Bring me sunshine

We had an acquaintance who lived in Hare Cottage (not Hare House, which is a good ghost-story novel). He said that being given endless gifts and cards featuring hares got tiresome. I think that's a bit harsh. Buying gifts for people is hard, and the more affection you have for them, the harder it is. Finding something that ticks several boxes like beautiful, useful, original, unusual, amusing, generous, tasteful, and then combining that with 'personal' is a challenge. Having a hook to hang the 'personal' on - so that the recipient knows you were thinking of them when you chose it - is a big help, and fair enough, I think

Certainly, I'm not fed up with bee-themed presents. This was a present from our in-laws. Is that the correct description of one's child's spouse's parent and step-parent? We watched (re-watched, Mrs M says, but it was all new to me!) the rather syrupy Trevor Nunn movie about Lady Jane Grey last night. Reading about her, she is described as Edward VI's "first cousin once removed". In royal succession, this kind of thing matters but, even so, I thought that kind of relationship was made up for comedic effect in plays by Oscar Wilde

Anyway, the gift was gratefully received and provided some fun diversion in a cold, snowy week. Mrs M was the initiator and did the lion's share; walking group friends pitched in with enthusiasm during after-ramble coffee; I was allocated a small area of special responsibility, and fulfilled my brief. The lifestyle section of the paper says we have reinforced our bulwark against senility

I can't resist some commentary about the image. The title suggests the depicted plants are 'honey plants'; this is indisputable in the case of lavender and orange blossom; it is most certainly not so in the case of either red clover or foxglove, both of which have nectaries so deep in their flowers that the short tongues of honey bees can't reach them (occasionally bumble bees bite a hole in the base of foxglove, which may give honey bees some access). There is an annual species called crimson clover, which may be more common in the Kentucky than in UK, and does yield honey, but the picture looks more like common red clover

Dandelion produce nectar - usually at a time of year when most of it is consumed by the bees themselves during the spring build up of the colony, which is just as well, as honey with a lot of dandelion nectar in it can taste very unpleasant. Calendula and poppy are visited for pollen but produce relatively little nectar. There are many types of flower called "marigold", which is maybe why there are two different flowers in the picture; some of them are nectar sources, but not usually in large quantities

The table and upturned basket at the bottom of the picture is a "skep" hive - a woven straw basket with a notch in the "rim" that creates an entrance for the bees when inverted as shown. Bees were kept in skeps like this in UK until the introduction of the movable frame hive in the 19th century. There are still a few enthusiasts who keep bees this way. Many beekeepers retain a skep for collecting swarms - the bees can easily cling to the rough straw 'ceiling', and the whole thing can be wrapped in a sheet to transport the bees home!

We have no idea what the contraption at the top centre of the picture is. Maybe someone reading this does...

The pictures of bees are not very anatomically accurate - especially the queen that appears to have only four legs! It is also a mystery why there are two drones that look slightly different - this does not reflect any existence of drone sub-categories in real bees - and they certainly don't have serrated tails! If we regard this as folk art, all this is forgivable

We are not the only ones dreaming of summer flowers amid snow, slush, frost and high winds. I'm collecting orders for honey jars from my fellow beekeepers for a bulk purchase from the supplier. The total has reached £1200 so far, and I expect a weekend rush as the deadline approaches. The collective noun for beekeepers is "a pangloss"