“No wonder honey itself was thought miraculous, because each honey bee is a gram of utter miracle.” –E. Readicker-Henderson

I was so thrilled to hear Timber Press was coming out with a book entitled A Short History of the Honey Bee. Sign me up! Longtime readers will know I adore honey bees, and early in the history of this blog I wrote a testy and passionate post about some current beekeeping practices and the overall well being of bees everywhere. So I was anxious to delve more deeply into a subject about which I care deeply. Lucky me. Lucky us. This book by the poetic E. Readick-Henderson and the talented photographer Ilona far exceeded my wildest expectations. I am, in short, in love with this book!

First, I must ask you, dear Readers, if you love the honey bee. Do you? In your heart of hearts? Or do you harbor some unreasonable fear from childhood not yet reframed? Here she is. (Yes, she.) Please note her little pollen pouch. So cute.

Women everywhere will relate to her. She is born, and sets to work. After three weeks in the hive conducting a very specific set of chores, she is launched into gathering, gathering, gathering. And after only a week to three weeks of this intense activity, her wings and body are so damaged from the wear and tear she simply dies of exhaustion, alone, selflessly not wanting to leave her sister bees to have to rid the hive of her spent body. Seriously. Does compassion ring in your soul?

Bee Facts

*There are an estimated 16,000 to 20,000 species of bees on planet Earth and only around seven of them make honey.

*Bees emerged over 100 million years ago, after dinosaurs and before humans, sychronistically when flowers showed up. Hmmm….

*The first bees were solitary animals. About 80 million years ago some of them began to band together.

*The first honey bees came to America in the early 17th century, when someone managed to get a hive to survive crossing the pond.

*The average honey bee flies up to sixty miles a day and will ultimately contribute one-twelfth of a teaspoon to the hive. (Gasp!)

Readers, I implore you. Buy this book. Then buy it for others. And teach your children every word. Every one. It would not be too dramatic to say that our very lives could depend on our understanding the honey bee, her role in assuring our food supply (I’m not talking about honey), and it would be one of the worst things we have ever done as human beings not to save her (and, OK, the drones). If I could I would write a huge long post trying to convey everything I learned in A Short History of the Honey Bee. Obviously it would be redundant and impossible. Just avail yourselves, please.

Here are some of the endearing images I encountered and will now cherish forever.

I am certain this is a really nice beekeeper as I spoke with the lovely photographer, Ilona, and she assured me the beekeepers they met in writing this book were conscientious and kind. As with so many trends in our gardener lives these days, we are truly returning and reclaiming our agricultural roots, growing and buying locally. So, too, must we consciously and lovingly begin to keep bees. Yes, you. If you are able, please explore. The author E. Readick-Henderson was lucky enough to have a father who one day brought home a hive and his son’s life was changed forever. Just as we are learning to create small vegetable gardens that make the excuse for pesticides moot, as we are able to fairly easily do our own pest control (by hand!), this return to simplicity, to small batches of everything, will ensure the return to the quality of lives we gave up when Industry came stomping through our fields and lives. The bee was no exception and quietly, these tiny generous, magnificent creatures are threatened to become extinct so busy have we been treating them like a commodity. They are one of the many gifts from the Universe (fill in your own word) and the old peoples of this Earth used to know that. Bees were regarded as sacred. Honey was immeasurably treasured. Where did we go so wrong? Love the bees. Love the bees. Love the bees.

Here’s an eye opener. Bees are wild, right? (Did you forget?) Here’s what they do if left to their own devices to build their own accomodations.

Why don’t we know this? Why were we not taught this in schools?

And here is one of the first structures ever built for bees to entice them to live nearer to us, thus alleviating the need to “line” (track) their hives, or stumble unwittingly upon them in forests. Messy.

It’s called a skep. Some “undeveloped” (ha ha ha) countries still make them. Why am I guessing the bees are doing better in more rudimentary environs than in ours? The skep only lasts one season, btw. I want to make one!

Here is a wonderful photo from the book of a swarm! Have you ever seen one? I have not, and I want to learn more about them, as due to mass media hysteria (think Killer Bees) swarms are now highly misunderstood and often badly handled (as in killed). I know. This is a sad post. But I must let you know as so many of you are in a position to do something. You of all people, dear ones.

How beautiful is this search for a new home? Very.

A word about honey best comes from the mouth of E. Readicker-Henderson.

…honey is memory, the landscape’s own memory, as measured as a tree ring, as detailed as the pinfeathers of a just-fledged bird…Once you begin noticing these different tastes, colors, scents, and textures of honey, the landscape becomes more and more alive, personalized in a way previously inaccessible, like a whispered secret.

Oh, yes, dear readers. You will learn about the honey bee from a poet and an artist. What better way?

I leave you with this image of a beekeeper lovingly tending his hives, preparing them for winter. As you contemplate this lovely image, I am asking you to pray from the bottom of your hearts for all honey bees everywhere, to educate yourselves and to play some small or large part in their well being. Thank you.

Love and sweetest blessings,
Kathryn xoxo

Footnote: One of my readers read this post and sent me an article from Martha Stewart Living published last year. I was alerted to something that heretofore I had not realized: that because of the decline in beekeepers generally the (artificial) workload has been placed upon existing bees. This entails artificially rousing them from their dormancy period in order to ship them to (yet another) location to work a particular industry (almonds, etc.). Once finished they are shipped to yet another location for the next crop. Is it any wonder they have no resistance to disease? This practice is inhumane and needs to be banned. Anyone with me?

Posted on May 31st, 2009 by Kathryn
Filed under: Book Notes | 32 Comments »

In a burst of pink my daughter and I began our trek through the rhododendron splendors of the Mendocino Botanical Garden forest yesterday. The magnificently beautiful journey was well beyond either of our expectations. We quickly found ourselves immersed in unspeakable flower power, the spirit of which emanated from all the regions through which we ventured, mouths agape, and cameras clicking. We gave thanks for having gotten ourselves there before the end of the peak season, which is month’s end, especially knowing the heavy recent rains had probably damaged some of the showy petals. We encountered a lovely woman named Christina who had been working in the gardens for ten years. “Yes, we had a lot of rain,” she smiled, “but there are always new blossoms.” Aw, yes, the renewing and refreshing and ongoing cycle of life upon which we were able to count. Lucky us!

Quietly we walked through the beauty, managing just barely to take in all we were beholding. A sheer three or four steps found us before yet another example of the glory of the rhododendron. That someone had actually assembled such a gathering of beauty in this moist forest setting, where they do well, is an incredible blessing. Might we kiss someone’s feet to have created such a place for us to visit! Christina explained that the rhododendrons were divided loosely into three large areas. The initial paths would take us to the hybrid rhodies; the inner more off the beaten track paths would put us among tender species rhodies, gathered from far and obscure places in the world and acclimated to the coasts of Mendocino; and that once we were past the Deer Gate, we would be walking among the large leaf rhododendrons. That was as much detail as I seemed to need for this trip. So, beginning our walk among the hybrids, here are some highlights from what we beheld.

If was fascinating to learn that the rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal.

The name rhododendron comes from the Greek rhodos, “rose” and dendron, “tree”. I think prior to this adventure I more thought of rhododendrons as shrubs rather than trees. Now I will more fully appreciate their place in a moist forest setting.

Moving into the interior we found these. I love the juxtaposition of the dark leaves framing this lovely dual colored rhodie.

And who would not be impressed by the spectacular color of this lovely offering?

Suddenly we arrived at what we realized was the “Deer Gate”. And what a memorable creation it was! I loved it!

What lay beyond this gate I am saving for another day, dear readers. Yes, I am. It was nothing I expected and deserves its own story. I will leave you instead with more wonderful images from our day among the lovely rhododendrons of the coastal botanical gardens that Mendocino so generously provides. I do hope you have enjoyed the journey and that you will take it yourselves one fine May day.

The configuration of the plant above gets me thinking it was created as the home of a gigantic red paper wasp and his companions, who live inside the large red combs. A girl can dream.

I was particularly charmed by this unexpected and unusual orangey rhododendron. I wonder where it began its journey before it found its way here?

Thank you, my dears, for joining me on this journey.

Love and many gardening blessings,
Kathryn xoxo

Posted on May 16th, 2009 by Kathryn
Filed under: Plants | 22 Comments »