Tragedy- lost a small colony of bees

When I did the oxalic acid treatment all my colonies of bees were alive. I had a quick check today at the two hives in our front garden. One colony has died. The other is slowly moving in a cluster.

Victor is found and alive!

Victor ( horsfield tortoise) took himself somewhere in the garden on 20th October. We could not find him. We looked and looked. He had decided it was time to hibernate. Horsfield tortoises are known to dig down, so we came to the conclusion he had buried himself. We sought expert opinion, and it agreed with our thoughts.

Today we were working in our front garden and found Victor semi buried ( shell visible) under a bush.

We touched his legs, they moved. So, we knew he was alive. We’ve brought him in the house and will give him warm soaks to slowly raise his body temperature. Next it will be the UV and heat lamp.

We will need to keep a close eye on him for the next few days and weeks until he is eating properly again.

It is a great relief that he has been found and is alive and well.

A tragedy for the people of Myanmar

Let’s hope that international pressure can help restore democracy for the people we briefly knew in our visit to Myanmar last year. It was a visit that had a deep impact on all of us in our tour party. The people, the place, it’s history and culture formed an experience that was a joy to behold.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-55882489

Funeral of my brother in law

2 years ago was the funeral of Steven, my brother in law. The poem below was read at his funeral. Steven was the same age as me ( a month older) and tragically died too soon.

A life well lived

A life well lived is a precious gift

Of hope and strength and grace,

From someone who has made our world

A brighter, better place

It’s filled with moments, sweet and sad

With smiles and sometimes tears,

With friendships formed and good times shared

And laughter through the years.

A life well lived is a legacy

Of joy and pride and pleasure,

A living, lasting memory

Our grateful hearts will treasure

– Author Unknown

A short walk around Alsager.

www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmaps/route/7282011/gunnel-way-from-station-road

I’ve invented the name of this walk. A nice 3 ½ mile walk around the edge of part of Alsager. Starting and finishing at station road.

Some parts were muddy. But the paths was generally good.

Including part of the market town trail and the donkey path to Alsager station

New year photo challenge. A different photo each day and all in 2021. No more than 1 photo a day.

COVID test

At the bet 365 stadium

Drive through test, but we asked the staff to administer the test and were pleased we had. I’m not confident we would have managed it by ourselves.

I decided to have the test as I had an aversion to strong tasting ( and smelling) foods yesterday. This is not something I have a problem with usually.