•lif1'7 I RURALUFE


13 Silaging is well on th e way ' and what a season fo r grass, I have n ot seen such a h e a v y . crop fo r years, usually the rake fo r p utting grass into rows is as wide as possible .


to give a maximum row so ■ . th e forager can wo rk at full ■ capacity bu t not moving to o fast down th e row s . O ften, ' in lighter crops, it is higher speed and rough fields th a t cause the breakdowns, this year th e rake is n ot at full width bu t th e rows are full, • silage clamped so fa r seems to be good quality b u t wet due to lack o f ho t sun and frequent showers.


S tew a r t L am b e r t a nd his fam ily fa rm a h e rd o f 4 0 su ck le r cows and a flo c k o f 5 00 lam b in g sh e e p o n 3 0 0 -a cre K it r id d in g Farm, n e a r K irk b y Lonsdale. A fo rm e r s ch o o l g o v e rn o r and y o u th c lu b le a d e r , S tew a r t g ive s ta lk s a nd p ro v id e s . fa rm v is its and d em o n s tra tio n s to e d u c a te th e p u b lic a b o u t fa rm in g pra ctice s . This m o n th , he lo o k s back a t a ro ya l d a y o u t to rem em b e r...


RURALUFE


Bottom row, from left - garden bumblebee


PRECIOUS INSECTS: Pictured top row, left to right - the buff-tailed bumblebee; red-tailed bumblebee; white-tailed bumblebee early bumblebee (male); tre e bumblebee;


® Bumblebee pictures courtesy o f th e Bumblebee Conservation Trust


m A mere farmed can go to the Palace!


HRISTINE and I had a couple o f “ days o ff at the beginning o f June


w* jw a n d went to London to see the Queen! Last year, Kitridding


hosted a Princes Trust event when Land Rover launched a bursary fo r


the use o f five Freelanders within the community and Prince Charles, being the patron, dropped in to oversee the proceedings. We were later invited to the Queen's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, along with 8,000 other guests, for a most memorable


event. We could have walked in through a side entrance and round the back into the gardens but th a t w o u ld n 't be stylish,


' . ..


by the main entrance under the balcony. V The procession went through the Palace


* Vk down corridors o f red carpet and walls • , \ l laden with life size paintings and out into the Palace Gardens - 30 acres of beautiful lawns, lakes, shrubberies and paths, not particularly ornate or


___


5 '


everyone went through the main gates, across her patio, up the steps into the Palace


f i '


; fussy b ut incredibly fragrant, quiet and relaxed, just the place for a good game o f hide and seek or an afternoon of o ff road quad biking when the Queen's away at Balmoral - 1 b e t William and Harry had a good time here.


The Tea was amazing - an oblong plate, choice o f drinks -


tea, iced coffee or apple


juice, a range o f perfectly cut sandwiches -


the cucumber and mint was interesting and a contrast to salmon, egg and


marquee about 100 metres long by extremely attentive and polite staff in uniform, chairs were set o u t fo r the less able but the clouds were gathering. The Queen and many o f her family came o u t into the garden


cress and ham, there were quiches, scones and an array of gorgeous cakes, including raspberry and strawberry tarts and battenburgh, this was followed by ice cream in a tub. There was no rush, tea was served in an open fronted


just as the heavens opened, dressed in yellow, the Queen looked amazing. She walked through the crowds meeting us ordinary people on the way to the royal enclosure. The family made their way separately down the garden, corridors formed and everyone I could feel close and listen to th e ir conversation, as the entourage reached the royal pavilion and they had their tea with invited guests, we walked round the gardens listening to the bands playing and, three hours after we arrived, we wandered back o ut through the palace, across St James Park back to the hotel - what a great day!


Bees have had a hard time in recent years and numbers have dwindled so JOYCE BISHOP spoke to an expert who explained how we can help


0 H an amazing fact: there are more than 250


| l i different species o f bees is id native to the UK. Even more amazing, some peo­


ple still think they are a pest. Like my neighbour, who caused


me a lot o f grief recently by an­ nouncing she had blocked up a hole in the front wall o f her house th a t provided access fo r the bees nesting there. They weren't bothering anyone,


b ut my neighbour had conjured up in her head a nightmare scenario th a t had her home overtaken by vengeful, stinging insects. My as­ surances th a t bees generally don't sting unless they really have no alternative fell on deaf ears. A lot o f bees died. 1 d o n 't know what species they


were, but they were hairy and fat and to me that meant bumble bee rather than the slimmer and 'bald' honey bee that is generally kept fo r its honey. It doesn't take much research to


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discover there is only actually one honey bee native to the UK - so that's easy. O f the remaining bee species, 24 are bumble bees, with the rest classed as solitary bees. A fte r talking to Dr Fred Ayres,


chairman o f Lancaster Beekeepers, I know a little more. "Some bees live in holes in the


ground," he says. "Others prefer cracks in walls and cliffs, but most are solitary and live in small groups and the bumble bee is a classic example. "A mated queen bee will hiber­


nate and in spring will look fo r a nest, often in a bird box. There will be 50 or 60 bees maximum in a nest the size of a grapefruit. The queen lays eggs and some bees will go out foraging while others look after the eggs. "In autumn they will all die -


except the queen. Bees only last about four to six weeks; they wear themselves o ut foraging. But the queen will go off and hibernate." So how do you g e t rid o f a nest


if, like my neighbour, you are unhappy about it being so close to your home? "You can't move a bumble bee nest very easily un­ less it's in a bird box," says Fred, adding that Lancaster Beekeepers are frequently called on to do just this - bird boxes being a popular residence for bees. " If the nest is in


a compost heap, there really isn't much you can do."


By now I was reassessing that


contentious nest o f bees in my neighbour's wall, which my local council had suggested could have been home to masonry or mortar bees. "These normally find cracks in cement where the pointing has. failed," says Fred. "The best thing to do is nothing; d o n 't interfere. These bees d o n 't burrow through into your house and come into the rooms." His message, overall, like mine


to my neighbour, is d o n 't panic; if you leave the bees to go about their business, they w on't bother you.


And if you are concerned that ■


what you have is a colony o f honey bees rather than the humble bumble, take heart, they are still unlikely to sting according to Fred. They are also easy to recognise. " If you g et a swarm o f honey


bees their arrival will sound like a diesel truck because there will be


40 or 50 thousand o f them ," says Fred. He explains that bees swarm for


a particular reason - to replicate the co lo n y -a n d in order to make the move they fill up on honey to sustain them during th e two or three days it might take to set up a new home. Conveniently, this means they cannot bend ... and


therefore they cannot sting. "Ninety-five p e rce n t o f swarms


will come from someone's colony o f bees," says Fred. "As long as that swarm remains in your sight, it remains your property." This is important because it isn't


cheap to buy a colony o f honey bees. No wonder that there is an old rule that says you can follow your swarm across another's land as long as you give notice - by clanging a spoon on the base o f a pan for instance. Fred admits he has never had to


do this, nor has he witnessed any­ one else doing it; but it sounds like fun. In an average year, Lancaster Beekeepers might be called out


to deal with between 20 and 30 honey bee swarms. Generally, bees o f all kinds will


be most active between May and September. According to Fred, if you are just patient and leave the bees alone, they will disappear as the days shorten and the bees die or move on to the next stage in their life cycle. The bees next d o o r to me never


g ot a chance. But those that my mother noticed buzzing in and out o f the eaves o f her home in the middle o f June have been left in peace.


(S Why they are the bees' knees...Turn to Page 8 For bees are


jolly good fellows...


HIVE OF ACTIVITY: Dr Fred Ayres with his bees . Pictures ROB LOCK


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