Bee Swarm
The last week at Red House has been dominated by bees with two swarms deciding to take refuge in chimney flues. The warm weather and abundance of food seems to have encouraged the division of one or two local nests and the favourite place to gather has been the chimneys of two houses on the estate. In the Round House the lighting of the fire was sufficient to persuade one swarm to eventually move on. For Montrose House it proved a bit trickier as the flue had no fire place at the bottom. However, after a few smoke pellets had been inserted into the vent, that swarm finally went on its way. It regathered in a convenient spot next to the chicken hut (hence the photo) and, in the cool of the evening, Mark Barratt (a beekeeper from the neighbouring village of Hessay) kindly came to take it away and it has been resettled in one of his hives.