Bee friend

Angie took off early so as to get some information as to what could be done to get Sepp on his feet and into a condition that makes a daily life possible. Things are happening fast, it's Friday so getting hold of anyone over the next few days will be difficult and the fear is that he will be released on Monday with no plan of action. His son and young family who live in Sepp's house together with his mother who is herself in need of care, are seemingly not prepared. Somehow Angie is hoping that he can be put on a rehabilitation scheme but that needs the nod of the doctors.

I am not sure where she gets the energy to go breaking down doors but she keeps doing it. Too early to know what will happen next. She was able to spend some time with Sepp and try to motivate him to sit up, move the bits that he can and get his system working. Another 6 hour, 200km round journey and she was pretty run down by the time she got home. She has to take a break tomorrow and rely on her half-brother doing the "shift". Perhaps her eldest sister who returns from holiday on Saturday can drop by on Sunday and cover that day too.

I took off with Luna for the morning walk, dropping by the local garage to see if any news on my Jeep cylinder head disaster. Garge has been busy and had only taken a quick look at what could be seen without opening anything up. A bit like a doctor's "Duty to Inform" speech before an operation, Nero (the owner) took me through the choices. He would dismantle the diesel jet and see what was going on then:
A) simply clean it up, new seal and replace a few now burn connections
B) the thread has been broken and he can take it to Poland this weekend where he happens to be visiting and get his connections to rework it. Will take about two weeks and cost a good four-digit deal of money but a loss less than in Germany.
C) call the scrapyard - it's "Fertig" - the end of the road..
Nero said he would take a look in a few hours.

A bit depressed took Luna for a walk behind the garage wondering where it was all going to end - Sepp, the dying bees, the dying cars - mine and Angie's.

Nearly 3km walked in the incredibly wonderful, warm sunshine and that helped to get the spirits rising. 3km is about the average radius a bee will fly from its hive when foraging for nectar and pollen. In ideal conditions, it can easily be 6km or even further but somewhere along the line there is a cost-benefit ratio where flying time energy use is higher than harvested food.

So it was with great delight that I came across a large field of wonderfully happy sun- and other flowers brightly smiling at me and with the very quiet humming of honey bees. I hope that as my hives are "about" (measured on Google Earth to the nearest cm) 1,824 metres away, that some of the girls spotted are mine. For the moment I am not sure who the field belongs to and for what purpose. Primarily it will be a catch crop designed to improve the soil structure and may also be used in the form as feed silage or for an organic gas unit.

If only more of this was done - good for the soil, good for the insect world (above and below ground), saves fertilizer, great for honey production and above all great for the human eye, heart and soul. If I could I would double any EU subsidy the farmer gets out of my own pocket. And I am now considering how I could on a much large scale do something along these lines. In the extra photo a few more shots of the field including a honey bee drinking on a Phacelia which are nicknamed in German "Bienenfreund" Bee Friend. They are pretty undemanding and yet do so much positive to the soil structure and mineral content. And we have poor soil that takes a constant battering from horse hooves. Have to see if we can do some "Greening" ourselves even if without EU subsidy.

Sadly only in German but here the webpage of a major German agricultural seed producer with around 30 different plants used for "greening", many of them ideal for bees. And their video that shows why we need to encourage greening.

Somewhat buoyed up returned home and did some sugar syrup cooking for the bees as my inspection yesterday showed they still need quite some boosting. I had two packets of fondant but needed two further portions so mixed up around 4kg of sugar with around 2.5 litres of water. I forgot to mention yesterday that what had been the two weak new (swarmed) colonies in summer are doing really well and the third established hive which had been very good is now at least good. I need to observe this one closely as it was next to the virus plagued hive.

While having a very very late lunch, my mobile peeped to say a WhatsApp message had come in. Expected it to be Angie but it was Nero from the garage - simply: "Your car is fertig".

Oh no, option C) above. But hold on "Fertig" meaning finished, at an end, can't take any more, stressed out, on the ropes ..... also means "finished", as in completed, come and pick it up. I phoned him and my heart jumped higher than the house as he said: "You have had luck!".

Drove over and he explained the seal of the diesel jet had gone. The most work had been in cleaning up the muck that had been squeezed out by the enormous pressure of a diesel engine and which had even burnt various cables. I was able to leave knowing the bank manager wouldn't be calling after I raid the ATM this weekend.

Thank you, Nero
Thank you, the Farmer "mit Herz und Verstand" (with heart and sense)
Thank you, Sunflower, Phacelia and field pea
Thank you. the weather Gods.

Life is worth living and making a worthy living place is vital for Sepp, his children, his grandchildren and the entire world.