Well we’ve said it several times before in relation to members’ apiary visits but they really are a great opportunity to see different apiaries, beehives, alternative approaches to beekeeping challenges and, of course, to get conflicting answers when you ask several beekeepers the same question! For the visit to Graham Franklin’s out-apiary on Saturday 27th July we were particularly pleased to have both some new beekeepers come along and one beekeeper-to-be who intends to get their bees next spring and in the meantime is trying to learn as much as possible.
Graham had arranged a welcome committee for those who went straight to his out-apiary in the form of quite a number of his guard bees who came over to say hello as soon as we got out of our cars! Being beekeepers we knew that they were only checking us out….but we all put on our bee suits quickly anyway! Just after most members had arrived and parked the farmer appeared in his ‘tractor’ and asked if we wouldn’t mind moving our cars so he could get out of the field. As he was bigger than us…..
Graham had thoroughly planned the apiary visit. We were split into 3 groups each with a leader (David and Margery Blower and Gary Thomas) and each group had a detailed folder on the hives / nucs they were to inspect. Graham told us ‘if you see something that you think needs doing, do it’. And this was of course a perfect apiary experience, especially for the new beekeepers.
And on to the actual inspections. Queens were spotted, eggs seen in colonies that had new queens, supers added to bulging colonies, nucs re-arranged. Whilst we were in groups there was nothing to stop members moving to see whatever was happening that looked interesting. A great afternoon’s beekeeping and even a couple of sudden showers didn’t stop us!
(we’re allowed to use this once-a-year on the blog)
All photos credit Gary Thomas and Graham Franklin
Once the colonies had been closed up, hive records updated, smokers put out etc. it was back to Graham’s for tea, coffee and cakes. An great afternoon was had by all attendees (David and Margery Blower, Gary Thomas, Lucy Stevenson, Jacqui Rowe, Lisa Buckley, Julie and Henry Maguire, Fran Ward and Gemma Kirkham) and we thank Graham and his wife for the refreshments.
An excellent final apiary visit of the 2024 season and the icing on the cake was that Graham had heard just a couple of days before the visit that he had passed General Husbandry, only the third Shipston Beekeepers member to achieve this – well done Graham!