At last my years spent blogging have paid off. After the previous lovely gift of a mug from Waltons for being named one of their ‘10 Brilliant Beekeepers‘ (well, a brilliant beekeepers’ blog anyway, not just generally brilliant!), another surprise email came through from Mal at Waltons.
I have won an award! For ‘Best Beekeeping Blog’. And it even comes with a prize – an enormous bird feeder that I have to find a garden for. Maybe it can be fitted somewhere at the apiary. You can see a list of all the blog award winners on the Waltons website; there were various categories including best gardening, best ‘grow your own’, best flowers, best shed etc. Some of the blogs look really interesting. My Ealing beekeeper buddy Thomas Bickerdike won second prize for his fascinating and practical Beekeeping afloat blog – Ealing bloggers must be the best in the country!
But enough talk of awards. How are our bees doing?
Well, last Saturday was sunny and the nuc bees were bursting out of their box. There was a proper pile-up at the entrance as we had forgotten to move the mouse-guard dial off. A lot of frustrated bee butts were trying to squeeze through at once. Another Ealing member, Sue, kindly helped me smoke the entrance so I could move the dial round and give them more space to zoom in.
Emma had ordered a eke for the poly nuc which I fitted on top to give room for extra fondant and pollen, as the nuc is feeling light and we were worried about a possible food shortage. Tomorrow I’ll come back with extra frames and move them into a full sized hive, as they are absolutely bursting and ready to expand. I’m expecting a lot of brace comb to have been built in the gap the eke has created above, but that’s ok as it means delicious warm honey to eat!
This is the fondant and Neopoll pollen substitute.
Ealing is looking beautiful at the moment as many of the trees lining our streets are in blossom. Below is a photo of a magnolia at Kew.
And here’s a few from my walks a few weeks ago when all the snowdrops and crocuses were still out. Time and flowers go so fast!
Adventuresinbeeland's Blog 
Congratulations on your (well-deserved) awards!
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Thanks Anneliese 🙂
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Congratulations. Well deserved. Nice photos, as well.
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That’s very kind of you to say. Sorry that I have not commented on your blog for a while; I’m back at work now and life has got pretty full, sadly leaving little time for reading.
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No problem and no need to apologize; life always comes first.
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Congrats, Emily!!! Well deserved. Good luck with the nuc, and thanks for the flower pics.
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Thanks very much Erik!
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Congratulations! Your blog is informative and enjoyable and I love to follow all your exploits and keep in touch with the flowers in the U.K. Amelia
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Thank you – and I feel the same way about your lovely blog and the French bees and flowers.
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Hurray. Richly deserved.
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Thanks very much Paul, that’s very kind of you.
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Well done Emily, well deserved!
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Pure luck I think, but thank you!
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Bravo! Beautiful flower pictures too
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Thanks Helen!
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Lovely!
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Spring! Congratulations on your award. It’s exciting to see that nuc exploding!
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Thanks Mark, it really is great to see the bees doing so well!
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Congratulations Emily, your award is richly deserved. I have to add that even though I am not a beekeeper, reading your blog has been an inspiration to me. Your blog with its pictures of flowers and bees catalysed in me an interest in wild bees that continues today.
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That means a lot to me Philip. I was under the impression you had always loved wild bees, as you write so well about them!
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Congratulations! May we now look forward to bird as well as bee pictures?
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I wish I was that good a photographer! Bees are close to the ground – more on my level.
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Congratulation Emily. You deserved the awards. I’ve learn many things regarding beekeeping from following your blog. Thank you.
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That seems unlikely but is very kind of you, thanks!
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Congratulations on winning your blog award Emily! Make sure to tell our bees next time at the apiary! 😉
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Thanks Emma! By the way would you like the bird box prize? It’s too big for my wee garden!
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Congrats on the well deserved award and thank you for sharing your beeland adventure 🙂
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Thanks very much Lauren 🙂
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