This Week

My man is away all week working at chasing locusts near Shepparton. The little hoppers are hatching out all over the state, and after a year of little rain and grass everyone is panicking.

Our lambies are doing well.

My daughter lost her baby at 20 weeks ..... live at birth and then not...................

His tiny ashes are being scattered next Sunday. It's amazing how you miss someone you never even met.

My sister Pam died 19 years ago from breast cancer. Another year past.

I got into my beehive yesterday and put another story on top of the other two. I have lost courage in handling them since my accident (and with other things as well), so it took a quantum leap for me to open the box. Last time I went in, I hurried too much and they attacked me big time, leaving hundreds of bee stings pumping venom into my protective clothing. It takes time to get over such fury. A beekeeper told me afterwards to administer the smoke 'with precision', lifting the lid and a couple of puffs inside, then close it down again, and a puff or two at the front door. They all rush down to gobble honey, thinking a bush fire is nearby, and that makes them a bit sluggish. Then you go in................

They were busy with their own lives and scarcely worried about my peering inside. I should have pulled all the frames out and checked for signs of swarming, but I will do that next week. Hopefully lots of room will dissuade them. I have left two empty hives set up nearby, so I am hoping they might choose to just move next door.

I remember seeing a swarm here years ago, with a giant 'beard' of bees hanging on a tree. They are supposed to be at their most benign while swarming, and can easily be dropped into an empty hive box. Maybe it's viewing the drones and queen 'having it off' that calms them.