Renting flats and house shares for 20 years has meant that I have not needed to do any DIY or look after a garden EVER in my life. Despite having an engineering degree, the only hand tools I have used have been a knife, fork and spoon. Ever the modern-man, I have sensitive skin, use Marigolds and Head-To-Toe baby wash. As a consequence my hands have a softness that Fairy Liquid models gush about and which my more manly friends are shocked by. I feel this might change as I type this with hands bearing blisters and holes where I pulled splinters out.
Hammering has got to be simple, right? It’s like one of the first things that our hominid ancestors did before they discovered fire. I banged at the first nail with the enthusiasm and dexterity of an 8 year old child wielding a Bob-The-Builder tool-kit. It went in at an angle and ending up poking out dangerously from the brood box.
My 70-year-old Dad, then showed me how to hammer nails in straight. I always saw myself as a late developer, but not this late! Should I be embarrassed writing this? Not sure.
I looked at the flat hive pack with only slightly less trepidation than I look at the beehive. So many parts. So much that could go wrong.
Dad was keen for us to use his Black & Decker Workmate and he patiently showed me how it worked. I’m glad he’s got the kit.
Two hours after we started we had a hive stand. Only a brood box, frames, supers and roof to go. I don’t have time for this! This is where the ready-assembled beehaus would have come into its own.
I thought beekeeping was going to help me regain my sanity but these last few days it has been making me feel anxious. I am on a schedule. I only have evenings and weekends. I’m getting married in a week. I have a load of to-do’s and a speech to write. But the bees are full of varroa and on the edge of swarming. If I don’t build this second hive now I won’t be ready to artificially swarm the bees. I need to read up about varroa and how to get rid of it. And this blog needs feeding, even though I only have 3 Facebook Friends.
Hopefully, the slow-paced, regaining my sanity moments will come later, right?
Other manly stuff I did this week (with Dad metaphorically holding my hand):
- Went to a building product suppliers and talked with men – they treated me gently
- Bought 2 flagstones to put under the hives
- Got my first splinters in 20 years and enjoyed the pain
- Built most of the rest of the hive (20 man hours so far)
PS. I am still worried about opening up the hive.
The next time I had to man-up was when I broke an unwritten family rule.