Living The Dream in North Devon
Well wouldn’t you bee angry too? I can see some of the beehives from the house. I am always keeping an eye on the hives checking all is well. In the summer it is always useful to look out at midday to make sure they are not swarming. Everyone had been warning us about...
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There are many things in life you expect, and others you dream of, but I never thought I would say, “I’ve bought a tractor”. A big investment, and a decision not taken lightly but we came to the conclusion that a little tractor would help us manage the outside and the fields. One of...
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So the nectarine jam was not what I would consider a success. I thought it might produce a jam similar to apricot, but it just didn’t have the flavour. The jam tasted sweet with a slight hint of a peachy nectarine flavour. In my opinion, it would have been nicer with a higher acidity....
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WARNING: This blog entry contains some pictures readers may not like. As usual, I went out last night to lock the animals away at dusk. The chickens always go back to their coup, to roost, so it is just a case of shutting the door. The dog lets me know if there is a...
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We are in full summer now, flowers blooming all over the place and the bees are busy. This glorious picture, nicely summarises some of the glorious flowers in bloom at the moment....
We have probably grown too many sweet peas this year (if you can have too many). The seed was selected for scent and even though the flowers are mostly varying forms of white, the scent is amazing. Dotted around the house and in the vegetable garden (where they are growing), the perfume is amazing,...
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The lavender we have planted around the house is coming into flower. The bees are all over it. Honey bees and bumble bees, all going from bush to bush. Fantastic!...
Yesterday evening was glorious. Warm and sunny, the bees were still flying at 9:00pm! I took the opportunity to walk around the apiaries and feed some of the newly housed swarms....
The apricots are beginning to ripen and turn golden orange. This variety of apricot, ‘Tomcot’, is growing near the south facing wall of the former shippen (cow shed). This year is the first year it has fruited. Apricot trees take about 5 years from planting to produce fruit. This is spot on, as I...
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Just had a fantastic day at Gardeners World Live at the NEC near Birmingham. Spent far too much money, and there was only just enough room in the car for passengers for the return journey back to Devon....