I feared for our House Martins when those August storms hit. All my fears proved to be needless, however, as somehow the parents found enough insects to feed their young, a small miracle in itself. As their 
poo piled up beneath the nest, they prospered and by mid-September they fledged, all returning to the nest for one last time late one evening. The next day they were gone, soon to start their long migration to Africa. How I miss their quiet “chuntering” and am looking forwards to their return next year.
I much regret to report that there will be no Payhembury honey on sale in the shop this year. We have only managed to harvest some from one of our hives, barely enough to cover our own needs but we are really hopeful that matters will improve next year. Our second hive, which was so productive last year, lost its old queen but she was replaced and the workers are now busy building up sufficient reserves to see them through the winter. We managed to capture three swarms this year, but two of them have failed. The trouble with many swarms is that the queen is often too old to survive very long and she can leave behind a weakened hive which does not have sufficient resources to survive and can, as was the case here, fall prey to swarms of wasps, which seem to have been around in huge numbers this year. On the other hand the third swarm has prospered and the hive is building up really nicely in size. This means 
that with three hives on the go and disbarring any further setbacks the future looks brighter for next year.
The trial wild flower strip I told you about last year did really well, which has encouraged me to expand the area for next year. More seeds have been purchased from Goren Farm and sown and I am hoping that germination will be as good as earlier this year, especially for the Yellow Rattle, which has done really well.
Another success has been our Joe Pie Weed, which we bought from High Garden Nurseries in Kenton, my favourite nursery in Devon by a long shot. This plant is tall, up to 8ft or so, and is covered by a mass of frothy pink and white nectar-rich flower heads greatly loved by butterflies and bees.
Paul Lister 841696
