Oil and Water?

We were up and about early this morning and slightly concerned to note that our water pressure was very low. The kettle and a few jugs were filled, as a precautionary measure,* and we set about our day.

30% headed off towards Evesham to meet up with Jules and I set about my morning ablutions, only to find that we now had no water at all. Oh well!

I headed out down the lane with Hobson and TB, and we had a lovely walk in the spring sunshine until I noticed that I didn't feel quite right. Unfortunately my blood sugar had plummeted with a corresponding drop in my energy levels.  I had a snack and eventually made it home. The rest of the morning was spent doing very little.

I did make a cup of tea for the water engineer who had positioned himself by the water main access point just outside the cottage. Allegedly he was there to bleed any air locks from the main, following the repair of the burst. I think he had found himself a cushy little job in the sun and intended to have quite an easy day.  Anyway, the water supply was reinstated shortly after lunch.

In the afternoon I grabbed a paintbrush and applied the first coat of protective oil to one side of one of the new gates. It's not a particularly arduous task, but I do find painting quite tedious. I am also very aware that it is easy to see where I have applied the first coat of oil, but it is going to be a complete pig of a job to make sure I don't miss any spots when applying the second.

So I have two gates, and each one needs two coats of oil. I can only coat one side at a time, mainly because I can't stand the tedium of painting and the dogs need a walk. This means that I have eight sessions of painting before this job is finished ... another eight days!  I will also need to find someone strong enough to assist in turning the gates around at the mid point of the job ... each one is six feet wide, five feet high and made of hardwood. They weigh an absolute ton!

Final activity of the day was the regular trip to the Parish Education Centre for my Tai Chi class. There is not a huge amount to report, other than an interesting shamanic breathing meditation as the final exercise ... most unusual!

Perhaps I need to seek out a state of mindfulness when I am applying coats of oil to the gates?

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* I also reported the low pressure via Severn Trent's website

Preparations

Back in the autumn we ordered a new pair of gates for our drive. They eventually arrived early in the new year and have sat in the carport ever since. The reason for their extended sojourn is that they need two coats of UV resistant oil before they are exposed to the weather.

Now 30% is not the most patient of people and has been dropping stronger and stronger hints that the gates really need to be oiled, so that she can make arrangements for them to be installed.  I have delayed this job as long as possible, using cold, damp weather as my main excuse. However, the weather is forecast to be glorious this week, so it looks like I'll be wielding a paintbrush in the very near future.

Consequently my day panned out like this.

Hobson, Traitorous Bastard and I took a walk out as far as Pete's house this morning. It was a pleasant walk, but my stenosis symptoms are ever present. There are regular twinges in my lower back, hip and shin. It's not painful, uncomfortable is probably the most appropriate adjective, but it's not pleasant to have to endure it.  I suppose I should consult my GP, but the cynic realist in me has very low expectations of the NHS providing any relief.

In the afternoon I headed out to the carport and spent a few hours tidying up. I now have no excuse and plan to make a start on the gates tomorrow.

So that was my day. There was one weird moment of delight relief, that probably only makes sense to another dog lover.  On this morning's walk I was delighted to see that Hobson produced a normal poo for the first time in several days. We have been so worried about him and and are so happy that he is now recovering.

This should bring The Journal back up to date

I'm well aware that it's over a week since my last Journal entry. The problem was that, as each day slipped past, I became less and less inclined to wander upstairs and settle in front of my Mac.

However, I can no longer use that pathetic excuse, as in the past week we have purchased a MacBook Air.  The flimsy justification for this purchase was that I needed a decent laptop for an upcoming presentation.  I think the truth is that 30% does like to splurge the cash occasionally, and her aged HP is well past its sell-by-date.

So here I sit with a rather lovely machine on my lap, whilst the TV witters on in the background. 

So here is my attempt at summarising the news from the past week.

Let's start with TP.  Last week was TP's first week in his new job as an Acoustic Consultant.  It is his first salaried position after spending several years as a freelance Sound Engineer.  He had become disenamoured with the nature of the work, and was keen to explore career options.  He seems really excited and motivated by the new job and is looking forward to acquiring new qualifications. He is also quite keen on paid holidays and membership of a private health scheme.

We are both really proud of how he has applied himself to making changes to his career and wish him great success in the new job.

Next I will touch on the honey business.  Sales seem to have gone a little crazy recently. I bottled twenty jars on the 9th of March and all of them had been sold by Sunday the 15th. As a result I was bottling another batch today, and will be soon be popping down the road to get another bucket from Pete.

This week's drama was provided by Hobson.  Midway through last week I noticed that he had a touch of diarrhoea, but wasn't overly concerned. He seemed fine and wasn't subdued.  It was a little unfortunate that he seemed fine, as we had popped in to the Vet's on Friday to get him weighed.*

Over the course of Friday night Hobson had clearly not been well and I awoke to both puke and crap on the floor. A good while was spent clearing up the mess and cleaning the carpets. Hobson seemed a little subdued, but was still keen to come for a walk later on in the morning.  As we wandered homeward Hobson wandered onto the verge and arched his back. He then produced a stream of poo that contained a lot of blood and mucus. 

As soon as we were back home a call was made to the Vets. They had closed for the weekend and a stressful hour was spent trying to make contact with their emergency out-of-hours service. We eventually gave up and made contact with an associated Practice listed on their website. We were soon on our way towards Shirley with a very poorly dog in the back of the car.

The Veterinary Practice in Shirley was VERY different to the little country practice that we normally use. It was gleaming walls, eighteen consultation rooms, 24 x 7 service and free refreshments for customers. Our normal Vet's has two consultation rooms and is tiny by comparison.

Anyway, the Vet we saw was lovely and decided that an anti-emetic injection, combined with canine paracetamol and a pro-biotic paste should sort him out.

I can report that he is now back to normal, but we were both incredibly worried for a couple of days. This was the first time that he has ever been ill and neither of us could bear the thought of loosing him.

So that covers the main events from the past week. I can also report that we have split and repotted a waterlily that grows in one of our rainwater tanks. It has lived in the tank for a couple of years, and we were both amazed when an arm-sized rhizome floated to the surface, having totally outgrown its original pot. It has now been divided in to four, and we are now waiting to see whether the fragments of rhizome start to shoot.

I have also collected lawnmower #5 from a chap in the village and 30% has kindly purchased a lovely little four wheeled trolley that is the perfect size for carry hive components to and from the orchard. It will be a boon when we need to take heavy supers off the hives. 

I should also mention that I added a couple of packs of fondant to the hives at the weekend. I took a quick peek under the roofs on Saturday 14th, and two of the hives had emptied the previous packs. The bees are flying quite regularly now, but the spring flowers are still quite sparse, and the blossom is not yet out. I want them to have a reliable supply of food until they can rely on the local flora.

So that just about brings The Journal up to date. I'm sure I will have missed something ... Oh yes, 30% and I also had an appointment with a Solicitor on Tuesday to draw up our wills.

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* He now weighs 33.6 Kg, having lost 1.4 Kg since the beginning of February

Another busy day

Earlier in the week the bathroom basin plug mechanism came adrift, leaving the basin permanently plugged.

This has happened on a previous occasion, and, due to the basin's half pedestal, I was aware that it would be a bit of a faff to solve the problem.  Consequently a call was made to our friendly handy man, Matt.

A couple of days had passed, and nothing had been heard from Matt. Whilst not being able to use the bathroom basin isn't the biggest problem, by today it had become a little frustrating.

As a result I spent all of this morning disconnecting the half pedestal, removing the silicone sealant from the pedestal and tiles, and reconnecting the plug mechanism. Interestingly the plug mechanism took about 5 minutes to reconnect and test. The removal and replacement of the half pedestal took the best part of two hours!

Weirdly, the half pedestal is connected to the basin by a pair of velcro straps, and a bead of silicone is applied to hold it firmly to the tiled wall.

So, that was my morning. A few hours spent on something akin to plumbing. 

I was pleased to have solved the problem myself, as I am not a great fan of plumbing activities, and I regard silicone as the devil's own snot. Some people can apply the stuff with panache. When I use it, it goes everywhere, but where it is supposed to go, and looks like a pile of crap! But on this occasion, I am giving myself a commendable 8/10.

 Midway through the morning I was headed out to the workshop to pick up some tools, when I saw a couple of acquaintances passing by. They stopped to pass the time, and, as a result of this chat, I will be picking up a spare lawn mower early next week.*

I'm not sure that I need another mower, but the beast was a little temperamental towards the end of last year. If it dies I will have another on hand, for use up in the orchard.

Now on to this afternoon.

Early in the afternoon our friendly, but eccentric, horologist arrived to take a look at our two long case clocks. The short version of this story is that he quite confident that he can service and repair them, his quote was reasonable,** and they should be back with us in early April.

That was the short version. He was actually here for nearly two hours and, by Christ, that man can talk! We covered bees, dogs, underpinning foundations, every house he's ever lived in, and a problematic expensive Italian tap, in fact every subject under the sun. He just wouldn't shut up! 

I needed a lie-down after ha had gone ... and I'd had a kip before he arrived!

So that was it for Friday. The other news was that Carol turned up with the new curtains for the living room and TP arrived home for an overnight stay.

On reflection, it's been quite a busy day.

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* When this was discussed with 30% later in the day, she couldn't seem to comprehend that I need five lawn mowers ... even though mowers #4 and #5 were/will be free of charge.

** A while ago I called the chap who sold me a rather fine Swiss watch. I enquired about the price to inspect and service a single long case clock and was told it would be at least £1200.  Mr T's quote was £720 to attend to both of them!

Even more activity

Much like yesterday, today started with a dog walk, whilst the sun did its best to dry off the lawns. I also removed the mouse guards from the hives, as the bees are now flying regularly.

I was home well before lunch, and was actually on the hook to attend a memorial service for our neighbour, PG.  This was always going to be a strange event as, even by our standards, they are an odd couple.  Both are well in to their eighth decade and keep themselves to themselves. As a result, no relationship has developed in the five years were have lived just over the hill, other than the occasional "hello," and a superficial chat.

He was a deaf as a post and she is very churchy, with absolutely no sense of humour.  It's really hard to get a conversation going with people like that. To compound matters, they made it very clear that they planned to move over to Ludlow in the near future. As a result we simply just didn't invest time in building a relationship that was never going to go anywhere.

It will therefore come as no surprise that I wasn't particularly keen on going to the memorial service, but 30% reminded me that, "we really should." Fortunately fate gave me a get out of jail card, when ex frolleague, Tel had to rearrange a catch-up call to the very hour that the service was due to commence.

30% took one for the team and attended for us, and I had a rather pleasant chat with Terry. We hope to catch up with him and Deb in early April.

This afternoon I hauled the mower from the shed, once more, and spent a good couple of hours mowing all of the lawns at the front of the house. I even cut the narrow verge between us and the lane.

After all of that effort, I decided that I had definitely had sufficient exercise and did bugger all for the rest of the day.

The other big news was that the hens finally seem to have realised spring is here, and laid four eggs today ... I also need a plan to stop Traitorous Bastard from charging along the hedge line and wrecking the sward ... tying him to a heavy concrete block is an option!

Lots of activity

I certainly got my steps in today.

This morning started with a walk with Hobson and TB. We wandered as far as Pete's house and they had a splendid time trying to catch squirrels.  They have no chance, and all this really means is that they just tend to leap excitedly in to water-filled ditches, and stare up in to the branches of the trees.  Both dogs got absolutely filthy, and needed their feet washing before they were allowed back in the house.

The weather was, again, cooperative and the lawns had dried by the afternoon. The mower was wheeled from the shed and I spent forty minute mowing around the greenhouses and the vegetable patch. That is the lawns at the back of the house completed, just the ones at the front to do.

Unfortunately that was not going to happen today as my blood sugar plummeted. A slice of carrot cake and a long snooze on the sofa were required to restore me to health.

It's Wednesday, so this evening included an hour at the Parish Education Centre for this week's Tai Chi class. There were fewer attendees than normal, and the class included the usual warm up, the spring exercises, followed by the Shibashi 5 set. Unfortunately this term, Kung Po Fran is set on concluding each session with a guided meditation. 

For some reason I seem to have problems with these and simply could not manage to visualise myself wandering up a mountain path towards snowy summit.

I think I'd rather have completed another Shibashi set.

First cut

Most of today was spent bottling a couple of batches of honey. I now have twenty jars ready for sale, and can report that the "shop" will be open again tomorrow.

The weather was quite lovely today, and, by the time I had finished with the honey, the lawn at the rear of the house was quite dry.  I therefore did the gardening equivalent of making hay while the sun shines, dragged the mower from the shed, and gave it the first cut of the year.*

If the weather stays reasonable throughout the week, I may get the remainder of the lawns mowed before the weekend.

I can also report that I took a call from Mr T. Now Mr T is a rather eccentric horologist who lovingly attended to our 30 hour long-case clock when it needed some work about a decade ago. It now needs further attention, and the 8 day clock could also needs looking at too.  Hopefully Mr T will be here on Friday to give us a diagnosis and a quote ... and then take them away to be fixed.

I should point out that out that we both love the ticking and chiming of the two clocks and their sound is sorely missed. It is like the house's heartbeat, and I hope they can be restored to working order in the near future.

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* The dogs may not have been walked, but I certainly got my steps in today

Big news from TP

Today seemed to be focussed on the dogs and the bees.

First thing this morning I called PtBK and arranged to pick up a 30lb bucket of honey in the early afternoon. 

I then headed out with Hobson and TB for a walk. I wandered as far as Pete's house, and one might wonder why I didn't pick up the honey there and then? The succinct answer is that there was no bloody way I was going to lug a 30lb bucket of honey over a mile down the road,* and have to deal with potential wayward antics by the two dogs.

I lunched and then picked up the honey. This was never going to be a five minute job, and forty minutes were spent chatting, mostly about bees, over Pete's gate.

Back at home, I headed up in to the orchard and added a new pack of fondant to one of the hives.  The bees were flying well today, and I could see plenty of pollen being brought in. This indicates that the queens are now laying, and building up the strength of the colony.** I am looking forward to the point when the weather is warm enough to carry out a proper inspection of the hives.

The final news from today came from TP.  For the past couple of weeks he has been undertaking work experience with an Acoustic Consultancy company. He called to say that they had offered him a position and it is highly likely that he will be starting with them in the very near future. We are really pleased for him and will be watching with interest as this change in career trajectory develops.

Actually that is not the only news from today. I couldn't finish without mentioning that 30% has been contacted by the local constabulary about exceeding the speed limit in the vicinity of Leominster. I mention the location as I haven't driven anywhere near Leominster in several years, "there is no way I'm taking the wrap for this misdemeanour!"

Will it be an SP30 and three points, or a speed awareness course?

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* I should also point out that the handle on the honey buckets is not designed for carrying any distance. Think of supporting a thirty pound weight on a short plastic cylinder little wider than a biro ... not comfortable!

** The workers that have overwintered are nearing the end of their lives, and will be replaced by the new brood over the next few weeks.

This week seems to be mostly Lunches and Dinners

 It has been the best part of a week since my last Journal entry. I'd claim that it has been a busy week, but, on reflection, I'm not sure that it has.

When I was working I was forced to sit at a laptop for several hours each day, yet I still managed to cook, walk the dogs, socialise and complete various DIY and gardening tasks.  However, now I'm retired I have close to forty hours more free time, and am still claiming that I am far too busy to make a daily Journal entry.

So, what have I been up to?

Tuesday, 24th February

30% returned from Rhayader late in the morning and we were joined by Mr & Mrs Tweedy for lunch. We spent a couple of hours at the "Tuesday Afternoon Club" listening to a talk about the Gloucester and Warwickshire Steam Railway. 

The real reason for attending was so that I could have another attempt to connect 30%'s ancient laptop to the AV equipment in the Parish Education Centre, as I will need it for a talk I will be giving in April.

The laptop, once again, refused to cooperate, and I am now considering either borrowing, or purchasing a new machine.

Wednesday, 25th February

Virtually all of Wednesday was taken up with slicing and packing the bacon, that I have recently cured and smoked.

We did take an extended lunch break and joined Mr & Mrs Tweedy for lunch at the Redditch Catering college restaurant. We had a splendid three course lunch for the ridiculously low price of £8 per head. The food was lovely and the portions were huge. I was asked if I didn't care for my dessert, as I had only eaten half of it. I had to point out that it was lovely, and that I just couldn't manage it all.

Wednesday also included another equipment failure. Our vacuum packer has become very temperamental. This was bloody annoying as I had more than twenty packs of bacon to vacuum pack. I did manage other complete the job, but a new packer is now on order.

Thursday, 26th February

We have Rosie & Jim, and Gizzy & Jules coming over for dinner on Friday night. 

Our chosen menu has a Swedish influence; starting with gravlax served on rye bread with cream cheese, followed by meatballs in a cream sauce with mashed potatoes and green vegetables. The dessert will be carrot cake served with homemade vanilla ice cream.

This morning was spent making the carrot cake. Once that was set to cool, I attended to the gravlax. Half of it was vacuum packed and frozen and the other half was sliced thinly, wrapped and left in the fridge.

I think we may have managed a short walk with the dogs too.

Friday, 27th February

Most of today was spent preparing for our guests, which basically came down to tidying the house and laying the table. 30% focussed on the meatball dish. I was tasked with domestic ambience!

The party was great fun, and we had a lovely time. Our menu choices were complimented and both Gizzy and Rose were keen to have the recipes for the gravlax and carrot cake.

I should also point out that a fair amount of wine was consumed and it was gone midnight before we retired to bed.

Saturday, 28th February

It has felt like we have been rushing around all week, so Saturday was taken at a very gentle pace. We both had lengthy snoozes in the afternoon, before we headed out again!

This time we were out to see B&H for a catch up and to start planning our 2027 holiday. B is sixty next year and is very keen to go on safari. We were flattered and delighted to be asked to join them, and the evening was spent working out some high level requirements.

We were also entertained by their two granddaughters, and shared a lovely supper, before heading home at a reasonable hour.

Sunday, 1st March

After several food and entertainment focussed days, we did very little today.

I did manage to walk Hobson and TB as far as Pete's house, and that was about it. 

30%'s friend 'Chelle paid us a visit in the late afternoon ... basically the lure of a carrot cake could not be resisted!

So that brings me up to date.

Busy doing nothing?

 Today was one of those days when I don't recall doing much, but I seemed to be occupied for most of the day.

30% left the house early this morning, as she was having an overnight stay with her friend; Pinky. Pinky's recuperation is going well. Not as fast as she would like, but she is returning to a normal life ... Well, as normal as it can be without a stomach!

I was left home alone, and my day was filled with the various chores that keep the house going. 

I do seem to come across a variety of half completed jobs, that have been abandoned left by 30%. For example, I now always check the washing machine, as she, invariably, will have left a load of wet washing festering in there.

She didn't disappoint, and that load has now had a spell on the line, and in the tumble drier. As I type this, it is folded neatly in an ironing pile.

So that was my day. A series of domestic duties and pet care. I'm not complaining. I quite enjoyed myself, and the house does seem to be slightly tidier.

Day of rest?

Sunday used to be referred to as the day of rest.  That is a concept, of which I definitely approve. To be honest, I'd like to extend that definition to a few more days of the week too!

So, as today panned out, I was concerned to note that there wasn't a lot of resting to be had.

First job of the day was to remove the bacon from the smoker. This was cut in half,* wrapped up in clingfilm and left at the bottom of the fridge, to rest for a few days before slicing. I then tidied away the smoking paraphernalia and took a moment to appreciate the warm, sunny morning.

The bees had noticed too, and were flying for, probably, the first time this year. I could see them bringing pollen in to the hives, which suggests that the queens are starting to lay.

I decided to check whether the colonies had consumed all of their fondant, so I donned a bee suit, lit my smoker and returned to the orchard.  All three of the colonies are working their way through the packs of fondant. One of them was virtually empty, and was replaced. 

At that point I decided that it was warm enough to take a peek under the crown boards,** and assess the size of my overwintered colonies. I started with hive#2 and was amazed. All eleven frames seemed to be crammed with bees and the underside of the crown board was covered too. Hive#1 seemed to be a similar size too. The third hive was slightly smaller with seven or eight frames of bees, but this is still very good for a colony approaching the end of the winter.

Obviously I haven't checked the frames to ensure that my queens are laying, and that the colony is healthy, but I am reassured, if not delighted, by this brief check on progress.

In the afternoon I took the dogs out for a walk. We walked as far as Pete's house, and he appeared from his front door. Half an hour was spent chatting over the gate, before I turned and headed home. I did also remember to order another bucket of honey, as supplies are running low.

I made sure that we had plenty of logs and kindling available for a fire this evening, and then applied myself to the last of my planned activities ... We will be having friends over for dinner on Friday, and 30% decided that gravlax might be suitable as a starter. Consequently I spent a short while preparing the cure mixture and applying it to a pair of rather lovely pieces of salmon.

They will be ready to sample on Wednesday.

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* Simply to make handling easier, as it was huge.

** This would be a quick look under the crown board. No frames would be removed, as I didn't want to chill the brood nest.

The Beekeeping Show 2026

I had an early start this morning.

Firstly I needed to refill and relight the smoke generator, to give my loin of bacon another twelve hours of smoke, before I made preparations for my day out.

Today is the annual Beekeeping Show up in Telford, and, several months ago, I had made the decision to attend. 

Over the past few weeks I have assessed my beekeeping equipment, checked on-line prices, and had drafted a shopping list.  The list covers the items I will need, to facilitate increasing the number of colonies in the apiary.

One of the more costly purchases was a large quantity of wax foundation.*  I had learnt that one of the Companies at the show offered a wax exchange service.**  I would be able to exchange my stores of beeswax for sheets of foundation at the show. This would be a considerable saving, as I estimate that I need about eighty sheets of foundation, which would cost well over one hundred pounds. I have about eighteen pounds of bees wax which, when exchanged, should supply the foundation needed.

So, shortly after eight o'clock this morning I loaded up the car and headed North towards Telford. It was a relatively easy drive and arrived at about nine thirty.

As I wandered across the carpark I was amazed at how many people were in attendance. The place was absolutely rammed with people and queuing seemed to be the order of the day. I queued to get in to the venue, every point of sale had a very long line of people waiting, and even the stock and exhibits were obscured by the hordes.

Fortunately the wax exchange was less busy, and I had soon offloaded my beeswax in exchange for sixty sheets of brood and twenty sheets of shallow foundation. I put the foundation in the car and then returned to the exhibition hall to continue my shopping.

I was glad that my list was relatively short and I soon had everything I needed, including some rhombus clearers and a new bee suit. By lunchtime I had had enough and was glad to head home.

In retrospect it was worthwhile visiting, as I had managed to offload my beeswax and I had also been able to try on my new bee suit before purchasing. But, generally, it is far easier to purchase on-line and endure the postage fees, especially as my visit incurred ticket and fuel costs.

I would only go again if there were fabulous show offers, or if I needed to physically assess a product before buying. 

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* Foundation: a wax sheet that is impressed with a hexagonal pattern. The sheet also has a wire embedded in it to provide support. Foundation is fixed in to the hive frames to give the bees a foundation from which to build comb.

** They take in beeswax and will either offer a credit note for other goods, or will swap it for sheets of wax foundation.*** They use the wax to produce the foundation they sell.

*** At the rate of 3.75 sheets of wired, brood foundation in exchange for 1 Lb of wax

Smoking bacon

First job this morning was to retrieve the cured loin from the workshop, unwrap it, and hang it up in my tea chest smoker. 

I then filled the smoke generator with sawdust, lit it, and checked to ensure that it was producing a gentle stream of smoke. I closed up the smoker and left it in the carport to work its magic. 

The little smoke generator is amazingly efficient, and should continue to produce smoke for the next twelve or fourteen hours. I needed to do nothing further, apart from checking occasionally for a trickle of smoke coming from the smoker.

My only other activities were a shopping trip with 30% in the morning, and a walk with Hobson and TB in the afternoon.

 

I didn't do much

It was yet another soggy, grey day, and I did very little.

I did manage to clear some space in the store room, and, as a result, had a small bonfire to dispose of some cardboard boxes. 

I'm keen to keep the store room as tidy as possible, as the beekeeping season is nearly here. I will be regularly accessing my supply of hive components, as the colonies increase in size, bring in nectar, and start honey production. 

I will also need to get my hands on my bacon slicer in the next few days.

On the subject of bacon, the cured loin has been hanging from the workshop ceiling for the past week and is now just about ready to be smoked. I therefore spent some time gathering my smoking equipment together, in preparation to smoke the bacon tomorrow.