FEATHERS FLY

..As posh cats revert to type

SURVIVOR: Robin escapes jaws of the miffed 

Sheba in the background

 A YEAR ago I adopted two Rag Doll cats called Zenobia and Sheba and we have lived happily together indoors ever since.
When I received the cats, after being exhaustively interviewed to make sure I was a suitable foster mum by the Rag Doll rescue team in Scotland, I was warned both girls were indoor cats and had none of the usual instincts of outdoor cats.
 I was told in no uncertain terms never to let the cats step outside and until recently they've lead quite sedentary lives following the same diet and the same routine ... that is until he-who-should-be-obeyed-but-rarely-is started knocking down walls, doors and windows as part of a renovation.
 Far from causing distress and upsetting their quiet disposition, it appears he has unleashed in them a darker side previously unknown and certainly uncharacteristic in the breed.

BAD SPORT: Zenobia looks on with 

mild irritation at my intervention

 Any creature happening to attempt to set up home in the house has been pounced upon by Zenobia and Sheba who have revealed all the characteristics of streetwise, alley cats. They have hunted down their prey without mercy and indulged in all the cat-and-mouse antics of Tom & Jerry, but unlike the cartoon its the cats who get the upperhand here.
 For a period of nearly two weeks terrifying squeaks would interrupt our sleep and then we'd find tiny little mouse and shrew bodies lying by the bed. We did manage to release a few from the jaws of Sheba.
 The cats obviously treat the arrival of live animals as a blood sport and have not shown any desire to eat their prey, preferring instead a bowl of dried turkey food.
 The good news is the house is now a mouse-free zone but the bad news is the girls are now targetting birds which fly in through open windows and doors.
 Just this morning I managed to wrestle a small Robin out of Sheba's clutches much to her annoyance while Zenobia looked on with an expression of irritation at this unwelcome intervention.
 The Robin was lucky enough to survive the feline mauling and seemed none the worse for the experience when I released it outside.
 It is quite clear from their manner and expressions that they now want to go beyond the confines of the house to explore the great outdoors, but frankly they're under lock and key. It's bad enough having to keep a fox at bay without unleashing these two on the unsuspecting wildlife in the Borders.
 

WASPISH DILEMMA

..Fearless hero needed

A WORK OF ART: But a deadly discovery which must be 

destroyed

MY HUSBAND is a smoker and I'm not. When he sets off to inspect the apiary I keep expecting someone to call the fire brigade because there's always thick plumes of smoke. He leaves more of a vapour trail in his wake than the Red Arrows! But I guess it would be churlish not to admit he seems to avoid getting stung ... unlike me, but I'd rather work with our bees than envelope them in a cloud of smoke before nicking their honey. Anyway, the good news is I have a special job for him-who-should-be-obeyed-but-rarely-is and his smoker as a massive wasps nest the size of a World Cup football has recently been discovered. When I first heard a loud buzz emanating from the trees I was full of glee imagining I'd stumbled across a huge swarm of honeybees waiting to be collected and given a new home in our apiary. However, once the buzz was located I beat a hasty retreat because it turned out to be a wasps' nest and unlike honey bees, those wasps get riled and deadly just for the fun of it. They can also attack and sting as many times as they want until flattened.

Hubby has gone away for a few days but on his return I shall hand him his smoker, a pair of ladders and he shall be pressed into active service and directed towards the offending nest as he (hopefully) finds the hero inside himself to seek and destroy. Quite how he will get rid of it is anyone's guess but I'm fearful for the old Yew tree which is holding the rather spectacular silver nest made from a mix of wood and the saliva of the Queen wasp. The whole effect is rather dramatic and it looks like an elaborate papier mâché ball. In some ways I'd like to leave it until winter and then get it dismantled and have it as a piece of art but it is hanging near the kitchen and explains the large volume of wasps there every day.

 Without doubt the nest is a thing of beauty and it is amazing to think it would've started off barely the size of a plum. I shall, of course, up date you on the saga (and there will be one, for sure) of its removal but if you have any pearls of wisdom to share before hubby is sent in to do battle, then please do let me know.
 Oh, and if you're wondering about the background noise on the video that is Mr and Mrs Bumbles kicking off ... my Guineau Fowl

SILO SNIPPET

 ONE of my white peahens has been missing for nearly a week now and I fear the worse after a neighbouring farmer reported seeing a particularly fat fox in the area a few days ago ... pass the shotgun, please.

CAMPING OUT UNDER THE STARS

 ... But still cuddling in to mummy

 THE WEATHER has been absolutely glorious these last few days prompting some of the hens to opt for a night out rather than sleeping indoors.

UNDER THE WING: These three chicks have a night out and

a cuddle from their protective mother hen

 Just as the sun was setting I caught this caring mummy cuddling in to her three chicks as they created their own perch on the hen house roof.
 She's virtually sitting on one while giving a wing each to the other two.
 She hatched her trio of Scots Dumpys about two months ago; a couple are Cuckoo, just like her, and the other (under the left wing on the far right of the picture) is black. They're too young for me to identify their gender but I hope they're all hens as it took ages to sell my surplus cockerels.
 In the meantime, elsewhere in the hen pen,
there's some weird shenanighans going down with two of the adult black Dumpys.

MOTHERS-IN-WAITING: while 

Horatio, one of the cockerels

looks on at the back.

 Both appear to have gone broody at the same time and are sort of job sharing sitting on the nest waiting for the eggs to hatch - it takes around 21 days. Their shifts continually merge but the two seem quite happy with each other's company in the single egg box, but how they'll cope when the chicks start to hatch is anyone's guess. I'm not sure what the little ones are going to make of it either ... I mean how will they tell who is their mummy and how will the job share work out then? I'm sure Nature has all the answers but until then we'll all have to play the waiting game.
 And, of course, I've learned not to count my chickens - all the little white chicks that hatched late Spring failed to survive beyond 24 hours. So I'm still without white chicks although the Cuckoos and blacks appear to be thriving.
 As usual, if you have any advice, solutions or observations drop me a line.

EGGS WELL VERSED

EGGSTATIC: The neighbours are benefitting

from this deluge of fresh produce  

.. Or how a Qur'anic recital increased egg production

I'M SURE there could be a logical explanation but the truth is my hens have been knocking out eggs like there's no tomorrow since they heard a Qur'anic recital.
 Now some of you will no doubt be scoffing at this, but I can only present you with the facts as they happened and you can make your own judgment.
 One of the workmen was digging a trench near the hen pen recently and like all workmen he needed some background noise to help ease his labours.
 Most workmen and builders drive people insane with their tinny, half tuned radios belting out static along with the latest numbers in the world of pop. However this one, being a Muslim, decided to play a CD recording of verses from Surah Al-Baqarah to inspire and encourage his efforts and I must admit as the crystal clear tones filled the air it certainly had a spiritual effect on anyone in hearing distance.

LAY IT AGAIN, SAM : And there's more 

to come judging from this hen's expression

 Not only did it help him to finish the job in double quick time and impress the local council inspectors but the next day there was an abundance of eggs to collect from my Scots Dumpys.
 They are a rare breed hen designated an endangered species such is their plight and I reckon they've reached this state because of their low productivity in the egg department.

CAN YOU HEAR SOMETHING?

 So imagine my surprise when I was greeted with a batch of eggs the following day which worked out at one egg per chick in the hen pen plus a couple more! In addition, most of the eggs have morphed from rather modest little affairs to large! He-who-should-be-obeyed-but-rarely-is reckons it's all down to the power of prayer and while I'm a little sceptical when it comes to 21st century miracles, I've been bowled over by the surfeit of eggs which has been in evidence ever since.

NAPOLEON THINKS HE RULES THE ROOST:  But is
there's a greater force at play in the hen pen?

 Even the beligerent Napoleon seems a lot calmer these days as he swaggers around the hen pen.
 Please tell me if something similar has happened to your livestock or share your secrets to productivity.
 Maybe I should be installing internal speakers into the turkey block and the apiary ... hubby was stung four times yesterday as we introduced a new colony on Welsh Black Bees. Maybe a few verses from Surah Al-Baqara might be just what they need.
 Most Muslims will not be surprised by reading this as Surah Al-Baqarah is recited by those moving in to a new home and many recite it in their house every three days to repel dark forces. In fact the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, once said: "Whoever recites the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at night, those two verses will be sufficient for him."
 All I would say to cynics is don't knock it 'til you've tried it ... you might be laughing now but not as much as me when I make my daily collection. Now who wants eggs for breakfast?

STING OF CONFIDENCE

..Or how not to take your bees for granted

 I HAVE just been Suárezed. Well, not quite bitten but stung and it's all my own fault. Growing in confidence as a beekeeper I have been working on the hives this year without relying on the smoker as I feel it aggravates the bees rather than pacifies them. Instead I've taken to hanging around the apiary observing my little workers coming and going from their variety of hives.

SITTING PRETTY: The octagonal Warre hive 

next to the Top Bar in my apiary

 The aim of this was so they would get used to me and my scent so when I do go looking inside the hives and inspect their frames for signs of pests or random queen cells they won't be unduly bothered. That's the theory anyway.

 Unlike most beekeepers who stick to one make my apairy has a collection of hives including a rather magnificent octagonal Warre and a handmade Top Bar as well as a couple of Nationals and a Smith's hive.

 Just yesterday a fellow beekeeper saw the Warre and never having seen one before began asking questions. We moved nearer the hives while I confidently reassured him that my bees are lovely and cuddly, even the very noisy black ones in a National nearby.

 And then, throwing caution to the wind, I lifted off the lid of the Warre so he could look inside for himself. Having done this I replaced the lid and it was then that I felt the slightest twinge of a needle sharp pain just above my right eyebrow.

CORRECT DRESS: Hubby & I wearing

the right kit for hive inspections

 "I've been stung, we'd best move away," I declared calmly and so we walked slowly from the hive. Once a sting has been discharged it emits a warning smell to the other bees in the area letting them know they are under attack. Fearing more bees stings would follow we made a sharp exit.

 It is imperative to remove the bee sting asap as, despite having detached itself from the bee's body, the damned thing continues to pump poison into the flesh wound. Remove the sting the wrong way and you only succeed in pumping more toxins into your skin so you need to sort of flick out the barbed spike quickly.

 This was done and I was left feeling slightly sore but otherwise fine. Off I went to do some comfort shopping in Hawick cursing myself for having been so wreckless. By the time I got home there was a small swelling above my eyebrow and painwise it was bearable - nothing like the sting I got on my ankle last year which was really off the scale in terms of agony for several days.

 This morning I woke up and was confonted with an image I barely recognised on looking in the mirror. A version of John Merrick, the Elephant Man, was staring back at me.

 He-who-should-be-obeyed-but-rarely-is is away this weekend but he expressed a rather uncharacteristic degree of schadenfreude instead of synpathy down the line as I told him what happened and that I had not been wearing my protective veil. There would have been more smugness forthcoming until I pointed out that I looked like a battered wife and people might think this was his work.

ONE IN THE EYE: By this morning I began to resemble The 

Elephant Man

 But at the end of the day I can not blame anyone else for this act of stupidity and recklessness other than myself. The poor bee who caused this mess with her sting is now dead - once a worker discharges the sting its fate is sealed. Believing her hive to be under attack she did what was required and in a selfless act of sacrifice went after the nearest threat.

 It's my first sting of the year and I hope it will be my last. Never again will I take my honeybees for granted.

 On a lighter note, I was reading somewhere how beauty writers think Kate Middleton's flawless complexion is down to bee venom facials. Apparently the beesting treatment costs around £100 a pop and is the latest 'celebrity must have' to get rid of wrinkles and is supposedly used by Simon Cowell, Victoria Beckham, Kylie Minogue and other A-listers. As you can see from the picture above the lines in my right eye have certainly vanished but so has my sight! 

CAMERON CAN BUZZ OFF

.. UK Government may introduce killer pesticides

 SOHO 2 SILO is normally a politics free zone but that all changed today with news that David Cameron and his Cabinet will decide whether to allow banned bee killing pesticides to be used on fields across the UK.

SPECIAL DELIVERY: My latest colony

of bees arrived from South Yorkshire

 The major pesticide company Syngenta had one of its products banned across Europe last year because of the risk it poses to the bee population but now the firm has just lodged an emergency appeal to get the ban overturned.
 We only have a short time but if enough of us raise the roof, throw a mega strop and sign this petition: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/a-ban-is-a-ban who knows what we could achieve.
 And since I've just received another package of bees to add to my growing apiary, I want to do everything in my power to protect my honeybees and everyone else's.
 The excellent 38degrees people power pressure group says it's not just beekeepers like myself who should be concerned but all of us could be affected because in a world without bees we wouldn't last very long. Bees pollinate apples, cucumbers, strawberries, tomatoes, cauliflowers ... in fact all fruit and veg.

BUZZ OFF! If my bees could talk that's what they'd tell Cameron

and his pals in Downing Street on Tuesday

 The killer pesticides that Europe banned are called neonicotinoids and they are linked to the decline of honeybees as well as affecting a whole variety of other creatures such as earthworms and butterflies, according to a major study that directly contradicts the UK Government’s unhelpfully relaxed stance on the use of neonicotinoids.

 When you get a group of 29 scientists from four continents saying they've found unequivocal evidence that “neonics” – the most widely used pesticides in the world – are having a dramatic impact on the ecosystems that support food production and wildlife, you'd think politicians would listen. Well the arrogant sods aren't so we've got to make them sit up and pay attention by signing the petition.

UNDER THREAT: My apiary which 

is home to six colonies of honeybees

Independent researchers, who advise the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), say that the “systemic” pesticides such as the neonicotinoids pose as great a risk to the environment as the banned pesticide DDT, and other persistent organophosphates.

 Syngenta are trying to wriggle out of the ban by appealing directly to the Old Etonians who sit in Downing Street. We all have to come together to tell the Prime Minister to uphold the law and tell Syngenta to naff off through the backdoor from whence they came!