Before the Move

It took five trips to the out-apiary – three yesterday to get the bees moved box by box and a couple of visits today to tidy up, clear the site, strim and pick up a few stragglers.

They are now at home in our garden along with our one other colony so #MyTime (and indeed our time) with the Bees becomes much more manageable.

Our aim is to have just a few colonies – no more than five – in the garden where we can enjoy them and easily get to them for any necessary inspections.

After the Move

The bees have settled well in their new position on the decking outside of our workshop.  David has screened them off so we can continue to work in the area whilst getting the apiary set out as we need it.

We have a lot of kit to sort though so the Winter tasks will include much sorting and getting rid of equipment which is either ill-matched or surplus to requirements.  But that can be done over time and doesn’t need to be done to a deadline.

So, welcome bees – you’re home.

Heading into a week off work, and the fourth week of my countdown to 60, I’ve been pondering what gem to lay down for #MyTime and as I am looking forward to spending a day in London this week, to include a visit to Tate Modern to see the Picasso 1932 exhibition with David, then exploring art could be the very gem.  My partner, David is an artist himself and so I often have the opportunity to see and talk all things art.  Well, given the time, I want to see more.  I’m not urgent to make art but more to appreciate it.  I suppose I may need to be selective to avoid saturation but I’m not saying “No” to anything right now.

Moving into the third week of my countdown to 60, I did something I haven’t done in a decade!  Seems like an age away now as the weather has turned and the sky is rather grey – a dull comparison to those wonderful blue skies of a week ago.  My lovely neighbour reminded me on Monday that I had been flirting with the idea of a dip in the sea for some time now.  So, grasping the nettle, we set off for an early evening swim at Eype.  The sun shone and the blue sea gently rippled and shimmered.  I braced myself for the cold but actually it was pleasantly cool and so lovely to feel the embrace of the salty water.  I didn’t see the hundreds of little fish (must get myself some goggles if I do this again!) but I happily splashed and swam and floated in the blue.

So, I am reminding myself of another intention for #MyTime – that is to enjoy my beautiful surroundings and get to know some of the special places on my doorstep.  It is somewhat unlikely that I will become one of those daily swimmers but the beaches are lovely here in West Dorset and if I can get some time, I want to come to know them better.  Even in the grey and the rain, the beauty shines through.

It’s not easy to catch the small voice from within when there is so much noise on the outside. That’s what it’s been like the last few days. But I am listening and #MyTime not only includes friendships but family too. It’s ages since I did any family history research and that is high on my agenda for when I get a little headspace. So, shall I get an ancestry DNA test? Might be interesting?

So, this weekend marks the start of my 40-week countdown to 60.  I plan to hit an “emotional” retirement milestone next May (2019) and make some sort of mark on reaching that expected point in my life where #MyTime becomes prominent.  Of course, I expect (and hope) still to be working at that point and so time may not open up for me as it would were I to be actually “retiring” from paid employment.  Consequently, I want to gather to myself all of the seeds that could yield a productive and fulfilled retirement and use them to sow a series of pre-retirement initiatives and sparks of inspiration.

At this point 60 years ago, I wasn’t even formed – just some potential with half my future genetics so it’s timely to reflect what influences I want to gather to me right now because that can start to set the pattern for my future tapestry.  Keen not to dismiss anything, I will try to remain open to new ideas, influences and opportunities and see where this all leads.

And yesterday, I spent the afternoon with friends I have known over the last 40 years – yes companionship from friends new and old is important to me and definitely a theme that needs to run through my life for the remainder of my days and if I don’t have the time to rekindle, refresh and make new friendships then I need to find clever ways to stay in touch and make new contacts.

I guess it’s a case of … watch this space …

Yes, it’s time for a new project #MyTime

It’ll begin next weekend and it’s a 40 week countdown.  As one of the ’50s generation females, still angry that the retirement point has been pushed out (twice) and that I’ll need to work for 50 years before I can access my state pension, I really don’t want to be a resentful worker in my 60s.  I had plans for what I wanted to do in my retirement from paid employment, and I’m just not prepared to put them all “on hold”.  So, I’m spending the 9 months leading up to my emotional retirement to explore some of the things I hope to pick up when I get the time – #MyTime.

This is a personal blog for my own reference and something I can refer to when I want to remind myself of my intent and the exciting ideas and opportunities that I discover.

Now, I’m off to tell the bees …