A rainy Sunday seems like a good day to reach out to everyone with an update for this season. Below the first couple pics is info on where we’ll be selling this year, some new things we’ll be offering, and news about our bees, hives, and honey. Opening Day for our regular market is next Saturday, May 10th. Hope to see you there!
WHERE WE’LL BE THIS SEASON
Confirmed Places and Dates
May 10 – Hereford Farm Market Opening Day
June 7 – Oregon Ridge Music in the Woods
June 21 – Hereford Farm Market
August 9 – Hereford Farm Market
September 6 – Hereford Farm Market
October 4 – Hereford Farm Market
October 11 – Dejon Vineyard Harvest Festival
November 15 – Hereford Farm Market
Still Firming Up Plans…
Other possible places we might be later this year include the Maryland State Fair, the Bel Air Farmers Market, Oregon Ridge Honey Harvest, Hereford Fall Festival, and possibly some other places. I’ll keep everyone posted and will update our “Where to Find Us” page as our plans firm up.
What we’ll have this spring & early summer
HONEY
We only sell raw, unadulterated wildflower honey. We don’t add anything to it and, since our apiary is small, we have no idea which flowers or plants our bees are getting their nectar from. So, each small home-harvested batch is unique. Its taste and color are always slightly different from the last batch we harvested.
All raw, unadulterated honey will naturally crystallize over time. This means it slowly transitions from a liquid state to a semi-solid state. This does not mean it is bad. Raw, unadulterated honey that is properly stored is shelf stable for an indefinite period of time. It never spoils!
If your honey crystalizes, but you need it to be liquid again, just gently heat it in a double boiler. Or heat some water, take it off the stove, make sure it is well below boiling temp, and set your honey jar in it for a few minutes. Do not microwave your honey! It will destroy all of its natural goodness.
If you use your honey for toast, tea, or oatmeal, you could just use it in its crystalized form. Scoop it out with a knife the way you would peanut butter. Some people even prefer crystalized honey because it is less messy.
We’ll have at least three different honey choices for you at our table this season: crystalized honey, Windtree Valley Honey, and Apple Valley honey. Technically, they are all the same honey (raw, unadulterated honey), but they’re all different batches, so they have different characteristics.
The Windtree Valley honey was harvested from bees who foraged in Windtree Valley and the Apple Valley honey was harvested from bees who foraged in… yes, you guessed it, Apple Valley, which is a neighborhood about a mile from us. The Apple Valley honey has a darker color and a more robust flavor.
Jam & Jelly
Strawberry Agave Jam – a chunky jam sweetened with agave. If you like your jam with bits of fruit and sweetened with something other than sugar, this is the jam for you.
Blueberry Lavender Jam – a smooth jam sweetened with honey and flavored with a pinch of dried lavender flowers (the kind you make tea with). Turned out beautifully – looks pretty and tastes great!
Rhubarb Hibiscus Jam – I adore rhubarb! Someday, I’d like to grow it, but for now I have to resort to calling all the stores in my area every spring to check if it’s in. Picked up a couple pounds of it down at Mom’s organic market. This recipe is lightly flavored with hibiscus tea. A gorgeous sweet tart jam I’ll only be offering once. When it’s gone, it’s gone!
Pomegranate Jelly: Pomegranates symbolize the cycle of life, rebirth, and abundance – so I thought this jelly would be perfect for spring. Made with fresh pressed, 100% organic pomegranate juice.
Mimosa Jelly: No alcohol in this jam. It’s made with fresh squeezed orange juice and reminds me of Spring & Summer Sunday brunches.
Home-Stitched Aprons
Each one of these is a work of art. Home-sewn by my daughter, she used all sorts of repurposed fabric: freshly laundered men’s button down shirts, vintage tablecloths, old lace, second-hand scraps, and a bunch of bee-themed fabric she bought at a Joann Fabrics going-out-of-business sale (RIP – we’ll miss that store!). You could use the half aprons for cooking or gardening.
Cut Flowers
Later this summer, I’ll hopefully have some zinnias and dahlias to offer. I ordered a few dahlia seedlings from Burpee and hope to level up my gardening skills this year by learning how to collect and store dahlia tubers. Fingers crossed this small project will be successful.
How are the bees??
Better than expected after that crazy winter we had. I’d been complaining for years that Maryland never gets a winter anymore (I love all four seasons). But this year, we did! It wasn’t endless months of blizzards, but there were a lot of really, really cold days and a lot of extreme temperature swings, which aren’t good for the bees. But most of the hives made it!!
And Craig has once again been able to repopulate our apiary with naturally occurring, spring-caught swarms. Due to the generosity of another local beekeeper, our own bees, and Mother Nature, our apiary is looking good! Touch wood that our bees’ good luck continues.
Bonus Spring Pics
Beachcombing at Calvert Beach – my daughter who made the aprons 
“The Old Woman and the Bay” – hahaha (me looking out over the Chesapeake) 
Calvert Beach – we didn’t find any shark teeth but did find some fossilized shells, coral, barnacles, turtle shell pieces, and a possible ancient arrowhead?? 
Oak Spring Farm 
Oak Spring Farm 
Oak Spring Farm 
This hive box needs a new tenant 
This Oak Spring hive made it through winter! 
Magnolia – one of our neighbor’s grandchildren is named after this tree! 
Cherry trees – one of the best signs of spring 
Forsythia – we’re thinking of adding more even though the bees are indifferent to it 
More gorgeous cherry trees 
Spoiled rotten!!
Thanks so much for sticking with us through the winter! Hope to see everyone at Opening Day for Hereford Farm Market on May 10th!! Come and buy something for Mom! Happy Spring, all!
Windtree Bee 