It had stopped raining, though everything was damp and soggy. The Van was full of flies – trouble not having a fly screen on your side door – so we opened the boot and wafted them out in that direction. It reduced the population quite considerably, though there were a few obstinate ones.
We had another slow morning and late breakfast. Tidying the Van, sorting out Pupster, sorting ourselves out – suddenly most of the morning has gone! After sorting the world out over breakfast with our friends and the day slowly brightening and warming up, we took the Pupster for a walk – about 30 minutes along very quiet country lanes to the river – where Pupster had a lovely time swimming after sticks and paddling in the shallows. Then we slowly walked back, setting off all the dogs that lived in the houses (not sure if this area is classed as a village – just lots of properties with huge plots strung out along a very long road). Most gates had “Awaga Pies” signs tied to their gates/fences (attention – dogs) so we imagined slavering Rottweilers straining at leashes, ready to rip any trespassers apart when in reality, it was mostly little chihuahua type dogs that came galloping up the paths, yapping madly, clearly suffering from Small Dog Syndrome. They took their duties seriously, their high pitched barks following us up the road, their fellow burglar alarm systems joining in the fray. Despite their diminutive size, we kept our distance – they didn’t look the petting types, more like ankle biters and snappers of fingers.
Late yesterday afternoon, the bee keeper who said we couldn’t visit, phoned and invited us to visit him after all – we organised to arrive around 6pm. After a quick bite to eat, the four of us and Pupster headed towards south east of Lodz, about an hour away. We turned up at a modest house with a big garden and met a lovely couple. They ushered us to a table with benches and began to talk about their bee keeping, which was great except it was in Polish. We turned on Google Translate Live which kind of worked, but we had to knit the information together as the translation was a bit mangled – but we got the gist of it. We got to taste two types of honey that their bees produced, some honey cake, a honey drink and some seeds, which was delicious. After a while, we donned bee keeping jackets and hoods then followed the chap across the lawn to a wooden shed. It seemed a bit excessive for a bee hive, but this particular one had a bit of a twist. Down the side, he pulled out a hefty drawer where racks full of bees were busy working. It was fascinating. He had no protection whatsoever as he pulled out racks and moved bees to show us the honeycomb. Afterwards he shut the drawer and took us to the front of the shed – we took off our protective clothing and followed his wife inside. It was set up like a sauna with slatted benches on both sides, under which were the drawers full of bees. With the bees buzzing, it sent vibrations up into the room and the concept was, that together with the smell of the honey and the buzzing sensation, the combination had unique healing powers and therapeutic benefits including relieving anxiety, pain and helping mental health. We sat there for a long time taking in the aroma of honey and could hear the bees, but very faintly – the wife explained that it had been a poor year for bees, the weather had not been kind so the bees had been unable to forage to their full potential and the population numbers were down. Also it was coming to the end of the peak season so we wouldn’t experience the full capabilities of the hive, but as we sat there, we could feel ourselves relaxing and becoming still. It was very powerful, nature at its best and we understood how amazing it would be.
The next problem in a beekeeper’s life were now the wasps that seemed to be everywhere and kept appearing in the shed – they couldn’t figure out how the insects were getting in, but she was an expert at catching them and chucking them outside. Wasps can be devastating to a bee community, so the couple had to be being very vigilant, checking the bees all the time. Parasites were another constant worry too – it was like a full time job, she explained, as they used no pesticides, no chemicals or artificial compounds – everything was organic and natural, which made their work even harder.
In the meantime, Pupster sat outside with the husband, calmly laying on his feet and driving their own dogs mad. It set off the neighbourhood dogs off too. We keep passing our poor hound to complete strangers and she doesn’t bat an eyelid.
Our friends decided to check the hive out further – they laid down on the benches inside the shed as they were very interested in this concept – we went outside and admired the garden. Somehow we began a conversation about the herbs and flowers – “mint, mint tea, sage and rudbeckia” some words just cross that international barrier. The wife had a better digital translator on her phone and we chatted more about bees, nature and educating children. It was lovely.
We bought 6 jars of honey between us and bade goodbye to this lovely couple who cared so much about bees. They barely made any money from this venture which depended so much on good years, weather and serious dedication. It was a labour of love more than a viable business, but with bees so important to this planet, we admired their unwavering passion for the little creatures.
We drove back to our friend’s house, discussing about what this amazing couple were trying to do, full of admiration for them. Mist was forming and lingering across the wheat fields in the fading light which was quite ethereal. It was nearly dark by the time we got back and we hung out by our van, shooing the pesky flies that had the gall to take up residence. After a well earned cuppa, we retired to bed. Tomorrow we would be leaving our friends and starting wheedle our way back home.
apathtosomewhere 