Saturday 16 September 2017

Hive of activity

The hives are about in the forest, with the bees making the most of the heather, which just keep on flowering. Up here on Hampton Ridge the hives are surrounded by several square miles of open heather carpeted heath for the bees to feast on. Placing hives out in the forest is a tradition which goes back hundreds of years at least, and is testified to by a place name containing 'Bee Garden' or just 'Garden'. In times past Bee Gardens would have been banked enclosures topped with fencing or hedge to protect the hives, now though the hives are left scattered amongst the dense gorse as protection.  I saw 5 or 6 hives, all buzzing with activity. I wonder how much honey you get from each hive?

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