Monday, April 27, 2009

The Return of the Mole

The mole is back and digging tunnels around the traps.
It really adds insult to injury to see this happening. We have just reseeded the lawn...

No bees yet. Several beekeepers in the area have promised if they get swarms/have to divide colonies, they will let me know. All the beekeepers that I have spoken to are anxious not to bring in bees from the South. We have fewer problems up here with viruses etc. But losses are still great. Having seen the BBC programme on Who is Killing the Honey Bee, I think the theory about pesticides weakening the bee has some merit as does the whole transportation of bees and mono agriculture theories. It is probably a combination rather than one cause. But what is really needed is more research. The little honey bee is so very important to sustaining life on this planet. It is not a machine but a living creature. I am hoping to get some more bees soon. The hives are out in case any wandering swarm happens by, but I am not optimistic.
On 10 May, I am going to another Hexham beekeeping meeting which is at an apiary so at least I can my fix that way... But I want more bees in my garden, buzzing about and visiting the flowers that we planted.

No new kittens. I saw a advert for kittens, wrote down the number and then thought -- no I am not ready. I can however look at cats and kittens without a pang in my heart so this is good. It will be when the time is right. In the meantime, the dogs are enjoying the extra treats...

3 comments:

Jen Black said...

The honeybees were not treated kindly in the film, were they? I'm not surprised if they've upped and gone on strike.
BTW, that's one very clever mole you have there!
Jen

Donna Alward said...

This is something I've been thinking about lately as we are in the process of getting some apple trees. The world has changed. I grew up on a farm that sprayed the trees, and not all spraying is bad. But I do not want to spray my trees. For one - I just think it's better if you don't overall, and for another more immediate reason, our well is very close to where we are planting.

The way you approach beekeeping etc. is very much about stewardship - good for you. I think we are really starting to see some of the havoc we've created by using pesticides so widely.

My mum was surprised when I said I didn't want to spray my trees at all.

Michelle Styles said...

Not all pesticides are bad. They are not sure at the moment if it is a combo of chemicals and the reaction of the bees to that. Some of the bees have about 25 different types of chemicals in their systems or a spefici type of chemical. COuntryfile showed what happened to bees when they went on sunflowers which had had their seeds treated with a nicotine based pesticide. France has now banned the use of this chemical BUT the bee losses are continuing...