La Ruche

How cool is this? The first beehive at La Cannonerie has been installed and I am so excited. I loved keeping bees back in England but then circumstances got in the way (being pregnant, a hard winter that killed off a lot of my hive, an impending house sale). It was always one of the things I wanted to get back into once we were settled here. Mr L bought me a new hive of Brother Adams bees for my birthday and we collected them from Sainte Hermine today. All 20,000 +

They were pretty cross after the drive home so I waited until this evening to let them out. In all my excitement I didn't quite do up my suit hood properly and immediately got stung on the neck. Lesson well and truly learnt (again).

Bizarrely, this wasn't my only dealings with bees this week as a swarm landed on the neighbours cognac vines. He asked me if I would be interested in removing them so I scurried up the road in my bee suit with my bucket and tools in hand. It all worked out ok and so hive number 2, which is much smaller, have been put into a nucleus box I borrowed from another neighbour. This is all good for next years honey production.

Here is a bees-eye view of me in my suit!

Bon weekend!