ByRobyn Harris
Supporting bees and other pollinators There are now schemes where you can own a part-share in a bee colony. One example is Adopt-a-Hive Ltd based in Oswestry in Shropshire. They aim to support bees and raise public awareness. Their membership pack includes: a bee identification guide; lists of ‘good bee plants’; a packet of wildflower…
ByRobyn Harris
Last week I began to explore some of the threats challenging the honey bee. In addition to parasites the bees are also suffering from: Habitat loss Farming habits in England have changed dramatically in the last century. We now have fewer ancient hedgerows, bigger fields and more mechanised practices. This has resulted in large areas…
ByRobyn Harris
Issues facing the honey bee Scientists are still unsure why so many bees are dying. Various different causes have been proposed: parasites, loss of suitable habitat, bad weather, pesticides. It is probably a combination of some or all of these factors. Parasites Bees can suffer from several parasites including varroa and acarine mites, nosema fungus…
ByRobyn Harris
Last week I began looking at the life of a bee colony. As the numbers grow the colony can reach the point at which it becomes too big for the hive, the worker bees start turning one of the female eggs into a queen. They do this by surrounding the egg with lots of royal…
ByRobyn Harris
Back in June 2015 the campaign group 38 Degrees held an event in Westminster to “arm our MPs with everything they need to know about bees and bee-killing pesticides.” That was over 2 years ago but bees and pesticides are very much still big news with further headlines hitting social media recently. It’s heartening to see that…
ByRobyn Harris
Last week I shared the start of my journey from feeling overwhelmed and powerless to creating greater balance and wellbeing. Having explored the inner wisdom behind what I was feeling I started to work on the underlying emotions and beliefs using EFT. I also picked out some power cards to see what insight and support…
ByRobyn Harris
This topic has been big in the news this year, with Prince Harry working to help change attitudes towards mental health issues: Prince Harry helping to reduce stigma around mental illness Prince Harry to help tackle mental health in the armed forces I decided I would share a personal experience as, yet again, I’ve been…
ByRobyn Harris
In part 4 of this series I looked at the BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) diet. Some people, however, have voiced concerns about feeding raw food to pets. The Pet Food Manufacturers Association says: “There are concerns that feeding raw meat to pets can present a human/animal risk, such as salmonella contamination. In the case…
ByRobyn Harris
Roger Meacock, a vet based in Swindon, UK says: “What people need to understand is that while on the outside dogs and cats have been domesticated into cuddly pets, inside a dog is 99% related to the wolf, while a pet cat’s digestive system is no different from a wild lion’s.” He says that their…
ByRobyn Harris
As most pet guardians now spend less time preparing food for themselves and their children it is not surprising that they are less likely to give their animals a varied, unprocessed diet. Many people buy commercial pet food because they honestly believe it is best for their pet, and because it is convenient and affordable. …
ByRobyn Harris
In the first part of this series I started to explore the commercial pet food market and why it can be so difficult to get reliable information on what constitutes a good diet for your cat or dog. Supermarkets now have large sections devoted to selling pet food, but often these are the cheaper brands. …
ByRobyn Harris
I just shared an article from Dogs Naturally Magazine giving ’10 Simple Rules to Get You Started’ on raw feeding your dog. This prompted me to repost this article that I wrote a while ago on dog and cat nutrition: Let’s start by looking at the commercial food market… The food we feed our pets…