jamesc 4,917 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 The evening is quiet Dogs sleeps as dogs do by the fire Gently the sun sinks and paints the hills red And in the evening peace we watch in silence as a world struggles on a lurid screen The evening is quiet The Doctor and I commune Spring springeth slowly A slumbering force awakening in a tinge of green And as the sun warms the valley mornings The Doctor ,Dog and I lift our hearts unto the hills For this this is the time To light the Smoker and give thanks for rebirth. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,917 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 But wait, there's more .... The stripper and me The virgin and Stella The steady Old Tool The young 'un with a turbo drool Rock'n 'roll The sun riseth The sap flows The stripper teaching the virgin to grow. 'No rush Bro,' We'll take it slow. 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Maggie James 906 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 22 minutes ago, jamesc said: But wait, there's more .... Well, if the honey sale doesn't come thru, perhaps write a book of poetry based on your life experiences. I would expect an autographed copy. This really does have a Banjo Paterson ring to it, being all rural, and he was made a Baron! Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,917 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Thanks Maggie ..... a crowd funding to pay the bar tab at Coalgate will suffice ! Link to post Share on other sites
Maggie James 906 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 4 minutes ago, jamesc said: bar tab at Coalgate will suffice ! Now there's an idea for a non political meeting. Do they have accommodation? How many do you think we could get in there? Would they give us free hire, if we said we would rock up with a few others? Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,917 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Aye for sure ..... The Coalgate is in the business of keeping people happy. No accomadation. Reminds me of the time I rode the nag up to the Races at Hurunui. Such a scorcher of a day I downed three jugs and passed out( sort of) in the sheepyards on the other side of the road from the tavern. Race day was good. The Arabian Mare bolted and found an extra gear and we got a ribbon. That was a Glory day. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,917 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 But yeah .... you are an organiser ..... good idea ..... they know how to make a curry .... if you are into curry .... Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,917 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Does @Alistair do curry ? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Maggie James 906 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 12 minutes ago, jamesc said: No accomadation. It's a no go then Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,917 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Maybe we put another pig oink the spit ..... Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,917 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 I got some sheepyards .... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Maggie James 906 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 1 minute ago, jamesc said: I got some sheepyards .... Flammin heck it's getting worse. If it's going to be at yours, I reserve the most comfortable bed in the staff quarters, with the log burner going all night. And I won't be climbin up that darned hill in a hoar frost, if I need a pee in the night. Link to post Share on other sites
Alastair 8,627 Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 18 minutes ago, jamesc said: Does @Alistair do curry ? Do i what? I am even a chef of some renown on a facebook page LOL check this 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post Maru Hoani 649 Posted August 27, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted August 27, 2020 Today I had to rush to a site, 2 hives starting to hang and one had swarm cells, things are a few weeks ahead this season. Thought one of my wintering sites was swarming on first sight too but nah just pumping, lucky my Kanuka wasnt extracted until june, wets are heavy az, still 5kgs in them so no more feeding syrip. 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post jamesc 4,917 Posted August 29, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted August 29, 2020 We are by nature migratory beekeepers. I enjoy it as it gives me time on the road ..... at this time of year we are tripping with boxes of honey sweetening landowners, renewing acquaintances, getting shoved out of sites, and making deals on new sites. In this post Covid era I have become adept at swiping the app at retail outlets, but am still a bit backward in coming forward meeting new people, which is a shame. It's an interesting trip. Many of the old wateringholes are closed down, or we are socially distanced with little inclination for communication. I camp in the truck rather than lay my head on a pillow that has had who who knows who on it the night before ..... signs of paranoia ? One of the more interesting things has been talking to landowners who haven't seen their beekeeper for a while .... The hives are still there .....and out of curiosity I suggested to landowner today we crack a lid. All the hives were dead ...... and there were quiet a lot of them. The other interesting thing was they had O/A staples in them. And in the quiet of my camper ,as baked beans warm on the jet boil .... I reflect on the day and what I have seen, and it is not a picture of an industry in good shape ...... 4 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Bighands 1,065 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 4 minutes ago, jamesc said: We are by nature migratory beekeepers. I enjoy it as it gives me time on the road ..... at this time of year we are tripping with boxes of honey sweetening landowners, renewing acquaintances, getting shoved out of sites, and making deals on new sites. In this post Covid era I have become adept at swiping the app at retail outlets, but am still a bit backward in coming forward meeting new people, which is a shame. It's an interesting trip. Many of the old wateringholes are closed down, or we are socially distanced with little inclination for communication. I camp in the truck rather than lay my head on a pillow that has had who who knows who on it the night before ..... signs of paranoia ? One of the more interesting things has been talking to landowners who haven't seen their beekeeper for a while .... The hives are still there .....and out of curiosity I suggested to landowner today we crack a lid. All the hives were dead ...... and there were quiet a lot of them. The other interesting thing was they had O/A staples in them. And in the quiet of my camper ,as baked beans warm on the jet boil .... I reflect on the day and what I have seen, and it is not a picture of an industry in good shape ...... What give the right to go into other peoples beehives? I get ####ed off when other beekeepers have looked at my hives.I personally could not care what other beekeepers around me are doing as long as mine are ok.Where are your ethics James? Link to post Share on other sites
Alastair 8,627 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 7 minutes ago, jamesc said: I suggested to landowner today we crack a lid. All the hives were dead ...... and there were quiet a lot of them. The other interesting thing was they had O/A staples in them. LOL you stirrer you Link to post Share on other sites
Stoney 1,584 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 11 minutes ago, jamesc said:..and out of curiosity I suggested to landowner today we crack a lid. All the hives were dead ...... and there were quiet a lot of them. The other interesting thing was they had O/A staples in them.. Sounds like a clear case of synthetic treatment poisoning to me.. The oxalic staples are used to bring it back to life hows the Truck cab after the baked beans? ... you reap what you sow I spose 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,917 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 7 minutes ago, Bighands said: What give the right to go into other peoples beehives? I get ####ed off when other beekeepers have looked at my hives.I personally could not care what other beekeepers around me are doing as long as mine are ok.Where are your ethics James? I have no ethics Bighands, as you well know. In this dog eat dog era we live in, Big dog eats little dog ,,,, and if a landowner wants bees for a job, he has a right to know that all is good. Landowners with quality Manuka expect a good return , and get really peed off when it does'nt eventuate. Such is the world we live in. Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,917 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 3 minutes ago, Stoney said: Sounds like a clear case of synthetic treatment poisoning to me.. The oxalic staples are used to bring it back to life hows the Truck cab after the baked beans? ... you reap what you sow I spose The camper is good. The sleeping bag will be wet with condensation in the morning as the camper used to be a dog box, but the peace and serenity of the beach makes up for all of that. Link to post Share on other sites
john berry 5,636 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 I used to shift a lot of hives but these days all my sites are permanent and life is just so much easier. As to looking in other people's hives, in the past if we ever saw a lid off or a hive knocked over even if it was someone we didn't like (and there weren't many) you would always hop the fence and straighten things up but not anymore. I have on very rare occasions Inspected hives at a landowners request when they have been obviously abandoned and un-worked for a considerable period. The last time was a few years ago and all the hives were well and truly dead and the apiary was also pretty much central to a bad AFB outbreak two years before. A lot of the gear was also stolen from another beekeeper and I returned it all with the strong advice to burn it all. You couldn't tell if it was infected or not as there was nothing left inside. The landowner had been going to sell all the gear. But as a general rule I agree that you don't look in other people's hives. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,917 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 You are right John ..... but sometimes beekeepers promise the earth and deliver very little. Sometimes landowners need a little bit of education ..... If you have quality Manuka, you need a Beekeeper who can deliver bees that will do justice to what is on offer. Anyway, the beans are warm and the rain is wet . Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwi Bee 589 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 @jamescI suppose you'll contact AQ to send an AP2 there. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jamesc 4,917 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 29 minutes ago, Kiwi Bee said: @jamescI suppose you'll contact AQ to send an AP2 there. I don’t think so. Link to post Share on other sites
boko 2 Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 On 15/08/2020 at 11:36 PM, Stoney said: This morning was a multi tasking day.. a prep day for Monday.. I shifted some new double Nuc boxes to a site ready for Monday’s job of transferring .. time to cut the cold core flute Nuc box from my outfit.. 36 yrs ago I met Pete.. now pushing 80, he taught me how to catch the wily wild pig.. wearing adidas track pants and a swanny with a 1942 303 bayonet strapped to his waist Pete would tear off through the thick deadly flowering gorse into the Ashley forest leaving me.. a 9yr old behind .. to deal to the notoriously fast running boars that his dogs would catch every weekend.. I would be ridiculed at school on mondays as my bare legs filled with gorse prickles and scratched face drew attention.. Pete met me at the farm today, with my dogs dragged out of retirement following a call from the cocky regarding his new grass paddock.. well we found the culprits..in the gorse of course.. this time Pete was left behind as my dogs did their job, a glimmer in his eye as I relayed the action to him. Gorse.. some hate it, I love it. My hives love it and tomorrow’s roast loved it too. Long live the gorse. Mmmmmmm honey roasted wild pork. Awesome story. Heartwarming to see an older hunter out there doing it. Good on you Stoney for taking him there. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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