Coconut Panna Cotta - well worth the wait!

This morning found me circling the car park at Worcester Royal Infirmary, searching for a space.  I eventually found one, and headed over to the Ophthalmology clinic. 

I was half an hour early and expected a long wait after checking in. This was not the case, and I was called to an examination room within a few minutes of arriving. Preliminary checks were made,* and I was told to sit in another seat and wait to be called in by the Consultant. 

Again, I expected a long wait, and, again, I was wrong. I was sat no more than a minute or two, before I was seen by the Consultant. We discussed how my eyes were, and I advised that they had been very sore and gritty since the pollen season had started. I was asked to position my head in the examination frame, and had barely got my chin on the bar, when the Doctor advised that she could see how sore my eyes looked, before she had even started the examination.

We discussed my eye care regimen, and I was reassured that I am completing the correct steps. A new eye drop has been prescribed, which will hopefully, reduce the levels of irritation. She then delved in to her drawer of Medical Rep freebies and pulled out a little box. "Try this" she said "It's lovely and soothing. I don't know whether your GP can prescribe it, but I note it down in the letter I send them."  She then sent me on my way, advising that I should come back in about six months.

I was on my way home just five minutes after my scheduled appointment time. I couldn't believe how quickly I had been seen and how pleasant the Ophthalmology team had been ... Amazing!

I stopped off at my local surgery to collect a prescription on the way through the village, and was soon back at home.

I then focussed on my main objective for today, getting a couple of batches of honey warmed and bottled. As soon as the first batch was in the hot water bath,  I headed off down the road with Hobson and TB. A pleasant walk was neatly slotted in to the hour needed for the honey to liquify, and I then focussed on warming and bottling two batches in total.

By the end of the day I had bottled twenty one jars, and I have calculated that I will need to sell seventy five jars before I have covered the cost of the three buckets, purchased yesterday.  If sales stay at the current level, it should be about six or seven weeks before that point is reached.

This evening we headed in to the Redditch Catering College restaurant for their Mexican evening. Mummy Sheila joined us and we linked up with three other acquaintances from the village to form a group of six.  At this point I should make clear that I had declined the offer to attend this event. I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food, so had decided that a plate of beans on toast was far more appealing.

"So," you might ask, "Why was I sat at a table at the college restaurant?" Well, several weeks ago 30% learned that only she and Mummy Sheila were available for the event, and it would be much more fun if I came along too.

So, I came along and can report that the company was reasonable. The food was distinctly average, so I suppose that my evening was best assessed as OK. That was until the dessert arrived. I had chosen a coconut panna cotta, served with fresh fruit. It was absolutely amazing, although it did make the preceding courses seem even more distinctly average.**

---

* I made satisfactory progress down the Snellen sight chart, and my IOPs were a very satisfactory 10 and 11 mmHg.

** There is a back story to my delight in this evening's glorious dessert. Many years ago 30%, TP and I dined at The Arrow Mill to celebrate TP's birthday.  The meal was acceptable. Not amazing, but acceptable, until we selected our puddings. I chose a coconut panna cotta and waited in anticipation. It arrived, and I dipped my spoon in. I took my fist mouthful, and instead of a smooth, creamy dessert, I found myself eating something with an unpleasant grainy texture. I put down my spoon and waited to catch the attention of the waitress.  She didn't appear until both 30% and TP had finished their puds. She asked if everything was OK and I advised that the panna cotta was not very good. She simply shrugged, cleared the plates and fucked off to sort out our bill. Funnily enough, it was several years before we ate their again.

Have I developed Telepathy?

Earlier this week I finally managed to finalise arrangements to collect three buckets of honey from a new supplier.  The timing was fortunate, as I am down to my final jar from the last batch from PtBK.

So, this morning found me out in the bright sunshine attempting to locate the headquarters of my new supplier. After a minor detour, I eventually found his cottage, knocked on the door and introduced myself.  He is a full-time commercial beekeeper with about three hundred colonies. He seems very knowledgable, and the honey was beautifully presented. It had been pre-filtered and would just need to be warmed so that it could be poured in to jars.

It is expensive at £125 per bucket,* but there will be less wastage and, with bulk honey in short supply, beggars can't be choosers! The Apiarist advised that he would offer a discount on future purchases, so I am hopeful that he has a healthy harvest and is more inclined to offload his stock.

I headed home via Alcester, dropped a parcel off at the Post Office,** and picked up some staples from the supermarket.  I was home with sufficient time to take a walk with Hobson and Traitorous Bastard, before lunch.

Immediately after lunch I was required to set up the MacBook, so that 30% could attend her on-line speed awareness.  I must report mild annoyance that I got snapped at, because 30% hadn't bothered to properly read the instructions for joining her bloody course. In fact, there seemed to be a fair bit of abdication of responsibility, as she simply forwarded the joining instructions to me, and left it to me to get MS Teams installed and set the machine up.

I then manage to find time for a brief snooze, before Boring John*** turned up at the gate. Months ago I had offered him a large block of weathered concrete. I have a vague recollection that he wants it to mount a water feature, but, to be honest, I do try to forget anything John says as quickly as possible.

I did my best to provide as little assistance as possible with loading the block in to his pick-up. It was very heavy and I really didn't want to injure my back doing someone a favour. We actually managed to get it loaded relatively easily, but I did have to endure a lecture about the fact that Rudolph Diesel didn't actually invent the diesel engine. I tried to make interested noises, while simultaneously wishing John would just shut up and fuck off. 

Eventually he left, leaving me to enjoy an hour of solitude.  I topped up the feeders on hives #4 and #5 and the relaxed further before heading in to the village for this week's Tai Chi session. 

This evening we completed a warm up, and the Spring sequence, before we completed the first seven postures of the Yi Jin Jing sequence. The class ended with Kung Po Fran guiding us through the final three postures of the sequence ... I swear that one of them is call Pouncing Tiger, which suggest that I may have developed some form of unnatural mental ability.

---

* Over the past couple of years Pete's prices increased from about £60 to £70, and the last bucket was £80.

** A pair of Motorcycle touring trousers that were a horrendous fit

*** The husband of one of 30%'s chum; Lesley ... I'm not overly keen on Lesley either

I am not a polished public speaker

... Neither am I a professional beekeeper, but I am a reasonable motorcycle tinkerer.* And with those three statements I have neatly summarised my day. I will now elaborate a little.

First job this morning was to wander out to the garage and fit the new battery to the Guzzi. It wasn't an overly arduous task, and I soon had the bike reassembled, with the trickle charger reconnected. I now have to choose from three bikes for the planned ride out this coming weekend.**

The rest of the morning was taken up with loading the car up with beekeeping paraphernalia, in preparation for this afternoon's talk at the Parish Education Centre.  I also took the opportunity to skim through my notes in an attempt to make my delivery a little more polished.

As for the talk, despite some nervousness it went well. I would guess that there were a couple of dozen in the audience and they seemed to be quite happy with my little lecture. I stumbled a couple of times, and actually felt happier when I abandoned my notes and talked off the cuff for the last portion of the presentation. A few questions were asked, and answered, before I was rewarded with a HUGE slice of coffee cake.

30% also managed to sell the last of our honey*** to members of the audience, while I had a novel and incredibly interesting experience ... demonstrating the elements of a bee hive to a visually impaired friend.  This is not something that I have ever done before, but it was great fun to think about the hive in a new way and allow a friend to experience it with her sense of touch and smell.****

The feedback I received was that my talk was both interesting and enjoyable. I have also been asked to bring honey to the next meeting of the Tuesday Afternoon Club, as we had managed to leave people wanting more.  As I said at the beginning of this entry, "I am not a polished public speaker," and I have no plans for a repeat performance ... keeping bees and selling honey is far less stressful.

While on the subject of selling honey, I'll be popping just over the border in to Warwickshire tomorrow, to collect three buckets of honey from a new supplier.

---

* Within self-imposed limits

** The Enfield needs a few hours of tinkering before I even attempt to kick start her in to life.

*** 10 jars

**** A hive has a unique aroma due to the presence of beeswax and propolis. It is a lovely, faintly aromatic aroma, which wafts up, as the cron board is lifted.

A quiet day

The time had arrived for Traitorous Bastard's monthly trip to the Groomer's. 30% ferried him over to Stratford-on-Avon and then headed off for an informal event with a sub-sect of the coven.*

I was left home-alone, so Dog #4 aka The Rat was recruited to fill the vacancy left by TB, when I headed out for this morning's walk. 

Now The Rat has a bit of a reputation for being slightly maniacal. She adores a walk and literally prances from one side of the road to another, and charges all over the place.  She does have reasonable recall and will, sort of, walk to heel, but she much prefers to do her own thing, which basically involves checking out every possible sight and scent, with scant regard to commands issued by her Master!

Our walk was the usual route out as far as Pete's house, and we returned across the fields.  Before she left, 30% joked that The Rat would abandon us and go feral, living with the foxes and other wildlife.  I pointed out that The Rat was probably too feral to be accepted by the foxes ... They may stink, have mange, and eat roadkill, BUT they do have some standards!

Back at home, the new battery for the Guzzi arrived at lunchtime, so this was unpacked and connected to a charger. Out of interest, I tested the voltage of the old battery, and it read 10.25 volts** ... It was definitely the right move to order a new one.

I then spent a while gathering various items of beekeeping paraphernalia for tomorrow's beekeeping talk, before heading in to Stratford to collect TB. 

Stratford's traffic system never fails to infuriate me, and it was the usual stop/start crawl through town. Fortunately my homeward journey was far less congested, so my humours were back to normal by the time we arrived home.

So, Monday was a relatively quiet day and the beekeeping talk is nearly upon me. It is surprising that I am becoming a little nervous as the clock counts down.  I am well aware that it is a little chat to a couple of dozen folks in a Parish Hall, but, weirdly, I am getting quite apprehensive about it.

---

* I am led to believe that it was a trip to Rowberry's Nursery, featuring coffee and lunch ... and a shed load of gossip!

** i.e. knackered!

The Apiary

 This is an attempt to summarise the history of each of my hives, focusing on the origin of each queen.

This is very much a work in progress, so it may well be revised or abandoned, if it isn't working for me.

Hive #1 

• Originally started as a nuc from Pete in late Aug 24
• Queen stopped laying in late spring 2025 
• Replaced with a 2025 queen from Honeyfields Bee Farm

Hive #2 

• Originally started as a nuc from Pete in late Aug 24, 2024 Queen. 
• Colony failed over the Winter of 2024/25
• April 25, replacement nuc from Pete. 
• Colony split in Summer of 2025, Queen transferred to Hive #3,
• Colony has locally mated 2025 queen, Hive #2 Queen was parent
• April 26 Colony split and Queen moved to Hive #4
• As at late April '26, Numerous queen cells present in Hive. 

Hive #3 

• Split established in 2025 with Queen from Hive #2. 
• Supercedure immediately after split created.  
• Resulting colony had a locally mated 2025 queen. Original Hive #2 Queen was parent
• April 26 Colony split and Queen moved to Hive #5
• As at late April '26, Numerous queen cells present in Hive. 

Hive #4 

• Nuc established April 26 with queen from Hive #2

Hive #5 

• Nuc established April 26 with queen from Hive #3

Another battery needed?

I wandered up to the orchard this morning to liberate the chickens. I glanced up in to the apple tree, and noted that the swarm was no longer there. I checked the nucleus hive, that I put out yesterday, in the hope that the swarm had taken up residence.  Unfortunately the box was empty, and there was no obvious sign that the swarm had settled elsewhere in the orchard ... this is not a huge disaster as I have, potentially, five viable colonies in the apiary at the moment.

Shortly after breakfast I headed out with Hobson and TB for our usual walk. On our return I could see that 'Chelle had dropped in for morning coffee, so a fun hour was spent chatting with her and 30% on the patio.

In the afternoon I assembled another batch of frames, as these are needed for the demo hive that I will be taking to my beekeeping talk on Tuesday.

I then wheeled the Honda from the garage, turned on the fuel tap, and attempted to get her started. I expected some reluctance, as I had been advised to run her, with the fuel tap off, until the carbs were drained of petrol, when I put her into storage at the end of last year.  With each push of the starter button, the engine turned over, and fuel was pulled in to the carbs. Unfortunately the battery was less and less vigorous with each attempt, and I gave up before I killed it. The bike was returned to the garage and reconnected to its trickle charger.

I retired to the house and idled away an hour, before returning to the garage. This time she fired up straight away. I threw on my jacket, helmet and gloves and headed off down the lane. I didn't go far, as she is not yet taxed, and there is no way I am going to tax her this close to the end of the month.*

The ride out was lovely and, despite being cautious because of new tyres, the little Honda still delights on twisty roads.  I made a resolution to get out on her as much as possible,** having finally got her back in running order.  She needs a little tidying up, but still looks lovely and is in great condition for a thirty year old motorcycle. Perhaps, as it suggests in the title of today's entry, a new battery might be needed?

So those were the newsworthy items from today. The only other news was that our gate installer called to say that he'll be here at the beginning of June ... as soon as he gets back from his three week tour of Scotland!

---

* If you reading this and are unfamiliar with UK road fund licensing, every vehicle used on British roads must have paid its Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). This can be purchased for a 12 or 6 month period. Any vehicle without VED must have made a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN), and must not be used on the road until the VED is paid. VED can only be purchased for full months, so if you pay the VED after the first day of the month, one will be paying VED for days already passed.

** Obviously I rode her to our new house, when we moved here in 2021, but her fuel pipes and carburettors became inoperable due to damage by modern fuels shortly afterwards, so she hadn't been ridden for a good five years before she headed off for refurbishment last year. I can't remember the last time I rode her on a regular basis ... I'll bet that it's ten years, or more, since she was last ridden in anger.

Read the bloody label - Idiot!

I was wandering around a sunny garden this morning, after returning from this morning's walk.  I could hear a significant buzz from the orchard and wandered up to investigate. As I walked through the gate my attention was drawn to the boughs of the large cooking apple tree, and I could see a lot of bees flying around one particular branch. Closer inspection showed a swarm clustered there.

I glanced across to the hives and I could see that the face of hive #2 was covered in bees. This was a sure sign that a virgin swarm* had emerged from this hive and settled in the nearby apple tree. I hope that there is another virgin queen still in the hive, and that she mates and returns to continue the colony.

It would not be possible to shake the swarm form the tree, so I put out a nucleus box nearby, in the hope that the virgin swarm would be attracted to settle in it ... Although I don't think I'm that lucky!

In the afternoon I mixed up a couple of batches of weedkiller and sprayed the veg patch. I then went on to remove the side panel from the Moto Guzzi.

The Guzzi's battery charger has been displaying error lights on and off throughout the winter, and it is highly likely that its ten year old battery is on its way out. I ordered a new battery, and then started to have a nagging suspicion that I hadn't mixed up the weedkiller in the correct proportions.

I retured to the potting shed and re-read the instructions ... Oh bollocks! I had totally cocked up the mixture and had applied a far too diluted mixture. It was therefore necessary to nip out to the Nursery, buy another bottle of concentrate and re-apply the weedkiller.

The veg patch now has Roundup on one half and Resolva on the other. I believe the they are both glyphosate based, so it'll be interesting to see whether there is any difference in performance.

---

* A swarm contains one, or more, unmated queens

Holiday planning and the bees

It was a gentle start to the day, as I would not be walking the dogs this morning.

The reason for this adjustment to my normal routine, was because 30% had a physio appointment at the hospital in Worcester. We had therefore arranged for her to attend the appointment, and then meet up with B&H for lunch afterwards.

A little after midday we arrived at The Swan at Whittington. Drinks and food were ordered, and gentle teasing and leg pulling took place. We then attended to the main agenda item, which is the planning of next year's holiday.

Surprisingly this will not be another narrowboating adventure. We will be going much further afield, as we are planning a safari holiday in Africa. Various options have been explored and we have settled on a tour in Zambia and Botswana, that will include a visit to the Victoria Falls. Our preferred dates are a fortnight at the beginning of July '27, and H has been tasked with checking availability, securing the appropriate discounts and making the booking.  30% will need to ensure our dog sitter has the availability to accommodate our mutts, whilst B and I sit back and do nothing secure in the knowledge that we would only get in the way!

After a pleasant and productive lunch, we headed home, and I assembled my beekeeping kit.

I needed to move the nucleus colony, that I created last week, to a full sized brood box.* I also needed to check the other new hive (Hive #4), perform a full inspection of hive #1, and just check the supers of hives #2 and #3.

The transfer of the nuc to hive #5 was swiftly performed and all seems well. The queen is laying and her colony is starting to grow in size. This nucleus colony is being fed syrup, and this is making it easy for them to both build comb, and lay down some stored food.

Hive #4 is also doing well. This is the nucleus colony created with the queen from hive #2.  They were moved in to a full sized brood last week and, consequently, are a little larger than #5.  They are being managed in the same way as Hive #5.  Basically the plan is to get them to increase in size, so that the brood nest is covering at least six or seven frames. At that point I may even add a super and see if I can get a small honey crop from them. later in the year.

I then went on to inspect hive #1. They seem to be bringing in surplus nectar and I estimate that the super is, perhaps, three quarters full. They are not yet capping off the cells in the super, so we are way off harvesting honey at the moment. The inspection of the brood box then followed, and all was well. There were a few queen cups to squash, but no serious signs of swarming. This colony is also incredibly well tempered. So, I have a calm colony that is reluctant to swarm ... I really should look to rearing a few queens from this hive!**

I then checked the supers on hives #2 and #3. Both were slowly being filled with honey. There was no point inspecting the brood boxes as both hives are raising young queens at present. I would not expect these to have mated, and be laying for at least another couple of weeks.

I can report that all seems well in my little apiary.

Next on my list was to get the mower out of the shed and perambulate around the front lawn, and the verge outside the cottage. I didn't get as far as mowing the grass around the garage, but that five minute job  can wait for another day.

---

* This will be hive #5. I plan to create a separate Journal entry that briefly summarises the origins of each of my hives.  For example; Hive #5 is a nucleus colony created in April '26 with the queen from Hive #3.

** Desirable genetics?

Getting my steps in

It will be no surprise that the morning started with the usual walk out as far as Pete the Beekeeper's house.  This is a little under three miles, or about 6,200 steps.  Those are my statistics. I haven't got a clue about the dogs as they are forever running to and fro, and darting through the hedges in to the adjacent fields. I wouldn't be surprised if they covered another couple of miles.

In the afternoon I dragged  lawnmower from the shed and attacked the lawns at the back of the house. I had almost completed the back lawn, when I realised that my blood sugar was dropping. As a result a snack and a short snooze was needed to recuperate. 

I then returned and picked up where I had left off. The back lawn was finished, and I went on to mow the lawns around the greenhouses and veg patch. 

I didn't have my phone in my pocket, so don't have a record of the steps, but I'll wager it was another three or four thousand.

I will freely admit that I was quite weary at the end of that, and was glad to plonk my bum on the sofa.

This evening I also managed to persuade 30% to listen to a rehearsal of a talk about bees and beekeeping, that I will be giving for a local group next Tuesday. She says that it will be fine, although, apparently, I do say the word colony quite a lot ... I'm not quite sure what I could say instead?

So, that was Thursday. I'm hoping that I sleep well after quite a lot of physical and mental activity today.

Sorting out the chainsaw

Wednesday wasn't the busiest of days.

I took my reasonably regular walk in the morning, and had planned to mow the lawns in the afternoon. That was until I remembered that I had a Tai Chi class this evening ... I didn't want wear myself out in advance of this week's session.

Instead, I wandered in to the workshop and attended to the chainsaw.  When attacking the tree stump, earlier this week, I managed to hit a stone and run the blade through a patch of clay surrounding a root. As a result It was necessary to spend a happy hour removing the blade and bar, and removing the oily, sawdusty crud that had collected at the base of the bar.

I then reassembled the saw, and spent another hour sharpening the chain. It has been a long time since I last did this* and I had forgotten that it is quite a tedious and repetitive task. On this occasion I clamped the bar in the engineer's vice in the garage. This made the job significantly easier than previous attempts, where it had been necessary to try and both hold the bar still, and file each cutting link. With the bar clamped I could concentrate on filing the cutters, and the job was finally finished.

A test cut confirmed that the saw was cutting well, although I think a new bar and chain may soon be needed.

This evening's Tai Chi class was very similar to last week. Further elements of the Yi Jin Jing sequence were practiced and we were all forewarned that the Lying Tiger move may be a little painful for one's knees.

---

* I have the saw serviced fairly regularly and it always comes back with a nicely sharpened chain.

Dont you all look lovely!

Spring is definitely here.  the weather is much drier and the sun is now making regular appearances. The winds are still chilly, and we are still getting light frosts overnight, but I'm sure that the temperatures will become more clement in the near future.

This morning started with my usual walk.  After TB's antics on Sunday, I have been far more cautious about letting him off the lead, and we have avoided the fields and woods for the past couple of days. I can report that he has been well behaved and seems to stay a little closer to me when he is off the lead, perhaps he scared himself when he got himself lost after chasing pheasants the other day?

Hobson, on the other hand, was a little sod this morning.  He didn't stray that far away, but frequently disappeared through the hedges in search of birds. He was also far more intent on their scents and showed reluctance to come back when called.

With the weather warming my thoughts have turned to motorcycling, and I spent this afternoon taking the bikes out of their Vac Bags. I can report that the time spent cleaning the bikes last autumn was well worth it. The bikes have emerged beautifully clean, without a trace of dust or corrosion.  

It may be a bit of a faff packing and unpacking the bikes in and out of the large, heavy duty bags, but I will definitely be doing it again at the end of this year. I should also mention that folding up a 2m x 3m bag on a windy day is not the easiest task either.

Now I just need the temperatures to rise a little further and decide which bike to take out first.*

---

* TP and I have a loose plan to have a ride out across the Cotswolds with Charlie and Rob over the early May Bank Holiday weekend. I suppose I had better start planning a route.

Stump Removal, Phase 3

After yesterday's escapade  I was far more cautious with TB. He was allowed off lead, but spent far more time restrained, particularly in the areas where game birds were more likely to be present.  I also kept to the lanes, rather than allowing the dogs the freedom of the fields and woodland.

After a thankfully uneventful walk, the rest of the day was spent in the garden.

Job #1 was to repair the screening for our oil tank.  The tank would be visible from the road, were it not for the row of thorny shrubs that grow in front of it.  These are, or rather were, tied in to a flimsy trellis to keep them trained as a screen.

The winter gales have blown them down, and destroyed the trellis, so 30% and I set about a repair.  The trellis was held in place by two 6' posts.  These are still standing, although they are a little wobbly!  I decided to use four 7' lengths of roofing lath to replace the trellis, and we soon had them screwed to the posts.*

It was then a case of considerably reducing the volume, and height of the shrubs, before we tied them back in to the new supports.

First job after lunch was to haul the prunings up to the orchard and dump them on the bonfire. I can report that they really were bloody spiky, penetrating my clothes and the thick leather gloves I had worn as a precaution.

After a coffee break, I gathered an axe, spade, chainsaw and wheelbarrow, and headed out on to the front lawn. It has been a couple of weeks since I last attacked the tree stump and root wad, as I have been focussed on getting the new gates treated with preservative oil.

It may seem odd, but I really enjoy the physical work of digging out the earth and sawing away the roots.  It took a good few hours, but I can report that another square yard of lawn has been levelled. The turf has been relayed and grass seed has been scattered on the bare areas.  The excavated earth has been piled up in the orchard, and will be reused, when we attempt to sort out the edging of the herbaceous border at the back of the house.

The only problem is that I was a little over enthusiastic with the chainsaw, and hit a stone, when attempting to saw through a root. It may be time for a new chain, or an hour spent sharpening the one on the saw.**

The messy stump root wad is now greatly reduced, and will only need one more assault before it is time to bring in the stump grinder.

---

* I have my doubts about how long this repair will last, but the tank is screened, the drive looks a lot tidier, and we didn't spent too much time with this temporary fix.

** It is the original chain, and I have had the saw for more than fifteen years. Perhaps it's time to treat the saw?

Search and Rescue

I spent the first part of the morning sorting through my beehive equipment in the store room. This seems to be a regular activity and, despite careful planning, I always seem to need to dismantle a head-high stack to get to the item I need. In this case I needed a couple of hives.* One is for the nucleus colony that I created last Thursday, and the other is for a beekeeping talk that I will be giving later on in the month.

I then decided to take the two youngest dogs for a walk.  At this point I will take a slight diversion in the narrative, and advise that 30% had tidied up the utility room.  As a consequence the dog leads were nowhere to be seen. I checked the coat rack and also the cupboard where the dogfood and other canine paraphernalia is kept. There was no sign. I then went on to check the stool in the kitchen ... an occasional site for the dumping of dog leads. There was still no sign.  At this point I called upstairs and enquired about their whereabouts. 30% advised that they had been placed in the brown handbag hanging on the coat rack ... I went with "how far down my search list was that location?" instead of "what on earth made you think that was the best place to put them?"**

We then headed out for a walk, and this was the point at which my plans went awry. 

As we headed towards the bridge over the stream Hobson and TB charged across and headed to the right. I thought they may have disturbed a pheasant. This is not unusual, so I headed to the left calling them as I walked. After about fifty yards I turned and saw no sign of the dogs. I called again and Hobson came charging towards me. Despite repeated calling there was no sign of TB ... Oh Shit!

I wandered back towards the bridge and spent a good few minutes calling and listening for him.  Now TB does like to explore, but, up until now, he has always returned reasonably promptly.  This non appearance was out of character and I was starting to be quite concerned.

I gave 30% a call to let her know about his disappearance, and she advised that she would get in the car and check out the lanes in the vicinity. I circled the small patch of woodland, where I thought he had disturbed the pheasant, calling and listening. There was still no sign. After two circuits I called 30% again and let her know that there was no sign of him. She suggested that I should start heading home.

As Hobson and I started to head homeward I continued to call TB on a regular basis.  We came to the field that leads up to the ridge near home, and, I took the decision to turn right rather than left. This would take me, roughly, in the direction that I thought TB had gone. As we reached the furthest corner of the field there is a bridleway, and, on a whim, I decided to wander down it.

As I walked down the path I could see out across the fields, so I climbed through a gap in the hedge to get a better view of the fields across which I assumed TB had run.  I called a couple of times and the little fucker appeared out of nowhere. 

It is fair to say that I was incredibly relieved. He was put on a lead and a call was made to let 30% know that he had been found.***

I think we may be considering a GPS tracker for the little sod!

---

* Each hive needs a stand, floor, brood box, crown board and roof. The roofs were right at the bottom of the stacks at the back.

** When taking account of the fact that we have a cupboard filled with doggy stuff! A far more sensible place to put them.

*** Clearly he had heard me calling and headed back towards me. He actually tracked across about half a mile of fields he had never seen to find me, so there is nothing wrong with his recall and terrain crossing skills. It is just that he is bird obsessed and won't come back until he has lost interest in the pheasant.

Post Script

My normal walk is about 6,200 steps and just over two and a half miles. Today I walked about ten thousand steps and covered four miles, most of which, was across the fields.

Not quite what I expected from TB

A good chunk of today was spent bottling the last of the honey supplied by Pete.  This last bucket was slightly overweight, so I am pleased to report that it has yielded thirty two pounds of saleable honey. One might say, "Bloody Good Job" as he charged me eighty quid for this last 30 lb bucket.

Staying on the subject of bulk honey supplies, I can also report that my alternative supplier made contact today, after going quiet for over a week. He has confirmed that his honey is all UK produce and I am now just waiting for him to let me know when I can pop over and pick it up.

This afternoon I took a walk with the dogs and TB demonstrated an unusual response to a recall command.  

As we wandered down the farm track we approached a small meadow. The footpath crosses the meadow and we leave this little pasture by crossing a gated footbridge over the stream. Hobson and TB charged ahead and were racing up and down the full length of the field. All of a sudden, TB disappeared in to the brush that borders the stream. As I drew closer to the bridge, I called the dogs in, and Hobson responded promptly,* and came back to me.

Despite repeated calls, there was no sign of TB, and I started to get mildly concerned, until I reached the footbridge, and saw him on the other side of the gate, standing on the bridge deck, waiting for us. He had obviously crossed the stream further down, heard my calls, and run up the other side of the stream to meet us at the bridge.

I think I prefer Hobson's more traditional approach to canine obedience.

---

* Because he's a GOOD BOY!

Nearly done

My first task this morning was to add a syrup feeder to the nucleus colony that I set up yesterday. This is to ensure that the colony doesn't run short of food.  It also provides the raw materials for the bees to produce wax, as they will need to draw out the foundation sheets, to provide comb for the queen to lay in.

Then Hobson, TB, and I headed out for our usual walk.  In the afternoon I was back in the carport, where I applied the final coat of oil to the second of the new gates. 

As I said on Tuesday, "I just need to coat the undersides of the bottom rails, and they'll be ready to hang." 30% has already reached out to make arrangements for them to be installed.

I will freely admit, that I'll be glad to have finished this job. It really has been incredibly tedious.