Friday 30 January 2015

Bees, births and builds

I am quite scared of bees and wasps… nasty things that fly too close to your face and get in your ice-cream when you are trying to eat it…
But I have a friend, Oksana who is a beekeeper and sells the most wonderful honey. You can see what Oksana’s honey looks like here. This has given me a new appreciation of bees, so I thought I should face my fear, and get up close and personal with some bees…
Duncan, Jack and I went over at midday on a sunny day (apparently this is a good time to visit bees as they are mostly out!). Wearing gum boots, suits, gloves and head gear, we jumped on the back of Oksana’s truck and headed out to the hives…



Oksana was so relaxed standing by the hive with no head gear and gloves. I guess they are her bees and she knows them quite well... We saw a small hive being dismantled and there was the Queen in all her glory… and she has to lay 2,000 eggs a day. I'm glad I'm not a Queen...


We also saw a bee struggle out of his wax case and come out into the world for the first time; a bee birth… amazing!


Other news from our little piece of Coromandel heaven is that our house build is progressing. We have been preparing the floor slab and have just poured the floor, and am now hoping for some rain to cool the concrete as it dries. We are going for a waxed finish so this is the final surface… no pressure… it just has to be perfect!




Next, we will be putting up the framing and the roof… exciting times!

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