First find some wood... Then add a bit of love...

And so my mind merrily wanders towards making beautiful things from wood, I want people to love wooden items but also, so that they can share them with friends and family.

At this time of year (January), valentines day is just around the corner.  From looking around the workshop for wood to use, seeing items that people like and listening to ideas from friends and family... It's time to put pencil to wood and wood to blade and await the smiles to appear on their faces.

After looking for wood to use, I find such wonderfully smelling: Oak; Cherry; Ash; Lime; Larch; Acacia and Western Red Cedar (WRC)...

Cue the music...

Firstly I must remind you of an admiration, maybe a fascination that sheep bring to me.  Please refrain from any welsh jokes at present, I will be finished soon enough.

After rattling my brain about the singular and plural definitions of sheep, it was decided to make a small flock of sheep. So these little lovelies are made from: Ash; Oak; Cherry and WRC.

I love ewe... WRC ewe

L - R Cherry ewe, Oak ewe, WRC ewe and Ash ewe

I love ewe

We then head towards some of the lovely, hearty items with hearts galore.

Love on the fridge

Making Love on the band saw

You pair of love birds

What are your thoughts on these??

Something you would like to give to a loved one??

If so stop by the GlastonBees website and get in touch... See you soon

Snow... On a positive note...

So the Met offices "red alert" of snow has came down upon us here in South East Wales.  The ladies of Gwenyn Mel 2 live near the workshop, so this morning I decided to walk the nearly 3 miles, almost all uphill to go and pay them a visit.

I left the house this morning, armed with snow boots, waterproofs, gloves, a very warm hat and a phone.

The streets were quiet from vehicles, instead people were walking, children and adults sledding  on every available slope, snowballs a-flying and everywhere looked so beautiful.

 

As my walk continued, I stopped and said hello to many people, I got a mixed bag of conversations from people, but quite a lot were negative about the snow.  The reasons for the negativity, were their inability to get to work, children at home when they should be in school, panic buying in shops, and that they must resort to walking.

This got me thinking... Why must there be so much negative thoughts?

On a positive note... everywhere and everything looks so different, so beautiful, it gives time for people to have time together where they would otherwise be in work or school.

The streets were reclaimed by pedestrians walking on the roads looking at their surroundings, some taking photos, smiling, walking their dogs, having fun, lots of people seemed to be more friendly talking to otherwise strangers (aka me).

So my journey continues onward and upwards towards the workshop, it begins snowing the further up the hill I go to where I reached the entrance.

The driveway was in at least 8 inches of fresh, unspoiled snow, and everywhere had a very natural feel.

I ignore and walk past the workshop and head straight to the honey bees. Hmmm, boy am I glad I came up when I did.  Their home is a National beehive (one I built naturally) and sits upon two wooden pallets to keep away from the ground.  Even so a snow drift had formed half the way up the brood chamber, that must be 18 inches to 2 foot off the ground.  So I cleared around the hive of all snow and can now only hope that the ladies are fine inside.

To help me out this week, I spoke to the local resident to ask them to check on the hive once or twice a day to clear the hive of any further snow.   I have faith that I will see the ladies again soon.

My return journey home was much the same as coming up, it was great to see so many people outside, dressed appropriately, making the most of the outdoors.  I popped into my mothers place of work and had a lovely cuppa tea made before heading back home.

All in all, it was a great few hours walk, talk to complete strangers, and time to appreciate the natural beauty that the snow has brought. 

Feeding the ladies of Gwenyn Mel 2

It's time to check on the ladies of Gwenyn Mel 2 (Honey Bee 2).  So I paid the ladies a visit the other day to see how they're coping with our mild, yet damp winter so far and to check on their food quantities.

This is a normal requirement for a lot of beekeepers alike to ensure that these hard working ladies have enough food to live on and if not, introduce some food into the hive to ensure they make the spring time ready for the next burst in natures life and reproduction cycle.

Honey bees who are being cared for by a beekeeper have been working in partnership through at least, the previous summer, maybe even spring or longer.  This usually means that they have spent considerable time working together to build up enough storage of food to ensure their survival through to the next spring.  

As for the ladies of Gwenyn Mel 2 and myself, our lives came together in 29th August 2012.  For those that are unaware, what this means is that, this is not a lot of time for them to produce enough honey for themselves in their own preparations for the looming cold and damp months (not much different to the summer of 2012 really). 

Due to the amount of rain that fell on this area from September on-wards to ensure that there are still lovely ladies in the hive come spring, I needed to introduce an emergency drastic feeding regime.  

I have been keeping a close eye on them, more so than I would normally as they live just metres away from my workshop.  Always managing to spend some quality time sitting near their home just watching their activity, for which time just seems to fly by as I get absorbed by their behaviour.

Because they have not had enough time or suitable weather conditions to build up their own supply, I have needed to step in and supplement them.  Some will agree with me for doing this but some others will not, stating that bees would not normally eat manufactured sugar so therefore I should not feed them and just let nature take its course. 

Well personally my plans are to feed them through this winter into spring (if needed) and allow them to build up their own stores next year ready for the winter of 2013, therefore living a more natural life.  I must point out that I'm not spending my time with Gwenyn Mel 2 so that I can take their honey, I will leave more than enough for them to survive on.  So hopefully next summer will bee a great one and they can bee as natural as possible.

So anyway, back to why I came here... to update you...  The food level for the ladies was low, so some fondant was needed.  Time to get onto the internet to learn how to make my very own fondant, which is needed this time of year.  There was a wonderfully explained video found on how to make fondant which meant I needed to put my chef hat on.  

After a few curious looks from onlookers (there's just no trust when I'm in the kitchen) I proceeded to make a "slight mess" which was fully cleaned up afterwards, there now proudly sits, made by moi, 5 little trays with fondant in readyness to pass onto Gwenyn Mel 2 as and when required.

Yesterday I paid the ladies a visit and placed a small amount (no bigger than a 10 pence piece) of fondant in through the crown board to see their reaction.  Within seconds, 2 of the little darlings were busy with their tongues, within a minute, there were a few dozen over the fondant.

Woo hoo...  Success...

So as quick as my hands would allow me, I lifted the crown board enough to place the contents of 1 of the trays directly on top of them and lower the crown board again.  Staying briefly to watch the ladies and ensure that my home cooking was not a one off, I returned the roof and stepped back.

I think I will check on them quickly later in the week just to gauge how fast they eat this fondant as this is the first time that I have ever needed to do this as previously they were left copious amounts of their own food.

Take care and will speak to you soon   

P.S

If you are interested, there are a few photos of Gwenyn Mel 2 in their very own photo album which can be found on my facebook page by clicking HERE

Me, Myself and the Trees

Mentioned in the previous post were a little about trees...  With a want, or maybe even a need, for me to expand in exploring and sharing their beauty.

I wanted to keep you updated and have found that, everywhere I have travelled during this winter period I have not been able to walk or drive past woodland, copse or single trunk without admiring their presence and structure and wonder how I can celebrate them better.

So with just a spare piece of wood and a pencil in front of me I began to look at a the trees that were around me.  After applying pencil to wood and just feeling for what felt right my hand began to draw.  

Immediately after the first one was drawn it was sent to the scroll saw to see what I can do with a blade, it wasn't long until it was finished.

Marvellous, beautiful, proud, yet they will be soooo much better next time...  Thoughts of other types of trees with their differing shapes and sizes were springing to the forefront of my mind.    

Now into double figures with the amount of trees I've created, there are the beginnings of my own woodland... No two trees are the same, which in reality makes a lot of sense when thinking about what factors influence their growth.

When I was a young boy growing up, I was quite often found climbing up into a tree, I always loved sitting on a high branch and looking at the world around me, enjoying my new perspective.  Falling was seldom an issue, sometimes a branch snapped under my weight (sorry tree) but whilst reflecting upon this now, a respect for trees has always been with me.  

Trees are unbelievably multifunctional, They produce oxygen which gives life, they are homes to so much wildlife, they produce shade to keep us cool and can be burnt to keep us warm.  Their qualities can be realised in so many other ways, such as: bow and arrows to catch food;  guitars to entertain; furniture; building shelters; transportation, I could go on, but the list is exhaustive. 

Thoughts of different styles and how to present them are still running through my mind, so only time will tell what other creations will appear from me.

I promise to keep you posted.