My copy of “A beekeeper’s notes for the year” by Emma Sarah Tennant arrived this week. Emma is a beekeeper who writes the blog Miss Apis Mellifera and the book has been based on her blog posts. She keeps her bees with a hive partner, Emily Scott, who also blogs at Adventures in Beeland and I have followed both their blogs for some years now.
Emma has managed to capture the essence of her 2015 beekeeping year in her apiary in Ealing, London. Dedicating a page to each month, we can follow her month by month through the pages that are well illustrated to show the changing seasons. Here in France, we enjoy the convenience of having our hives at the bottom of the garden but I envied the camaraderie and companionship that she enjoys on her visits to the apiary.
The book would not only be a pleasure for an established beekeeper to read but also ideal for anyone just interested or tinkering with the idea of starting to keep bees.
It can be downloaded as a free ebook or a hard copy can be purchased with £2 of the purchase price being donated by Emma to the charity Bees for Development. For all the details check out Emily’s web site Miss Apis Mellifera.
a french garden 
It is a beautiful book! You have got confused between our names in the 2nd and last paragraphs (everyone does) – should be “Emma has managed to capture the essence” and Emma rather than Emily in the last paragraph? I hope you get the chance to visit us for tea and cake someday!
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Blush, blush! I’ve sorted that now. I knew who I meant but so sorry for the confusion. Perhaps one day I could visit the apiary and try some of those gorgeous looking cakes! Amelia
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Don’t worry, even people who see us all the time sometimes mix our names up!
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I have just followed your links to both blogs Amelia, they make me want to find somewhere like this to keep bees. The book looks lovely too.
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Everyone says I should keep bees here as I have lots of flowers that attract them; actually less now that the lavender and Perovskia have mostly gone, but we don’t eat enough honey to make it worth it.
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We do like our honey but we are not big consumers either. Our bees are more like pets but like pets they take up a lot of our time. Amelia
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I think I’m right to resist the attraction of having a hive at least for the moment.
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I would love to…
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Anything that encourages the keeping of bees is okay with me!
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Dear Amelia, thank you for your lovely post about my book. I am so glad you have enjoyed mine and Emily’s bee adventures 🙂 I have just sat down this weekend for tea break with David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef series and to catch up on some blog reading, and I have enjoyed reading your review as much as I enjoyed putting the book together. Thank you ever so much! Emma x
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Glad you approved 🙂
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Miss Apis Mellifera is a wonderful site, thanks for the information.
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Miss Apis Mellifera is indeed a wonderful site and is, in part, responsible for our interest in honey bees. Amelia
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