There does seem to be a possibility that life is returning to normal and once again we can gather round the open hive and admire the work of our bees. Thus I have more confidence in adding some dates to the diary:

January

Tuesday 18th January BIBBA are doing a Webinar on Wax Production and replacing old comb. They also have on their site an interesting article on the reason we should not be importing bees. It is worth a read and gives you extra ammunition if you meet someone who wants to buy foreign bees so they can get going more quickly.

Saturday 22nd January Central Division of Somerset BKA are doing a talk to bring us up to speed on the Asian Hornet. Last year was quiet but only yesterday I received an alert about a suspect nest in the in Dorset. If you are interested in the Somerset talk then details are here.

February

17th – Thursday – Kevin Pope to give a talk at the Colliton Club on what he found as a Bee Inspector in 2021.

March

Nothing as yet but I am sure things will happen

April

8th, 9th and 10th is the Beekeeping Convention in Newport, Shropshire. Details are available on the BBKA website with a full programme to be published this month.

Other

If you are still wanting more lectures then the BBKA site has recordings of previous lectures. You can also find a lot of useful lectures on YouTube. National Honey Show has their own channel and my favourite must be the Norfolk Honey Company channel on You Tube. Another channel worth a look is “Inside the Hive TV“. It is American based but is well produced and has much of interest to UK bee keepers.

Well the wind has died down – if not gone away and having checked that your hives today you may wish to have a break this evening. In which case there is the Dorchester and Weymouth Beekeepers Association Xmas social tonight the 8th of December at the Colliton Club in Dorchester from 7pm or thereabouts.

What is more there are more goodies for sale on the For Sale page. Have a look.

Well that was a stormy weekend and where I was it was deep snow as well. It may not be the nicest weather but it would be an idea to check that your hives have not been blown over or hit by a falling tree. if you have strapped your hive then all it should need is to be lifted back onto its stand. That should take two of you if the hive has plenty of stores.

On a separate note I have added some interesting nativity figures in Bees Wax which are for sale. They would certainly make an interesting bee based addition to your Christmas decorations. Check them out on the For Sale page.

A committee meeting the other night and now we have more dates for your diary:

January 18th – Kevin Pope – our Seasonal Bee Inspector – will be not be giving a talk. This talk has again had to be postponed due to the Covid situation.

February 8th to March 15th – For the Beginners’ Course for any members of the Dorchester and Weymouth Beekeepers Association. This will be held at the Colliton Club from 7pm to 9pm each Tuesday from February 8th to March 15th. The course will cover sufficient theory so that when you first open a hive you are not totally at a loss as to what you are looking at. I will be putting up more details as we get closer to the date. The cost of the course is £60 and further details are available from Sally.

For those thinking of doing the Beginners’ Course two possible Xmas presents are the “Haynes Bee Manual” and the BBKA Guide to Beekeeping. There are a lot of other useful gifts on the BBKA Shop. Whatever you do please do not order bees! I will be doing an article on this in the near future but imported bees are not a good idea – and that is putting it mildly.

February 12th – We are holding a one day hands on course on “Hive Manipulations”. This will be a chance to practice the various hive manipulations. Though I have not seen the final programme I expect it to include practice at such operations as a “Bailey Comb Exchange” and the “Shook Swarm”. These will be practiced indoors and with empty hives so we do not have the complication of bees in the hive!

November is a quieter month in the Apiary – though there are still things to do. If you are wondering what then have a look at the page on November tasks.

One of the tasks suggested is to sort out kit which is no longer needed. A couple of local beekeepers have done exactly that and as a result I have placed a couple of items on the For Sale page. One of the items is a honey extractor and the other is a shaker box. Do have a look and contact the sellers if you are interested.

At least one reader took my advice asnd is sorting out his library as well as his equipment and today I have added two books to the For Sale page.

Not been idle myself and in an attempt to make myself a better beekeeper I have started some pages of information pulling together much of what I know and more of what I do not know. Do have a look here and let me know if they are useful. You can get in touch via email to dorchbkaweb@gmail.com.