Transition Town Dorchester has been enjoying the lovely weather at last, although sometimes when the sun is blazing in a cloudless sky we might feel more inclined to sprawl under a tree rather than soldier on with the more arduous tasks desperately needed at this time of year.

The grass has been making up for lost time on the farm.

We arranged an evening scything session to clear under the apple trees and uncover the poor gooseberries gasping for air under the greenery. As the pale moon rose in the sky, we breathed in the sumptuous scents of an almost-summer evening as we swung our scythes in tune to the singing of the birds.

The orchard has been looking fabulous with its blanket of white lace. The blossom doesn’t burst out in one orgy of beauty since the trees are a range of varieties and therefore flower at different times, generously prolonging spring for us, and for our bees.

We have done the spring checks of the three remaining bee hives. The smallest colony has got off to a slow start but the other two are bursting with energy and are already laying down honey. In one of them, they have made several queen cups, indication that they may be planning to incubate a new queen, and thus are ready to swarm. We will be keeping an eye on them and will divide the colony if a swarm looks imminent. We can’t afford to lose any more bees! In the event of a swarm, we have cleaned and spruced up three hives which we have placed invitingly close by.

If you would like to join us for our weekend workdays at our community spaces, email info@transitiontowndorchester.org