Author Archives: Emily Scott

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About Emily Scott

I am a UK beekeeper who has recently moved from London to windswept, wet Cornwall. I first started keeping bees in the Ealing Beekeepers Association’s local apiary in 2008, when I created this blog as a record for myself of my various beekeeping related disasters and - hopefully! - future successes.

Syrup for the bees, cakes for us

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Emily Scott

It’s dangerous going down to the Ealing apiary. Not because of the bees, but because of the amount of cake on offer. This week I made pecan pie, Claire made a honey show recipe cake, Matwinder brought prunes soaked in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 17 Comments

Secret passages for bees

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Emily Scott

During the winter whilst bees are clustering, sometimes they can find it hard to move from one frame to another to feed on their stores without getting too cold. On John Chapple’s suggestion, yesterday we gouged a hole in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

Winter is coming

Posted on September 16, 2012 by Emily Scott

Lots going on down at the apiary this weekend. Mysterious objects to identify, tea to drink, cake to eat, gossip to catch up on… What, for instance, is this? John Chapple brought this object back from his travels abroad. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 20 Comments

Nothing hotter than an otter

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Emily Scott

No bees in this post, sorry. This weekend got madly busy and I didn’t go to see the bees, though I did meet several slow worms, a grass snake, lots of cute ducks and mock wrestling otters to make up … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 30 Comments

Hungry New Zealanders hunt for food

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Emily Scott

Today I had a little crowd of watchers round me as I opened up our hive, including a newbee and a professional photographer named Megan who is documenting Ealing’s ‘sub-cultures’. She is hoping to visit some Ealing monks next! I … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony management | Tagged | 28 Comments

Bees, flowers and sculpture at Chelsea Physic Garden

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Emily Scott

In 1673 the Society of Apothecaries of London founded a Physic Garden at Chelsea, so that their apprentices could learn to grow medicinal plants and study their uses. Yesterday I visited the garden, for the second time this summer, and … Continue reading →

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What’s flowering now: mid August 2012

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Emily Scott

It’s been a bad year for the bees. They have endured the very worst of British weather: rain, floods and grey skies have been passing for a spring and summer. But just in time for the Olympics, the weather has … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 35 Comments

Tea, cake, sunshine and two new queens

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Emily Scott

The last time I wrote about our hives at the beginning of July, Queens Neroli and Ginger had mysteriously disappeared and we were left looking at two emergency queen cells. Three weeks later, would our new queens have mated? The … Continue reading →

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Book review – From A to Bee: My First Year as a Beginner Beekeeper, by James Dearsley

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Emily Scott

James Dearsley began beekeeping in 2009. Since then he has started the world’s most popular Facebook page for beekeeping (the Beginner Beekeepers page), released a ‘Beekeeping for Beginners’ video with Charlie Dimmock (famous here for her presenting slot on the … Continue reading →

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The case of the disappearing queens

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Emily Scott

We just can’t seem to hold on to our queens this year. No sooner has one emerged than weeks of rain follow preventing her mating, or we inherit a new queen but she turns out to be poorly mated, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 29 Comments