The apiary is closed and out-of-bounds to all but a couple of small maintenance teams. Whilst Simon & Karen Ford have been diligently and efficiently tending to the colonies in the apiary … Peter Moore and Nick Clarke have been making most of the fine (drying) weather during April to attend to the apiary Grounds. 

And what a fine sight they have created for us to enjoy, even if only remotely for the time being. Let the photographs in the slide show do the talking  … with more about what they have been doing below.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The tractor-mower that was proving so unreliable last year is relegated to ‘towing duties’ and is due to have its grass cutting head removed.

Meanwhile the ‘newer’ and nimbler ride-on mower, acquired at the beginning of the year, has been a great success.

The creation of concrete plinths for all the hive stations has nearly been completed, with the last couple to be cast by early May.

Most of the leaves have been cleared from the car park surface, brambles are being tamed and the pavilions gutters and their resident ‘hedgehogs’ cleaned. Our now well developed hedgerows are next in line for a trim down to a uniform 5ft height … leaving the young trees in their midst to continue skywards.

The central raised bed in the car park was due to be more fully planted with shrubs this year. But for now, some much needed weeding will be done in preparation for further planting later this year or early 2021.

Great job Peter & Nick.

The only thing missing from the lovely photo gallery they have provided are pictures of the pair of then, each seated at opposite ends of the pavilion’s veranda … enjoying well earned rests with their own flasks of tea and sandwiches at safe distances.

I think that quite a few of us will be envious.

As announced at the AGM, during November the conversion commenced of the hard standing and rough grass areas used for improvised vehicle parking behind the Henfold pavilion … into an all weather surface; formally laid out with designated parking bays for 54 vehicles, and the upgrading of the access drive and entrance.

The extensive groundwork’s required to achieve this huge transformation were carried out by Peter Moore and his team of contractors, Tim Pople, Alistair Ferguson, Steve Joshua and Nick, and were completed by mid January … within budget.  

The task was already going to be challenging. Having to include the removal of additional tree stumps and shallow tree roots and the need to excavate deeper than anticipated to remove buried grass reinforcement mesh added to the challenge. The added tasks conspired to extend the preparatory phases involving the ‘heavy earth moving’ equipment and the need later for additional loads of backfill & surface materials.

Much of some unplanned costs were offset by avoiding the disposal, by removal off-site, of most of the tree stumps and excavated top soil. These have instead been distributed within the copse to the south of the hives.

The three galleries of images here take you on the journey from Green Grass to Brown Mud to Black Surfaced car park.

From Green Grass, shrubs and trees …

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

… through to the Brown Mud, muck and roots …

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

… to Black Topped car park … reached via the upgraded entrance and drive that leads to 54 marked parking bays, including 3 designated wide disabled parking bays.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Use with Respect Please

The new surface should be much more durable than the original drive and hard standing areas. However it remains vulnerable to abusive driving behavior. Therefore a speed limit of 5 mph has been set and signed along the drive and at the entrance into the car park itself.

The parking bays are marked out with half round poles … it is recommended that vehicles are driven forward into the bays. This ensures that tailgates and boots remain readily accessible … and there is plenty of room between rows of bays to reverse and turn out. 

Three bays, nearest to the pavilion have been designated for disabled parking. Please respect that designation.  

Fantastic job guys.

Many thanks to Peter who has given a considerable amount of his time to the project and to his crew who have worked with a passion to deliver a great result. And a special thanks to Sue Moore for regularly clearing up the pavilion after the guys use of the kitchen and loo.

What’s Next ?

During the next few weeks and months, 4 x light bollards will be installed along the length of the central raised planter.

The soil already in the planter will have manure added, and the planter will be … planted with plants.  (Enrol to help with some of that at the Tidy-Up Day)

Repaying Loans and re-building our cash fund. The Division, (RBKA) remains indebted to three members who have between them provided us with a 3 year loan of £9000.00 to ensure that we remain liquid whilst otherwise spending most of our cash fund to pay for the car park. A primary priority is to be repaying these loans by the end of 2021. We ALSO need to be rebuilding our cash reserves that are currently fully depleted. This will allow the purchase as needed of training and education equipment to extend the range of activities that the pavilion can be used for.

Henfold Apiary Managers, Karen & Simon Ford, are recruiting volunteers to help with the important task of seeing the colonies at Henfold through the coming winter and into next year, fit and ready for the 2019 practical training program.

The team will meet at Henfold, initially on Wednesday evenings the 12th, 19th & 26th of September and then on occasional Saturday or Sundays mornings, dependant upon need and availability, every few weeks throughout the winter months of October … to the end of March.

Some of the essential tasks that will need to be undertaken will include hive hefting, protecting against woodpeckers, fitting mouse guards, feeding and varroa treatments.

At this stage, Simon & Karen are only needing to establish a contact list, with email addresses, of volunteers willing to participate at least on an occasional basis and subject to their individual availabilities.

This will enable all on the list to be notified of and invited to join in the next planned meeting.

See Karen or Simon at Henfold during the remaining Summer meetings in August or contact them via hamt3612@gmail.com to volunteer your services or for more details if needed.

Not only would you be providing a valuable service, but you will also gain first hand experience of undertaking important winter beekeeping activities that you can take and apply to your own hives.

The Management.

Karen                                                                       Simon

Updated for 2016, these procedures are required reading for ALL members and visitors to the Henfold Copse Apiary.

The brief four A5 booklet* sets out policies and management of Parking, General procedures on arrival for Members, Apiary Work – Designated Personnel, Equipment and Health and Safety.  

Note: To print as the intended A5 booklet, first save the file to your desktop. Then open the file from your desktop to print. Select ‘print as booklet’  from the printer set-up options. Alternatively, having just opened the pdf from this post, it can be printed directly as a 4 page A4 document  by selecting paper size to A4 and ‘Fit to Page’ options in the print set-up dialogue. Printing options may vary dependant upon your PC set-up.  

Visitors – New members and Non-beekeepers

Please ask to be introduced to our Duty Officer. He or she will allocate you to an experienced beekeeper and equip you with appropriate protective clothing. Please advise the Duty Officer if we should be aware of any relevant medical condition; particularly if you may be susceptible to a serious allergic reaction to a sting (anaphylactic shock) or if you carry an EpiPen.

Parking

Please respect the requests made via Parking Notices. Please park as directed and ensure that free access is maintained from Henfold Lane to the 3rd Storage Unit for emergency vehicles. Avoid boggy areas. Don’t get stuck! [Read more…]

Mead & Metheglin Making kicked off at Henfold on the 15th April, guided by Vince Gallo. For those interested, and signing-up, the sessions are scheduled to commence at 7:30pm in the pavilion.

Mead: alcoholic drink of fermented honey & water.

Metheglin:  a spiced or medicated variety of mead.

Planned Activities:-

It is planned that the members of the RBKA Mead Group will train each other and, together, learn as a result of this guided brewing event.

Later in the year we will brew a second batch, employing the honey extraction cappings, but this first session will use some ‘spare’ honey; in particular honey that has crystalised in frames. [Read more…]