one of my hives, ready and waiting to find a home and be filled with bees

I have babbled endlessly about this to friends, and anyone willing to listen for years now, especially the past year, when  I joined 2 local bee keeping associations, and started going to theory and practical classes with them, to learn how to be a responsible and informed bee keeper.

Well *excited little dance* the dream is soon to become a reality.

After much debate and discussion at home, it was decided that it might not be the best idea to site the hives in the garden. I don't have a large garden, it's rather small truth told, and is already home to six hens (soon to be joined by a few more) who are now safely and happily ensconced in their domain, known here as 'Chicken World'. They have an area of about 25 feet square that has been fox proofed to the best of my ability, and houses a coop and run plus an awful lot of grass for them to ruin.

The garden is currently a work in progress, and it will look much worse before it looks much better. I have begun planting though, and 'Chicken World'  now contains several trained 'double U' cordon fruit trees, which have been in pots for years, and audibly sighed with relief last week as we dug vast holes and got them in the ground. I also have several other fruit trees on dwarfing root stock, which will be planted either on the boundaries or as a quincunx (get her) with various native wild flowers, that I bought as plug plants in the Sale at Sarah Raven's establishment.

Yesterday,  a very nice chap came and measured up to quote for building a Loggia from locally sourced Cedar, for the central area of the garden that is immediately visible form the double French doors in the sitting room.  I am going to go for a full blown chintzy (some will say twee) mixed rose and perennials garden in this section, in 4 formal beds, bordered by box hedging, and all the pretensions that accompany  'The English Country Garden'.  I am very excited about that too - just hoping we are on the same wavelength price wise so I can commission him.

Anyway, back to the bees, the hives were made by a small Welsh Company, called Fragile Planet who source the cedar local to them, and construct the hives to order.  I have had my hives a while, the debate about where to site them, being the biggest issue, and a colonised hive is not something you can just pick up and move, if you don't like where it is.  Bees can range over large areas, and if you move a hive, it needs to be at least 3 miles from its current location. So you need to be sure that the site you chose is fairly permanent.

To this end, I have been hunting high and low for a tame land owner or farmer who would be willing to allow me to place them in a field margin or orchard with vehicle access so I can drive fairly close to them, as since being poorly, my arms aren't what they were, and anything that ameliorates carrying a super or brood box any distance is to be avoided if at all possible. A super full of honey is a pretty heavy thing.

'Stop rambling, women!'  you shout. yes alright, to the point ..... This morning, out the blue, a gentleman phoned me and offered to allow me to place my hives in his private orchard. I can't tell you how happy this makes me; he has offered to help me find some friendly bees to populate them too! I shall meet him on Sunday, as he has invited me to an apiary where several new bee keepers go locally, and then we are off  to the Pub (who it turns out are also new bee keepers)  for lunch.

In fact yesterday and today have been days full of surprises, as my friend who owns the local chinese restaurants phoned and told me to get myself down the allotment pronto.  (This is the same friend who kept asking me to supply 6 dozen eggs, not understanding that 6 hens simply can't lay that many a week)

It had been rather neglected it in recent weeks, but it appears despite my neglect, the fruit has gone slightly mad and there was a lot to pick. The weeds had also gone bonkers, and the Fat Hen is almost as tall as me!  Anyway, I got there and she lobbed me some lettuces, and I gave her some eggs, and was then dragged off in her very posh AMG Merc to her house (electric gates, the lot). She made tea, and then with a mischievous smile, took me in the garden.

Chickens!! I had converted her to the chicken cause! They are a motley crew of fancy breeds, Polish and Appenzellers amongst them, who look like they are hens having a bad hair day. She was asking me to be her chicken mentor!  To this end we are going out on a chicken shopping day next week. I fear we may be very bad influences on each other, because when she saw my hives, she was instantly interested in that too.

Anyway, enough rambling, I'll let you know how the hives get on once I have set them up in their new home.