Busy Bees

From the start have to admit this is a borrowed Blip,  from my daughter Kate in Ireland. Charlotte and Elliot: these two were the first to call me "Grandpa" and for a while I kept searching the room to find out who they meant.

Back at Christmas time, my package which included a few jars of honey and a supply of bee wax "foundation" and a meter or two of candle wick.

Kate has always been very keen on hand crafts, nature, animals, animals, environment, plants, flowers, animal rescue, snails, countryside, animals alongside the laptops, tablets, mobile phones and all those things a modern mother has to be proficient in. She tries to bring up her children to be aware and take part in such matters, so any presents that include a degree of exploration and trying out new things are always welcome.

Now during the Easter hols, the three of them have made candles with the wax foundation. I think they look great and when I showed the photo to Angie this evening, she said "I always wanted some of those, why haven't you made any for me?"

I do collect the wax that one gets in the course of bee keeping and have once managed to make a block which one could then try to make one's own "normal" dipped candle - a long process. Most beekeepers trade in these blocks at their local beekeeping supply store for new sheets of foundation.

Kate sent me two photos one showing the large candle lit but I preferred this one. She reports they do burn and have a light wax smell. Well done team, especially Elliot who on his first every visit here got stung on the head by a bee and despite this has no hang ups about them.