I've got a lump on my head like a small egg; a hole in my bee suit will need stitching; and my girls are pretty annoyed at me right now, but my beehives are home at last.
It's a long drive from our place to Outram, and petrol isn't getting any cheaper. With autumn here and my bee class at an end, I needed to get the hives home, where I can feed and care for them easily.
So last Monday, I hired a trailer and tackled the task. By myself, which was my first mistake.
It was quite dark by the time I got there, and my first job was to flip over the hive's entrance reducer to block off the bees' exit. Oops! When I prised it off, bees poured out and gathered all around the front.
So while they calmed down, I did up the strap that would hold the hive together during the move, lit the smoker and puffed it their way until they went back inside. In the dark I couldn't see well enough to put the entrance reducer back, so I blocked upthe exit with grass.
On the second hive I just blocked their small exit with grass. Job done.
Next, I manouevred the hives on to a barrow, wheeled them to the trailer and hauled them aboard, whacking my head on a bar on the trailer in the process.
It was really cold and pouring with rain, but by the time I had finished I was sweating and exhausted. Those things are really heavy.
The bees were buzzing ominously by now but still safely shut away.
After a cautious drive home I arrived to find one of my hive straps hadn't been done up properly and the hive had started to slide off its base. Distressed bees crawled and buzzed around as I reassembled the hive and barrowed it to its new site.
I was disappointed it wasn't quite as level as I had thought, but happy to get the hive into its permanent position. The second one had stayed intact during the move, so I installed it and retired for the evening. It was 9.25pm; I had picked up the trailer at 5.45pm.
Next morning I was pleased to see the sun on the hive entrances at 8am and scout bees out for a look around, but oops (again), one hive was not sitting properly on its base, so I straightened things up. Both hives could do with adjusting and levelling, but that's a job for the next sunny day, when I will check them from top to base and get them ready for the winter.
Meanwhile the weather has been vile - rainy, windy and cold. Looking out at their new site, the poor creatures must think they have moved to bee hell.
But I don't mind giving them some TLC. It's a 30sec walk to the hives now, not a 40min drive. Nothing's a bother.