and Bidford, before returning via Badsey, Wickhamford and Evesham. 

The recent tour to Germany has greatly improved my relationship with the bike. The 1,550 miles ridden have done wonders for the clattery gearbox, and also for my level of familiarity with the machine. I am now much more confident on and off the saddle.*

My ride consumed most of the morning, and in the afternoon I headed out in to the garden.

The beans were given copious quantities of water, as we are moving in to another heat wave. We have had a couple of recent showers, but they have done little more than dampen down the dust.

I then finished off weeding and watering the probably parsnips, before retiring to the relative cool of the house.

Next on my list is to plant the leeks out.

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* Fully loaded the bike comes in at about 250 kg. At 5' 3" in my stocking feet, it is a bike bike to move around!

Perfect Outcomes

Today's most significant event was that both Whiffler and Wilson were booked in at the Vet's for, hopefully, minor operations. Wilson is to be castrated and Whiffler is to have a growth removed from his lower lip.

We dropped them off shortly after ten o'clock, and 30% attempted to conceal her nervousness by proffering lots of information and guidance, including offering her views on the order in which the dogs should have their respective procedures.  It was fairly obvious that the Veterinary Nurse dismissed that suggestion without a moment's consideration, and probably gave a sigh of relief, once I had ushered 30% out of the surgery.

A few errands in Astwood Bank and Redditch followed, before we headed home for lunch.

In the afternoon I set to bottling a couple of batches of honey. It has been selling really well, and I estimate that we have sold around seventeen or eighteen jars in the past fortnight.

Whilst the honey was slowly liquifying, I grabbed my beekeeping equipment and headed up to check the hives.

I started with Hive #1, which was requeened on Wednesday, 26th June. I worked my way, slowly, through the frames in the brood box and was soon rewarded with the sight of the new queen scurrying across the comb. I could see patches of young larvae, which indicate that she has been laying for five days, at least. Hopefully the hive will be back at full strength in the next few weeks.

Hives #2 and #3 were also doing well. Both queens were spotted and the quantities of brood are increasing nicely in both colonies. I walked away from the inspection delighted with how the colonies are performing. 

Failing queens have the potential to lead to colony loss, but I have managed to make the right decisions at the right time* and this has resulted in three queen right colonies.

After finishing with the bees, we headed up to the Vet's to collect the dogs. The operations had gone well and we drove our two mildly stoned mutts back home. They settled reasonably well, but we know, from experience, that it will take a day or two until they are back to their normal selves.

So that was it for Monday. The only other achievements were that the honey got bottled and my little Guzzi was booked in for an MOT test on Friday.** 

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* There is also a considerable helping of luck. We have had fabulous weather recently, and this has, no doubt, helped the virgin queens in Hives #2 and #2 when it came to successful mating flights.

** I also mentioned the possibility of getting my CBR 600 recommissioned to the Workshop owner... more on that at a later date.

Possibly Parsnips?

This morning 30% and I headed out for a walk with the dogs. 

For the past couple of weeks we have tended to walk about a mile down the lane, and then turn around and come home. Today we diverted down the Bridle Path and had a splendid time enjoying the solitude of the empty landscape.

Our walk took most of the morning, and the afternoon saw me back out in the veg patch weeding. A few weeks ago I planted a row of parsnips. I'm embarrassed to say that, apart from watering them in the first couple of weeks, I have ignored them. 

The "row" is now overgrown with weeds, and, having never grown parsnips before, I don't really know whether I have parsnip plants or weeds.

I did a little research on the internet and got an idea of what to expect. It seems that I do have some parsnip plants, but my row is crooked, which further added to my dilemma about what to leave and what to pull up.

Anyway, I spent a good few hours out on the patch and I have almost completed weeding the "row".

The reason for the early finish was that we had invited Mummy Sheila over for supper. This evening's fare was a takeaway from China Twon ... as usual it was quite splendid.

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And, if I run short of news, I may recount the story about the Hedgehogs that like to climb sea stacks. 

Shelsley Walsh Bike Bonanza 2025

One of my Christmas gifts from TP was a ticket to the "Bike Bonanza" at the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb course, and today was the day.

I had arranged to meet TP at the event and was out of the house shortly after eight o'clock this morning.

At this point I should mention that I am far happier with the R1250R after the recent tour. The gearbox isn't perfect, but it is much less clunky, and, with over two thousand miles under my belt, I am more comfortable with the way the bike handles.

Shelsley Walsh is only about forty minutes from home and I was just taking off my jacket when I saw TP drive up to the entry gate on his new VFR800.

We had a pleasant day at the event. There wasn't a huge amount of bikes there, and very little in the way of trade stands. If anything, low key sums up the day. But the limited numbers of spectators meant that the pits weren't crowded and we had our pick of seating to view the runs up the hill.

The obligatory shit burger and ice cream were consumed, before we went our separate ways in the early afternoon. TP headed back to Cardiff, and I headed home for a snooze on the sofa.

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* At any motorcycling event it is the law that one must consume an overpriced burger of dubious quality.  Actually today's fare was reasonably tasty, but it was still pricy!

Nothing to see here

We had arranged for the boiler to be serviced this morning, and the engineer was on site at the appointed hour. We left him to check over the boiler and heating system, whilst we attempted to calm a rather vocal Wilson and Hobson.

The excitable dogs meant that we needed to stay indoors for most of the morning,* and, consequently, achieved very little.

The service was completed and everything was fine. I was advised that additional work** will be needed next year, simply because the boiler will then be five years old.

I had planned to continue weeding the veg patch in the afternoon, and got as far as tying up the tomato vines, before I had a hypoglycaemic event, and needed to hit the sofa for a surprisingly long time.

The title of today's entry sums the day up nicely ... nothing to see here.

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* Wilson is far too unpredictable to be let out when strangers are on the premises. Hopefully his temperament will be calmer, once his testosterone levels drop.

** Two seals will need to be replaced and an internal oil line will need to be replaced.

Gone Fishing

 I finally summoned sufficient courage to venture in to the veg patch this morning.

The smaller of our raised beds has sat fallow since last Autumn, with a mulch of manure. This morning I dug in the mulch, and poured on a few cans of water to make sure that the soil was moist. 

In the afternoon I made five shallow drills in the bed and sowed a crop of beetroot (var: Boltardy). I grew this variety last year and was really pleased with the beets. They pickled really well and my beetroot relish was well received too.

I then set to clearing the weeds that had grown in the bare earth over the past few weeks. This wasn't too bad a job and by about half past three I estimate that I had cleared more than half of the veg patch. 

At the beginning of June I had planted a row of cabbage and cauliflower plants. Unfortunately I have to report that they have been decimated by Whitefly. Apparently the recent hot, dry weather provides the perfect conditions for this pest. The plants were beyond salvation and have been dug up and disposed of. I may see if I can get some better quality plants and try again, although I am concerned that the infestation will just reappear.

I aborted my weeding session in the late afternoon, as I had an evening of fishing planned.

Shortly after four o'clock I loaded up the car with my gear and headed over to a lovely stretch of the Avon at Barton.  I had just got my bait in the water when Bubbles arrived and we had a pleasant evening chatting and watching the wildlife.

I had several bites over the course of the evening and even had a smallish fish on the line, but the little devil slipped the hook before I could get it anywhere near the bank. Bubbles was less fortunate. He was using a commercial Red Robin pellet and was getting no interest at all. He decided to switch to the garlic marinaded luncheon meat that I was using, and finally started to get a few bites.

We packed up just before ten o'clock and headed home, having agreed that it had been a good evening, and only a fool expects to catch a fish every time.

Beeswax, part 2

 This morning we took an early walk down the lane with the dogs, before 30% disappeared for the day with the Cinema Club. 

The remainder of the morning was spent watering the tomatoes, and I even managed to trim Hobson's rear paws ... He seems to have very sensitive feet, and doesn't like warm clipper blades near his toes.

After lunch I decided to finish processing the beeswax that I produced yesterday.

The block of wax was cut in to chunks and melted in an old saucepan over a Bain Marie. Once melted it was poured in to moulds.* These had squares of old t-short material, held tight with rubber bands, over the top of them. The fabric acts as a filter to separate the crud from the liquid wax.**

The wax cools and solidifies quite quickly, and, by the end of the afternoon, I had 20 ounces of pure beeswax.

There is something quite other worldly about beeswax. It is difficult to explain. It has an amazing, but subtle aroma, and a feel that is almost silky under one's fingertips. It is a very tactile experience holding a block of beeswax.

Needless to say, I have a accumulated several pounds of the stuff over the years, and I really should think about doing more with it ... candles, perhaps?

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* In this case, old, washed margarine tubs

** The wax soaked filter material makes really good firelighters for later in the year.

Processing Beeswax

Why do I maintain The Journal?  I'm not certain that there is a single reason. 

It is a useful record of how, or when, I have completed certain projects. The recipe for a successful dish, or how I have overcome a particular problem with the bees, or a DIY project at home.

It is also a narrative of the second half of my life. What I have done. Who I have worked with, and for. Tales of holidays and events and even the mundane comings and goings of day-to-day life at home. There are even the occasional snapshots from my younger days, before The Journal was started.

I'm not sure that it has any value to anyone else. I sometime wonder whether TP will ever read it to, perhaps, get a better understanding of his father and his life? I am aware, from the blog statistics, that Journal entries are read by casual visitors,* and I can see which entries have been read. It is quite fun to re-read these entries. It is as though I am using these random visitations by unknown persons, to select and review certain days from my past.

Anyway, enough of that, on to today.

After extracting the honey crop back in May, I was left with a quality of sticky wax cappings.** These had been placed in a couple of feeders and placed on hives #1 and #2. In the intervening weeks the bees in those hives had scrupulously cleaned the honey from the cappings and stored it back in the hives.

This morning I finally got my arse in to gear and removed the feeders from the hives. After shooing away a few bees, I settled down to process the cappings. After cleaning by the bees, they look almost like a drift of coarse sawdust. They have a slight sticky texture due to honey remnants and the nature of the wax itself.

Stage one of this process is to melt down the cappings in boiling water. I use an old rice cooker, and I soon had a slightly aromatic brown liquid bubbling away in the cooker.  This was poured through an old sieve in to a plastic container and was left to cool for a few hours.

While the wax was cooling I attended to the feeders, which were slightly sticky and the bees had even started to build brace comb*** in them. I found that careful application of a hot air gun, on its lowest setting, would melt the wax and it could be cleaned off with a cloth. The plastic feeders were then put through the dishwasher and have come out beautifully clean.

I then returned to the wax and removed it from the plastic container. The underside of the wax is covered with a layer of black sludge comprised of pollen, and other debris from the hive. This is scraped away to leave a disk of beeswax. It still has impurities and will need to be melted and filtered again before it it suitable for making candles, leather cream or furniture polish ... but that can wait until tomorrow.

My only other achievement was that I grabbed my clippers and gave Wilson a lamb clip. I have to say that he was really very good, and I am very please with the result. I will point out that I have yet to clip his feet, so it does look like he is wearing Ugg boots!

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* I do wonder how they come across an anonymous little blog, that makes no attempt to appeal to the masses, and what they actually think of it when they get here?

** These have to be cut from the honey comb to enable the honey to be harvested

*** Brace comb is a term used to describe the clusters of wax cells that bees will construct in an attempt to fill large spaces; often between the frames and the floor and sides of the hive. In this case, in an attempt to fill the feeder.

Roasting!

Today was forecast to be the hottest day of the current heatwave, with temperatures expected to be in the low to mid 30's.

We were up early and shut the curtains on the side of the house that gets the sun.  The living room is naturally quite cool, and we hoped that keeping the room in shade, would make it a reasonably pleasant sanctuary in the heat of the day.

We then headed out to the garden and ensured that the young plants were watered. 

Having sorted the house and garden, we retreated indoors and looked for something to occupy our time away from the heat of the day. 30% headed upstairs for an extended period of tidying. I wandered in to the utility room and made a start on a long overdue task; descaling the coffee maker. 

This little job always takes much longer than expected and I was still faffing around with the filter as 30% declared it was time for lunch.

In the afternoon 30% headed out to enjoy the air-conditioned delights of the supermarket, while I pulled on my bee suit for this week's inspection of the hives.

I only inspected hives #2 and #3 today. Hive #1 had a new queen introduced on Wednesday, and I can see little point in opening up that hive until next Monday.* The inspected hives are doing well. Hive #2 is the stronger colony and has about five frames of capped brood. Hive #3 is smaller with three frames of capped brood, but I have no concerns about either of them.

The colony inspections probably took about forty minutes, but I was sweltering by the time I had finished. I retreated to the shade and relative cool of the house and took a siesta for the rest of the afternoon.

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* With a queen introduction it is a case of "they will, or they won't", i.e. the colony will either accept her or kill her. I left the colony queenless for a couple of days, before I introduced the new queen, which should make them more amenable to accepting her, but fundamentally, the matter is out of my hands. If the queen is accepted by the colony, she will take a few days or even weeks to settle in and start to lay. Hence, there is no rush to open up the hive.

Days of rest

 This week my afternoons have featured very long siestas, combined with a tendency to do as little as possible.  Perhaps I came back from the European trip more exhausted than I thought?

So, it will come as no surprise that today was another lazy day.

We headed out down the lane with the dogs early, before the heat set in. We were out and back before nine o'clock, but it was still very warm by the time we returned home.

My morning was spent working on The Journal entry covering the bike trip, and the main points from another couple of days were noted down.

The afternoon included another huge sleep, before we got ourselves tidied up. This evening we joined Bubbles and Bobbyn for a curry at The Mother Huff Cap at Great Alne. 

This restaurant and bar specialises in Nepalese and Indian food and we had a rather good curry. I may seem a little churlish, but that was all I can say. It was a decent curry. For some reason I am no longer as enthused by a curry as I used to be, and now regard it as a spiced chicken or lamb stew, nothing more.

Don't get me wrong, I do like a curry, but I now find little to rave about. There are plenty of good Indian Restaurants in these parts that serve decent food but, but after forty odd years of eating their food, I find their menus are all pretty similar, and the same can be said for the eating experience.

Perhaps I need to try one of the Michelin starred Indian Restaurants?

Another haircut

 Saturday turned out to be very similar to Friday.

The weather is very warm, but the skies are frequently overcast, and there is an annoying wind that deters me from gardening. Mind you, it is so dry out there, that we are doing little more than watering at present.

So, my preference is to stay indoors at the moment, and I needed something to justify this.

With the clippers still unboxed, from yesterday's grooming session, it was now Hobson's turn. The Grooming School have reported that he can be an utter pain to clip, but I found him to be quite well behaved. 

By lunchtime I had trimmed his coat back with a #5F blade and he was looking rather smart with a neat topknot and ears.  I should mention that he now looked quite tidy, provided that you didn't look at his feet.

After lunch I attempted to tidy up his feet, and that was the point when his cooperative nature dissipated. He obviously doesn't like the sensation of the clippers on his toes.

I also found that my Heiniger mini clipper just wouldn't work on the hair around his toes. It may be that the blade needs sharpening, so, for the moment, it looks like I will have to persevere with a full sized clipper and blade ... he isn't going to like that at all!

It's warming up

 A heatwave is expected over the next few days, with temperatures expected to peak in the low 30's on Monday.

Both 30% and I enjoy the warm weather, but it is no fun for the dogs. Both Whiffler and Hobson currently have quite long coats. It is, therefore, time for them to be clipped.

A couple of #5FC (6.3mm) blades* were ordered a couple of days ago, and were due to arrive today. In the meantime, I set to trimming Whiffler's topknot and ears. It seems that the students at the grooming school have opted to style Whiffler with a luxuriant topknot and ears.  These have developed tangles and knots over recent weeks and it is time for some serious pruning.

I spent this morning attending to his coiffure with anti-tangle spray, a comb and hairdressing scissors. After much faffing around, I am reasonably pleased with the result.  Although, I have to admit that, as long as the scissors are close at hand, there is always a tendency to just tidy up a minor imperfection.

Phil the postie arrived with perfect timing, and the #5 blades were unpacked and put to work.

Over the next couple of hours, Whiffler's coat was shorn right back. We took several breaks to allow him to rest, and for me to vacuum up the clippings.

At the end of the day, he looks quite respectable, and I just need to tidy up his rear feet to finish off the job.

As I mentioned yesterday, Whiffler is about to celebrate his eleventh birthday, and it is apparent that he now a senior citizen. The Grooming School have advised that he copes with grooming sessions well, but I have my suspicions that there is an element of self-interest involved.

He has a very calm nature and is, therefore, an ideal candidate for an inexperienced student. Today I noticed how quickly he became fatigued. It is definitely time he was retired and groomed at his own pace at home.

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* #7FC blades cut the coat to 3.1mm, which is probably a little short when we consider when they are next scheduled to be clipped.

Peaked too early

As the title of today's Journal entry suggests, I most definitely peaked too early today.

I was out of the house by half past seven this morning for a check-up with the Ophthalmologist. Amazingly, I was seen, tested and exiting the clinic before my eight thirty appointment time. My IOP readings are good and, apparently, my readings and scans will be reviewed by a practitioner, and I'll be alerted if there are any concerns.

I was home by nine o'clock, and had time for a quick coffee before Whiffler and Wilson were bundled in to the car for an appointment at the Vet's.

We wanted to check on Wilson's vaccination status and Whiffler has developed a fleshy lump on his lower lip. 

Whiffler had a similar growth a couple of years ago, which was removed. We had had the growth tested, at that time, and it was found to be a malignant melanoma. We were obviously concerned that the melanoma had returned.

Our Vet checked out Wilson and his medical history and confirmed that he was up to date with his jabs. She also gave him a once over, as he is scheduled to be castrated on the 7th of July. With Wilson checked over, it was now Whiffler's turn.

Emma the Vet had a long look at the lump and then fetched Whiffler's paper records to check the date and diagnosis of the previous lump. She confirmed that it was likely to be a return of the melanoma, and recommended that we get it excised.

She added that he was in great shape for an eleven year old dog and that it had been two years since the previous growth had been removed. In that time he had not developed any other symptoms or growths. It was therefore her opinion that the operation was worthwhile. 

She commented that, if the growth returned in a similar timescale, he would be a very senior thirteen years old.

So, now both Whiffler and Wilson will be going under the knife on the seventh.

Back at home I had an enormous kip on the sofa, before hauling my lazy backside outside. I managed to get the water butts filled from the well,* but little else.

I did say that I peaked too early today.

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* I checked the level and it is currently about 12' below ground level. I replaced the well pump back in 2023, and, at that time, calculated that it is about 50' deep.

Back in the groove

Wilson is settling in nicely, and, day by day, we are becoming familiar with his personality. 

It is fair to say that he is a good boy, but can be a little possessive and temperamental. His temper usually manifests as the occasional growl or barking, but these are becoming fewer as time passes.  He is wary of TP, and it is possible that this is because he originally lived in a home with a young man with anger issues.

However, the relationship with TP is improving slowly, and each visit will, hopefully, reduce Wilson's anxiety.

We also have Wilson booked in for castration in a couple of weeks, which should help with curbing his  hormonal behaviour.

Now, the reason I started with a summary of Wilson's progress was because today I unboxed the clippers as I planned to trim the fur on his face. This is another of those canine care activities that could go horribly wrong! 30% has been brushing him regularly and he seems to be quite happy with grooming, but, as they say, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating".

I put a #10 blade in the clippers and sat Wilson down. I have to say that he was an absolute angel to clip, and didn't even wriggle as I ran the blades over the sensitive end of his nose and over his eyes. 

That is another significant milestone passed in his integration in to our little pack.*

Phil the postie turned up shortly before lunch and carefully handed over a small package marked Live Animals in Transit. He is familiar with the honey bee requeening process, as he has delivered a few in previous years, and is interested in how the hives are doing.

I carefully opened the package and checked that the queen was alright. She is not particularly large, and I can only hope that her size will increase as she settles in to the hive and starts to lay.** I placed a drop of water on the queen cage*** and put it in a cool dark place until I was ready to introduce her to her new home.

The introduction took place in the early afternoon, and all I can do now is wait a week and hope that the requeening is successful.

The rest of the afternoon was spent thinning my carrots. I really must remember to dilute the seed more when I next sow a crop, as I pulled hundreds of mini carrots from the raised bed to make space for my crop.

So, here ends Wednesday's Journal entry. I'm definitely back home and back in the groove.

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* Mind you, I haven't clipped his feet yet!

** The massive assumption here is that the colony accepts her, rather than deciding that she is an intruder, and killing her!

*** I had no idea how long she had been in transit, so wanted to ensure that she, and her attendant workers, were hydrated.