Thursday 3 October 2013

Hedgerows and Hives (or Sloe Gin, Blackberry Gin & the Attack of the Wasps)


Being watched while I pick blackberries (by this curious Muntjac Deer)



I love a September holiday because it lengthens my summer. I tell myself that autumn doesn't arrive until my summer holiday is over - and so, in this household, autumn officially began this year on 22nd September. And it really does feel like autumn now.  The nights are drawing in, the Swallows have all left, and leaves are starting to cover the smallholding.  We've also begun to bring the logs in and light the fire each evening. I love the fires - but I'd still rather have the long, warm, summer evenings outside.

A downside of taking a September holiday is that I've already missed days of blackberry picking. We eat lots of blackberries throughout the year, so I have to find the time as soon I as come home to pick several tubs-full for freezing.  I also have to pick lots of sloes, too, for Sloe Gin, because we love to drink this at Christmas. I posted a recipe for this last September, but I've decided this autumn to make it sweeter by adding more sugar (by increasing the sugar to 1lb) - because each year we seem to like our drinks sweeter and sweeter...


Last year's Sloe Gin at Christmas



I've also made some Blackberry Gin.  I've not made or even drunk this before, but I like the sound of it. Blackberry Gin is made in a similar way to Sloe Gin, except the blackberries are strained first.

Blackberry Gin

Ingredients:

4lb Ripe Blackberries
3lb Sugar
Gin

Method:

Place the blackberries and sugar in a bowl in a warm place until the juice is drawn from the berries (as a guide, this can take about 8 hours in an airing cupboard).
Strain through a jelly bag/muslin/strainer.
For every pint of juice add a pint of gin.  Mix well and bottle.
Store for around 3 months and drink at Christmas!

NB Apparently, if you add a touch of hot water to this it helps to ease a sore throat!!

Fortunately, there's been plenty of sunshine since I came home from holiday, so I've been able to go out into the fields and forage for berries, taking Harry with me. He does get bored by it all, but...lovely dog...he's very patient...


The fields seem so quiet now I can no longer hear the Swallows, Swifts, Chiffchaffs etc. And there are very few butterflies around, too - mainly a few Whites and Speckled Woods.  But I am seeing Small Coppers for the first time this year...

Small Copper Butterfly





After blackberries and sloes - apple picking is next - and there are lots of apples this year. We have a large apple crop in the orchard we planted a few years ago...

A corner of the new apple orchard





All our trees in the orchard are surrounded by pallets after we acquired lots for free some time ago. These protect the trees from our sheep and the local rabbits - and although they're a bit ugly, they've worked really well.

A few of our neighbours have also very kindly invited us to pick apples from their own trees (as they don't want them), so we're currently doing the rounds of gardens and orchards.  But now we have to find a place to store them all. We do have several stacked apple crates, but I'm not sure this will be enough, so the apples that are already beginning to spoil are quickly fed to the sheep, chickens and geese.  Most of the good apples will go to make apple juice.

Bees and Wasps

In late summer, wasps often attack weaker honeybee colonies to steal their honey.  All honeybee colonies have guard bees at the entrance of their hive to see off any intruders, but wasps are very persistent and aggressive. While the strong colonies will fight off the wasps, the weaker ones can become overwhelmed.

Unfortunately, this is what happened in my apiary this summer.
 
I had some bees in a nucleus hive (a smaller hive) because I was in the process of introducing a new queen bee to a colony - and according to beekeeping wisdom it's always best to introduce a new queen to a small colony first i.e. so they can become used to her - and then she can be introduced to a larger one.

But, this time, my small colony turned out to be a weak colony - and so it was unable to fight off the wasps.

I discovered what had happened when I lifted the roof off of my nucleus hive expecting bees - only to see a few wasps helping themselves to the honey.  I hadn't realised wasps were around the apiary because I hadn't seen them, but there must have been a nest nearby (I had seen them at another apiary and put out lots of jam-jar wasp traps, but I hadn't seen a single wasp around the nucleus hive).

I'm often told that wasps are good for the garden, and that everything in nature has its place, but like other beekeepers, I have another opinion of them altogether...

 Grrrrr...................................











58 comments:

  1. As usual some fabulous photos Wendy - I am loving the borage showing its fine hairs, and of course the dear little Muntjacs face and that of Harry.
    So sorry to learn about the wasps - what is the course of action you have to take? Do you just wait until they leave or smoke them out?
    Your apples are the most fantastic colour of red, they look almost unreal.

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    1. Unfortunately the wasps have done their damage to this nucleus hive. As I've taken the frames out (with the honey) from the hive any wasps will now be visiting an empty box so they will lose interest. I think next year I'll have to return to placing lots of wasp traps, even if I don't see any flying. They fooled me this year by coming out so late.

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  2. Nice shooting to get the Muntjac Wendy. You have also taken a great shot of a Small Copper which I have not seen at all this year and those apples look really delicious.
    In my gardening days back home in Somerset, my idea of dealing with wasp nest was petrol mixed with sugar and a lighted match.
    Not too much of that Gin in one go.{:))

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    1. I was lucky the Muntjac came so close. We've set fire to a wasp nest (in a mulch heap) before now, but this time the wasps realised at once who was attacking them and came out in force to attack us! We had to run into the barn to escape them. It must have looked comical!
      The gin will all be ready at Christmas and I have made rather a lot this year. Just hope we have guests who'll help out!

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    2. You will just have to drink the lot yourself.{:))

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    3. Haha...we'll certainly have a go!!

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  3. Muntjac are such funny looking creatures! Amazing that you managed to take a photo of one! Blackberry gin sounds wonderful, i think ours are all past it and the farmer near us put us off picking them, saying he is going to spray them with horrible pesticide even though they aren't even on his land! Grr! I think we have some sloe gin somewhere though.

    I too saw a few butterflies this morning - red admiral, peacock and comma!

    Sorry to hear about the bee situation. I am not a wasp fan, and yes I can appreciate that everything has its place but why do they need to be so nasty!

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    1. That's bad about the spraying. I never pick blackberries by roads or where there has been spraying in the adjoining fields - I'm lucky I can pick them in some fields that have just been left to go wild. I wish we had more on the smallholding; we might consider planting some cultivated blackberries in the future.

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  4. Lovely pictures. What a shame about the wasps, I hope your bees survive the attack. It is indeed feeling very autumnal here, and we're missing the summer birds. By the end of the month I expect Bewick swans will start to arrive at nearby Slimbridge though, and then we will have lots of wintering birds to watch. Thus it goes.

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    1. I do envy you that - I'd love to see the winter swans come in and I've always wanted to watch the after-dark feeding of them. It's even more exciting now individual birds can be traced and recognised.

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  5. I was upset to read about your bees- blasted wasps. I do feel they have a place but NOT when that place is killing off honey bees :-(

    I enjoyed the pic of Harry- he has such a lovely face and was looking particularly patient in that photo!

    Also great to see the butterfly. They have more or less gone from around here, even the speckled woods who were about last week.

    Did you know you can add blackberries to brandy? I tried it last year and used it for cooking and making the brandy butter :-)

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    1. I didn't know that; so I'll give that a go - sounds delicious.
      There are very few butterflies here now, after such a good butterfly summer I do miss the sight of them. But I was amazed to see a few Small Coppers for the first time in early autumn. There seemed to be a small wave of them here.

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  6. Beautiful photos as always - love the Muntjac and Small Copper :)

    So sorry to hear about the wasp attack - there seems to be a lot of wasps about at the moment - our ivy flowers are covered in them.

    From looking in the hedgerows round here it seems a good year for sloes - and all sorts of berries - looking forward to the arrival of the winter thrushes.

    Wish I had more blackberries left as the blackberry gin sounds rather wonderful. I used most of ours making jam and icecream and left a few in the freezer for crumbles throughout the winter.

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    1. Yes, I'm looking forward to the arrival of winter thrushes too. I know that one day I'll hear the Fieldfares chatter in the trees around us and they should have plenty of berries to feed up on this year.
      I love the sound of your blackberry jam and icecream. I've picked quite a few blackberries but I could always do with picking more - I have so many uses for them.

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  7. Love your autumnal photos - my husband makes sloe gin every year but never manages to drink it all so we have a cupboard full of the stuff! Sorry to hear about your hives - damned wasps - they ruined my apple crop - not actually sure what wasps are useful for - are you?

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    1. No, I'm not sure what their purpose is either. I'm sorry they ruined your apple crop - every year they ruin my Spartan apples but for some reason this year they didn't touch them - they must have something else, I imagine.
      Hope you eventually tackle your sloe gin!

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  8. Lovely photos, it's nice to start the post off with something a little different-how lovely to be watched by this creature. Plenty of blackberries here still, and a few butterflies today as it's so warm. So sorry about your bees-nasty wasps, I hope you keep them away next year. Your apple orchard looks great. I saw some swallows flying south over the garden this afternoon.

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    1. The little Muntjac are considered a nuisance around here but I love to see them. I often come across them out on walks. This summer two very young deer suddenly bolted out of the wheat and ran right across my path, almost across my feet. Too quick for a photo, of course!
      I guess you'll be in one of the last places in the UK to see the Swallows before they head across the sea. I saw a single Swallow fly over this week - probably the last I'll see this year.

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    2. Hi Wendy, yesterday (Friday) I counted over 60 swallows flying over between 6-6.30pm all heading south west, in beautiful weather conditions.

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    3. Thanks for this news, Suzie. How amazing to see so many leave like that. Migration is one of the wonders of nature.

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  9. Such a beautiful photos, love to see the Muntjac deer watching you. And sure the sloe gin and blackberry gin will taste delicious. I am here for the first time and will follow you.
    Regards, Janneke

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    1. Hello Janneke and thanks for visiting. The Muntjac deer only watched for minute or two before it disappeared, but it was a very special moment. We only drink Sloe Gin at Christmas when it is a real treat - and we're looking forward to trying the Blackberry Gin for the first time!

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  10. So sorry about your bees! What a shame. I've never seen a Muntjac, and after seeing your picture, I'm not sure I want to! I knew they were strange but the reality is amazing. Love your photos as ever. Funnily enough I keep seeing unexpected butterflies. The moor was covered in Peacocks last week for a day and then they were gone.

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    1. I'm surprised the Muntjac haven't reached you yet; they're everywhere here. From a distance they look like dogs because they're so small. I must admit I do love their gentle deer faces, but I agree there is something unusual about them.
      Glad there are still lots of butterflies where you are!

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  11. I love your little muntjac and am very jealous!!!

    Harry always makes me smile, I swear he looks just like a furby with those ears....such a cutie!

    I LOVE the thought of the blackberry gin and although I don't drink gin I feel I'll simply have to give it a go, it looks wonderful.

    Oh no............how awful about the small colony, wasps are really naughty at this time of the year but that's unbelievable.....GRRRRRRR indeed!

    Ps, do you add anything to the apple juice? I have hundreds of eating apples and was wondering if I could somehow juice them.xxxx

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    1. HaHa...Harry is very cute but he does have lop-sided ears! I adore them, but they won't win him any prizes at a dog show!!
      Glad to hear you have lots of delicious eaters. It is a fantastic apple year, isn't it? We'll cut up our apples and press the juice from them and then freeze the juice at once while keeping just a little for drinking (which will have to be drunk within four/five days). We'll probably make the juice with three quarters eaters and a quarter cookers. We're not planning to add preservatives.

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  12. There are some blackberries still ripening on the shady side of the house. I'm very tempted with the gin, if I can part a man from his Bombay Sapphire that is!
    Wasps have a lot to answer for, so sorry to hear about your bees.

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    1. Does he like Sloe Gin? We don't drink gin throughout the year here (well, I might have a glass once or twice over the year but David never does). We both love Sloe Gin though, hence why we thought we'd try Blackberry Gin. I will report back at Christmas!

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  13. The muntjac is so sweet but they get cursed up at the farm where they eat the veggies that are growing! Blackberry gin, now that sounds good. Having had a bad experience with too much sloe gin (!) I find it a little cloying now xxx

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    1. The Muntjac are getting blamed for a lot here, aren't they? Both for eating veggies and wild flowers.
      That's a shame about the Sloe Gin - as we'll be drinking both at Christmas it will be interesting to compare the two tastes.

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  14. Glad you had such a lovely holiday last month Wendy - my favourite time of year :o)
    The muntjac shot is lovely, I've only ever seen one and that was crossing the road at night.
    I'll be off this weekend hopefully to find some sloes, last year there wasn't ONE to be found around here and I'd bought all that gin! I have some of this seasons blackberries frozen and I'm wondering if I could use those for blackberry gin?
    I was watching Monty Don last night storing his apples in that wonderful storage shed of his, you know the one that's nearly as large as our garden!
    Saddened to read about the loss of your lovely bees to those pesky wasps - I'd say more but daren't...
    Have a good weekend.
    Rose H

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    1. Hello Rose - I haven't heard from you for a while so it's lovely to hear from you again. The truth is I don't know about using frozen blackberries, so I'll have to think about that.
      I wish we had a large storage area for apples, too - at the moment the crates and other temporary storage containers are being squeezed in everywhere. The smell of the apples is gorgeous, though.

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  15. Grr indeed, I can quite see why you wouldn't feel paticularly tolerant of wasps, and they are harder to like than bees at the best of times! Christmas in your household sounds rather scrummy, in a faintly gin-soaked sort of way. Maybe you could get in to cider making too, with all those apples? Would mean you needed less storage room...

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    1. I think the wasps caught me out a bit because there weren't any last year - I'd quickly got used to them not being a problem!
      Yes, it's looking like there will be plenty of gin around this Christmas! We'll need some help to drink it given that we don't really drink anyway i.e. we'll have a handful of glasses of alcohol throughout the year. We made some cider a couple of years ago, but we've no plans to make it this year - maybe next year!

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  16. What a shame about the wasps getting at your bees! This year the hedgerows are heavy with hips, haws and berries! A good year for apples too. I love crisp, sweet apples straight from the tree and your sloe gin looks so festive:)

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    1. There is so much in the hedgerows at the moment, isn't there? I wish I could use a lot more of the berries, but at least there's plenty for the birds to help themselves to. I love sweet apples, too. I'm currently living on them!

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  17. Your fall photos are wonderful, I love seeing the change of seasons and the abundance that comes with fall.

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    1. Hello Charlie and thank you. I love seeing the change of seasons, too and although I'm really a lover of spring & summer - the colours of the leaves and the fruits and berries in the hedgerows are a wonderful sight.

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  18. Thanks for the great idea of blackberry gin wendy...I was actually panicking that I can't find a decent supply of sloes, and christmas won't be the same (!) Have tons of blackberries though, so I'm off to rig up so I'm off to rig up a straining contraption...

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  19. Hello Jude and thanks. Hope it all goes well! I'm hoping Blackberry Gin is a hit in our house this Christmas and so will become a regular Christmas treat because we've always plenty of blackberries here, too.

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  20. So sorry to hear about the wasp attack and we too are somewhat infested with the pesky little creatures at the moment :-( I made my sloe gin last weekend but I've never given blackberry gin a go and might try it out using the recipe you have provided :-) Great pic of the Muntjac :-)

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    1. I'm interested to read that you've made your own Sloe Gin too. It is an essential part of our Christmas, now!
      I was lucky to see the Muntjac so clearly, usually I just glimpse them quickly disappearing through a hedge!

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  21. Great photos Wendy. So sorry to hear about your bees :o( We have had loads of wasps as well, luckily one of our hives is strong and have been keeping the wasps at bay but the other hive is not so strong and hubby has had to get lots of wasps out. He made the entrance really small on both hives and this seemed to have helped and both luckily seemed to have survived the wasp attacks. We also put out wasp traps and have caught hundreds of them, they are such a pain!! Hubby only started to keep bees this year so hopefully we can get them through Winter.
    Julie :o)

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    1. I'm glad the wasps didn't overcome your hive. I'm always amazed how many wasps a single trap can catch, which just shows how many are around trying to get into a hive. I always have a small entrance, too on the hives so that it's easily defended but I do wonder if I could have made this even smaller i.e. so that just a single bee could squeeze through. Something to think about in the future.
      Hope all our bees make it through the winter!

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  22. Bizarre looking things, Muntjacs! I have to be careful coming home late at night at this time of year and in the spring as they feed on the roundabout above the M11 - I've seen them running back across the road a number of times.

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    1. I fear for them around the roads, too. With such an increase in population it's inevitable that they're always crossing them. I wish we had more green corridors for wildlife where they could move about away from roads.

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  23. Love the blackberry gin recipe... I'll try it if I can find some blackberries this late in the season. What wonderful produce your garden has - I have been doing a lot of stove top applesauce this fall and it is just delicious. Your photos are gorgeous! I hope you are well, friend!

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    1. I hope you're well, too, Stacy. Your applesauce does sound delicious! I've been a bit late cooking with apples this year, although I'm eating the sweet ones off the tree every day.

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  24. Your pictures as always are wonderful Wendy. A great picture of the deer and the sloe gin and recipe for blackberry gin sound good. So sorry to hear about the wasps getting at your bees, it must have been so frustrating.
    Sarah x

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    1. I had hoped that last year's poor weather and a cold spring would mean it was a poor year for wasps, but they were out in force. As well as attacking a weak colony of bees, wasps successfully attack bees that feel they have nothing to defend e.g. if they have lost their queen or don't have any young. Then the bees won't put up much of a fight.

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  25. I've never had sloe gin but the blackberry gin sounds tasty. I'm not a lover of wasps, either. They're too aggressive and are mean stingers. Will your honey bees rebound? That muntjac deer is so cute. The deer here are bigger and can destroy a garden in a single night. :(

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    1. I do recommend Sloe Gin, even to anyone who doesn't usually drink much gin usually ( here - David never drinks gin otherwise) I'm afraid those bees have been lost because of the wasps, but all my stronger hives were able to defend themselves. I think any attacking wasps would have come off worse if they had dared to enter those hives!

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  26. The blackberry gin looks delicious. I keep meaning to make some but never get round to it. We had a muntjack deer right outside our window on the driveway once, nibbling the flowers. They are so tiny and very cute! xx

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    1. It is the size of the Muntjac that amazes me most - I always think of deer as being so much bigger and these are tiny creatures. Unfortunately they do like the flowers, around here there is a real fear that they will eat the bluebells.

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  27. What a beautiful creature watching you pick the berries !
    So sorry about your bees.

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  28. Hello Willow and thank you. The deer came up very quietly and close, watched for a moment, then disappeared into the hedge. It is wonderful having encounters with wildlife like that.

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  29. Oh, that gin does look good! So sorry about the bees......pesky wasps! x

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    1. Yes...looking forward to the Sloe & Blackberry Gins - and I'm going to double the wasp traps next year!

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