Paynes Beekeeping

Somehow the fact I became staring at a hive of cranky bees through a digital camera lens kept me personally somewhat less focused on getting stung when I inched closer and nearer to them. My lens ended up being virtually touching the little orifice at the root of the hive once I got "buzzed."

Perhaps the bee that rammed it self continuously into my cap simply above my ear was warning myself that she along with her 15, 000 other buddies inside hive had been hoping to get some shut-eye and weren't become bothered. It had been a cold day in November, and bees just clump up-and type of go inactive during the winter months. And whereas i do believe we all know not to ever wake up a sleeping bear, I’ve never been informed to not disturb a beehive in cold weather. But like bears, and me for example, bees could possibly get rather cranky and short tempered if troubled in their tired time.

"would you like to placed on the bee match?" Roger asked even as we reached the gate that separated united states from about 20-odd hives which sat quietly among the trees into the forests. "Are you?" I responded. He stated he had beenn’t, so I believed aloud, "Well in the event that you aren’t, I’m maybe not gonna." We figured I would trust the person who in 2010 round, and when i simply stuck on principles (move slowly, continue to be peaceful, no panicking) i might be ok. Every thing went well, as soon as At long last got buzzed I did find a way to manage my desire to accomplish the Invisible Insect Panic Dance. After a careful sign in the folds of my cap, we figured my time was up, so we packed the apparatus and left.

Roger Payne is a tall, gentle other who uses his days with bees. Hundreds of thousands of these. He could be a third generation beekeeper, and along with his household runs Paynes Southdown Bee Farms. Found in the tranquil Sussex country into the south of The united kingdomt, Roger plus the remaining family and staff will countless hives spread all over location and harvest the honey and beeswax that bees create. They turn that bounty into a selection of products that tend to be both edible delicacies, such as for instance natural honey, jams, and sweets, as well as practical add-ons the home and tools and equipment for the practicing beekeeper.

As is typical of the region now of year, it had been grey and a bit drizzly the few days I invested indeed there. It had been also slightly odd that I happened to be shooting a documentary on a beekeeper during the winter months. Perhaps it fits MailChimp’s commitment to being unconventional. Irrespective, there is ample activity at Paynes facility which will make up for decreased busy bees flying around exercising their pollen gathering tasks that mark the hotter months.

Tucked into a group of little buildings that used to create within the stables of a bigger estate next door, Roger and household are choosing every square inches of area the different aspects of running a flourishing bee-based business. From little workshops for which they pour beeswax molds or build hives, to a jarring and labeling room, a storefront, a shipping and packaging location, there was clearly not a square inch remaining unused. There have been computers and desks tucked under staircases and squeezed into storage rooms between shelves stacked with cases upon cases of honey products. Yet I thought as if no one appeared to mind the cramped quarters, possibly since they invested plenty of their hours in the open air, year round, tending to their particular bees.

I invested a lot of time walking while truth be told there, mostly amongst the B&B, the bee farm, and neighborhood pub (best sticky toffee pudding EVER), therefore I thought like i eventually got to feel the land a little. And no matter what the climate becoming cold or the season grey, i really could observe working with nature in such lovely environments might be a satisfying choice for three years of Paynes. Also to think that that little procedure provides such a huge (and tasty!) number of services and products to a whole region of the world really adds indicating to your term "busy as a bee." So far as beekeeping goes, i believe the word "keeping" refers more to "keeping-up-with" than any other meaning one might infer. And also as Roger put it, with a smile, "they’re in charge of us… definitely."