Boy was I ready for a day off today. The pace has really picked up at the boatyard as the last two weeks have been really busy, with most of the boats booked for the Easter hols. Friday and Saturday were both very long days with lots of what we call ‘newbies’ – people coming on holiday on our boats who have never had a boating holiday before. As you can imagine, the tuition and takeover procedure is a lengthy process and at one point yesterday, Nigel lost his voice! Eventually we cleared the yard of all boats and went home yesterday for our Saturday tradition of a cream cake and coffee followed later by Nachos and salad (can’t be bothered to cook on Saturdays!).
Today must have been the hottest day of the year so far. The sun has been shining all day and there has actually been some warmth to it. Before we could do anything today, Nigel had to pilot 3 boats through Wroxham Bridge but once finished we drove out to the countryside and did a new for us 4 mile circular walk from Alby Crafts. Unfortunately I forgot the camera which was a shame as we walked through some lovely countryside. The oil seed rape fields are just coming into bloom and in another couple of weeks there will be vast blankets of stunning yellow. My bees love the oil seed rape and it makes lovely honey but needs to be extracted from the comb quickly as it a fast setting honey. Once jarred up it sets within days and turns almost white. We also so a fox up ahead which Tillie tried to chase but to no avail.
Talking of foxes, my new hens have settled in really well although we had a little bit of a scare earlier in the week. It had just got dark and the phone rang. It was Nigel’s Mother saying her outside security light had just come and she had seen a fox go past her window, had we locked up the hens? Luckily I had about an hour earlier but I still went out to check they were ok.
The girls have been busy haven’t they?
This afternoon I inspected my bees which being all suited up in my protective gear, was hot work. The numbers inside the hives have increased dramatically since my last inspection and there is some new honey in some of the combs. I managed to spot two out of the three queens, no easy task trying to spot her amongst her thousands of workers. One hive is very small and will need feeding up, so I will have to mix some sugar syrup up for them later. I still managed to get stung on my hand, even with my gloves on, luckily it didn’t hurt at all. The place I hate getting stung is on my head, now that really does hurt!!
At last the warm weather has brought up my seeds at last. Excuse the mousetraps but the little blighters nosh on my seeds as soon as I sow them.
Can’t wait for later on this evening as No 1 Son is due home for a few days – Hurrah!
Looks like everyone is feeling comfortable now. That's a lot of eggs.
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