November.. where has the time gone?!
I can’t believe i’m writing this already. Each month I seem to think the blog comes around faster than the month before. At the start of November I managed to get away for a weeks holiday and had a great relax, but as soon as I was back I was back onto all of our jobs!
Over the past few years by November all of our ‘bee jobs’ (the jobs that require working with the hives themselves) have been finished but this year because of the mild weather and lots of other jobs getting the way i’ve found myself in my beesuit throughout the month and even have one or two small jobs left to do in December.
Winter is the most nerve wracking time of year for me as a beekeeper, I just have to trust that all we have done getting the bees ready for winter has been enough to ensure the bees are as healthy and well fed as possible.
So far the mild weather has allowed them to move around easily so we have had no issues but I do worry that if the mild weather continues they will consume far more stores as they will remain active which will create problems come March and April when the hives need a lot of food to grow stronger for the season ahead. Bees in cold weather cluster together very tightly and need to consume only a small amount of food to survive.
Away from the bees we have had a busy month on the markets which have been really well supported so a massive thank you to all our customers. Christine (Mum) has worked hard on our Christmas display managing to persuade me to carry a live Christmas tree to our larger events to be covered in bee related items.
We have a few markets in December so if you’re still on the hunt for gifts please do come along to local markets you’re sure to find some great gift ideas.
3rd & 4th December – Ashby Food Gusto (Ashby – de – la- Zouch) 10am- 5pm
3rd December – Quinney Hall (B75 5SD) 10am – 4pm
4th December – Pinwall Feeds Christmas Fayre (CV9 2NH) 9am – 4pm
13th & 14th December – Astley Book Farm (CV12 0NE) 5:30pm – 9pm
18th December – Market Bosworth Farmers Market 9am – 1:30pm
A very exciting new development this month has been opening applications for our first bee farmers apprentice. This is a great opportunity for someone aged between 16 and 24 to take on a 3 year course to work with us learning about bee farming while working full time in the industry. It’s a fantastic course and more details can be found here – https://beefarmers.co.uk/about-bee-farming/rowsebfa-apprenticeships
If you are interested in applying or want more information please email us on info@holthallapiary.co.uk
Get your gifts in time for Christmas!
Due to the strikes going on and the potential disruption we are going to stop taking orders slightly earlier this year to avoid disappointment by late delivery
2nd Class and courier option cut off will be 23:59 18th December
1st Class Cut off will be 23:59 19th December
Collections from Planters can be made any time up to the 22nd
Thank you all for your support throughout 2022 it means the world to me that my business is being supported by local people. Hopefully 2023 will be another good year for Holt Hall Apiary and in the next blog I will try and write a bit about what we have achieved through 2022 and our goals for 2023!
Matthew Ingram
Holt Hall Apiary
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