Fall Events: Beekeeping & Canning Workshops, Harvest Festivals & Hereford Farm Market

Our regular market, Hereford Farm Market, is about halfway through its season. We’re there once a month this year, which is working for us. I miss being there every week, but we had a lot of scheduling conflicts this summer, so I’ve been grateful for the Saturdays we’ve been able to sell there. We’ll be at HFM again tomorrow, September 6^th from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Most of our crystallized honey is gone but we’ll have honey from this year’s harvest, as well as cut flowers (zinnias and dahlias) and the last of this year’s handstitched OOAK upcycled aprons, which can be used for cooking or gardening.

Upcoming workshops & fall fests – Come see us!

Beekeeping Workshop at Hereford Library – Sept. 13th 2-3 pm

Introduction to Beekeeping

Humans have been keeping bees and harvesting honey for thousands of years and you can too! An experienced beekeeper discusses the basics of backyard beekeeping – the equipment you’ll need, best practices and common challenges. This workshop provides a simple overview of honeybee anatomy, a hands-on demonstration of how a Langstroth hive works, tips for honey extraction and where to find more information. There is an observation hive with live honeybees, so participants can spot the queen, and a Q&A session. Weather permitting, the program may be held outside.

Craig & I + one of our queens will be the hosts for this workshop.

Canning Workshop at Norrisville Library – Sept. 16th 6-7 pm

Water Bath Canning Basics

Learn how to safely preserve fresh fruit in sealed jars using traditional water bath canning. We’ll discuss the types of fruit home canners can safely can, the process and best practices, the equipment needed to get started, how to find trustworthy recipes, and more.

I’ll be hosting this workshop solo. If you’ve ever wanted to know how to can like your granny once did, now’s your chance!

Oregon Ridge Honey Harvest Festival – Oct. 5th 10 am – 4 pm

Join us on Sunday, October 5th, for our annual family-friendly event that celebrates all things honey and nature-related in the bucolic setting of Oregon Ridge Nature Center!

Enjoy a variety of food trucks offering artisanal beer, crabcakes, burgers, donuts and ice cream. Shop from over 25 local craft vendors and honey farms offering a plethora of honey products and happy to talk about the practice of beekeeping. Visit the goats in the petting zoo or join a sing-a-long in our “1,000 Acre Woods”.

The Central Maryland Beekeepers Association will lead the honey extractions as we learn about all things honeybees – from pollinators to beeswax. Relax and listen to local musicians as your children do crafts, play lawn games or get up-close and personal with animals – from raptors to turtles to chickens. Take a tour through our historic tenant house and learn about the history of Oregon Ridge.

Craig & I + Mandi & Rob (Rosie Posie) will be sharing a table for this event. Mandi will have all sorts of colorful, fun, seasonal knit items and we’ll have lots of HONEY!!

Dejon Vineyard Harvest Festival – Oct. 11th 12 – 5 pm

13th Annual Harvest Day! A Family Fun Day!
$10 Adult Admission Upon Arrival – FREE Entry for Kids
Live Bluegrass Music from PORCH SETTERS UNION!
Hayrides, pumpkins, more local vendors. Delicious Wine!
BYO PICNIC/FOOD

Craig & me for this one. In past years, this has been a beautiful, laid back event. Hope to see you there – or at one of the other places we’ll be this fall!

Adding raised beds to our garden

Our biggest outdoor project this summer was building, filling, planting, and growing in raised beds. We decided to experiment with them because I thought it would help with the weeds and insane garden chaos that usually happened in years past. It worked! The beds turned out beautifully. They were a ton of work to build and fill, but planting and growing in them was much easier than when we planted directly in the ground. Our garden is still a work-in-progress, but I love the changes we made this season.

Before…

During…

After…

Other fun stuff…

After a worrisome late start, the dahlias turned out beautifully! We also grew some cactus flower zinnias. Love their “Raggedy Anne” look. Our milkweed came up again and we saw at least two caterpillars and a chrysallis. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the chrysallis transform into a monarch. Maybe next year!

Hope everyone had a wonderful summer and is looking forward to a fun Fall! See you soon!!

May 4, 2025July 9, 2025

Welcome back! Spring 2025 Update

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.

Each raw wildflower honey batch has a different color and taste, depending on where the bees forage for nectar.

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!

September 5, 2024

Where to Find Windtree Bee Honey

We’re a bit past halfway through this season, and it’s been terrific! The bees were very generous to us this year. Below are all the places you can find us and our honey. Stock up for winter! HONEY NEVER SPOILS! It will keep forever. So get your jars now for winter tea, oatmeal, pancakes, peanut butter & banana sandwiches, etc.

HEREFORD FARM MARKET

Our regular market is HFM, which is held every Saturday from 9:00 am to noon in the Hereford High School parking lot. Look for us at the “Hats & Honey” table with Mandi from Rosie Posie Design Co. Regular vendors include produce farmers, dairy farmers, fruit growers, flower growers & florists, fiber artists, pottery artists, fungi aficionados, bakers, beekeepers & honey sellers + plenty of pepper sellers (hot, specialty, etc.) There’s usually live music, a food truck, and fresh, organic juices. More information on HFM can be found on its website or Facebook page.

OAK SPRING FARM STORE

Craig is the beekeeper for Oak Spring Farm, so we keep two of our hives there. For anyone who isn’t already familiar with Lisa Duff’s awesome CSA farm, check out her website. Members can pick up their share at the farm on Tuesdays from 1:00-6:00 pm. During that time, Lisa sells extras and other goodies, including our honey, at her farm store. 20633 Mt. Zion Road in Freeland.

OREGON RIDGE HONEY HARVEST FESTIVAL

This local festival is on Sunday, October 6th, at the Oregon Ridge Nature Center from 11:00am – 4:00 pm. They’ll have education stations, children’s crafts, animal encounters, pumpkin painting, cider making, and of course — lots of beekeepers and honey! For more info, check out the event page.

HEREFORD FALL FESTIVAL

October 19th (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) & October 20th (10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) This year is the 25th Hereford Fall Fest. 24 Mt. Carmel Road in Parkton, behind the Royal Farms. We’ve participated in this event for years and it’s always fun. It’s a fundraiser for the Hereford Volunteer Fire Company. They’ll have food trucks, beer trucks, craft vendors, and live music. Past years have offered helicopter rides, mechanical bulls, and monster trucks. Wear shoes that can get muddy and dress for blustery autumn weather!

FEDERAL ARMORED MUSEUM CHRISTMAS BAZAAR

On Sunday, December 8th, from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at 130 Lakefront Drive in Hunt Valley. This is a FREE event. Santa will be there, so your kids can come with their lists and you can get pictures with little to no wait. Music majors at Towson University will be singing carols and they’ll be vendors selling jewelry, ornaments, stained glass, candles, cards — and honey! My winter jars will have holiday quilt square toppers. Our honey makes a great gift for teachers, neighbors, friends, family, and coworkers! More info on the museum can be found on its website.

OTHER VENUES…?

I’m actively searching for some additional markets for our honey — both in-person events and small, boutique retail stores. If you know of a place where home-harvested honey would be a welcome addition to the offerings, please reach out. I’ll be posting here if/when we add more places and events to our calendar.

OTHER UPDATES SOON

It’s been a busy year! Be on the lookout for future updates on: our hives and queen bees, local and exotic butterflies, beeswax candle making, and Apple Valley honey (a fun partnership with Karen Dubs of Flexible Warrior Yoga).

April 19, 2024April 19, 2024

Earth Day Celebration!

We’re kicking off the season tomorrow at Dejon Vineyard. They’re hosting an Earth Day event with BBQ, corn hole, and lots of wine! There will be cute, friendly farm animals, live music, and we’ll have honey!

Craig and I bottled about 80 pounds of spring harvested honey this week and it tastes amazing!! We’ll also have some Windtree Bee t-shirts and can answer any questions you might have from “What should you do if you see bees swarm in your yard?” to “How do you start beekeeping in Baltimore County?” No admission fee for the event but bring your own camp chairs if you want to sit outside. Hope to see you there!

What else have we been up to?

The American Museum of Natural History

This spring, I visited the AMNH near Central Park in NYC. It’s a huge museum! I limited myself to only the insect-related exhibits and I still didn’t see everything. (I forgot to reserve tix for the “What’s in a Name?” exhibit, a collection of rare books, entomological illustrations, Warhol art, and the “surreptitiously displayed” “whimsical” Withus oragainstus longhorn beetle. Sounds intriguing – a must for next time!)

The exhibits I saw were excellent:

The Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium – an exotic butterfly house with a pupae incubator. It was magical, although my favorite butterfly houses are still native ones like Ladew Gardens’.

The Solomon Family Insectarium – really neat! There’s a huge honeycomb exhibit, lots of info on honeybees, other bee species, and all sorts of interesting insects + a ginormous leafcutter ant farm.

“Extinct & Endangered” – Levon Biss’ macrophotography, which is best appreciated up close and in person.

Erie Eclipse Trip

We were lucky enough to be able to travel to Erie, PA to see the total eclipse. Craig planned our trip nearly a year ago. We were worried we wouldn’t see much because of the cloud cover, but the clouds cleared enough at just the right time for us to see the totality and immerse ourselves in one of the most outstanding natural science moments of 2024.

Until this month, I had only ever seen a partial eclipse. The Totality was everything they said it would be – incredible!! Such a neat experience. Witnessed flocks of circling birds beforehand, felt the temp drop during the event (so much so that I had to put my jacket on), and was able to see Baily’s beads, solar prominences, and the stellar corona. Hard to capture with words how extraordinary those three and a half minutes were!

Lots of hiking, a bit of beachcombing, and prayers for our bees…

Unfortunately, our prayers turned out to be last rites because most of our bees did not survive winter. It’s always sad but not uncommon. We’re constantly trying to up their odds of winter survival. Beekeeping is both an art and a science… and a little bit of faith.

Queen Rebecca (a.k.a. Boudica II) survived! She is the sole queen to make it through winter. Her line continues to be robust and strong. Long live the Boudicas!! 😀

We’ve also been catching swarms, jarring honey, and getting ready for the 2024 Season!

I’ll update everyone on the new bees and the Hereford Farmers Market soon. In the meantime, hope everyone’s spring is going well and that we will see you soon! Maybe tomorrow at Dejon Vineyard?

December 11, 2023

The Colors of Fall 2023 + Thank You!

The first snow seems like a good time to post the last of my autumn pics. This year’s foliage was some of the best I’ve seen in years. The October Glories lived up to their name — and the Sugar Maples and Sycamores were beautiful too.

Our Fall 2023 Colors: Orange, Blue & White

Our older daughter is graduating this year, so we spent more weekends in State College than usual this fall. Loved every moment, but we are looking forward to visiting our younger daughter at FIT next semester. Look for some spring posts on NYC parks and urban beekeeping.

Windtree Bee Winter Jams

We’re out of honey, but if you would like to buy a case of small batch jam or jelly during our off-season, please contact me for pricing, etc. We can chat about flavors and personalized labels.

Thank You for a Wonderful Season!

Craig and I are very grateful for each and every one of you who reads these posts, stops by our table, and/or buys our honey, jam & flowers!! We loved selling at the Hereford Farm Market this year and look forward to continuing to sell there in 2024.

If you miss me this winter, you can find me down at Princeton Sports or hiking with the Maryland Mountain Club. Now that our bees are tucked in, we’re hoping for lots of snow!

Wishing You & Yours a Very Happy Holiday Season!

Fellow Beekeeper Chuck Elrich’s House just south of the old Parkton train stop. Lights go on at 5:30 p.m.

August 11, 2023

2nd Honey Harvest, Cowboy Candy + Queen Scarlett Heads to Appalachia

Our second and last honey harvest for 2023 is ready for sale!! We jarred and labeled it and are bringing them to the Hereford Farm Market tomorrow. When they’re gone, they’re gone and we always sell out — so if you want honey, don’t wait to buy! We’ll also have cut flowers, seasonal jams, and homemade grape jelly for the kids and Orioles.

Candied Jalapenos, a.k.a. Cowboy Candy

This summer, we planted more flowers than vegetables, but we still had a lot of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. We’ve been eating tons of eggplant parm, tomato and mozz, and stuffed peppers. But we had soooooo many jalapenos, we wanted to make something new. Craig found The Pioneer Woman’s recipe for Cowboy Candy and we made it last Sunday, just before our Pittsburgh beekeeper buds arrived for a visit.

Queen Scarlett has left the building!

Our observation hive is no longer in residence at the Windtree Bee nuc yard. This is a good thing. We always knew our time with Queen Scarlett was going to be brief. The observation hive box isn’t something a hive can overwinter in. And, believe it or not, most beekeepers are already starting to think about winter. (Craig started treating our hives for varroa as soon as we finished harvesting the last batch of 2023 honey.)

We were going to give celebrity Queen Scarlett and her now experienced retinue to a local beekeeper for overwintering, but when our Pittsburgh beekeeper friends arrived last Sunday, it seemed like fate. They are both biology teachers and are working to have their beautiful two-acre property Audubon Certified. They had room for an extra hive, so we thought, PERFECT!! We bundled them up for travel in an extra-large mesh laundry bag and sent them west. Everyone arrived safely! They’ll be transferred to a Langstroth hive box that can be winterized later this week.

Kids, don’t try this at home! The observation hive bundled for a car’s backseat.

Hope everyone else had a nice week and stayed safe during the crazy storm we had. We had minimal damage – a leaky window, one downed tree limb, and an evening of candlelight reading due to the power outage. The weather looks great for tomorrow though, so stop by the market and see us! We’ll be at the “Hats & Honey” table near the musician’s tent.

June 9, 2023

It’s Cherry Season!

Earlier this week, my awesome neighbor, Elizabeth, dropped by to say her sweet cherry tree was ready for picking — as in, right then, immediately. So, of course, I grabbed a bucket and followed her. She told me her tree doesn’t always reliably produce great cherries, but when it does, they’re amazing — and this year’s harvest was one of the best.

Black Forest Preserves

After picking, I needed to pit them. Admittedly, not my favorite part. I’ve tried a few different ways to pit cherries and have settled on the paperclip method. (If you’re new here, the backstory: How to Pit Cherries and Not Get Arrested for Bootlegging).

After poking around in my recipe books, I debated making cherry marmalade, because the recipe’s provenance was old and ancient (Cherry Marmalade from JP McMahon’s The Irish Cookbook, adapted from one of the oldest known collections of Irish recipes, written by a woman who was born in Castle Birr, County Offaly, in 1666) but then I found a much more contemporary recipe that sounded positively divine.

Ball Canning‘s recipe for cherry preserves uses cocoa powder and a hint of almond extract. Last night, my family sampled our jar by the spoonful and tonight we’re gonna put it on s’mores.

Maple Strawberry Jam

Just because cherry season is off to a rollicking start doesn’t mean strawberry season is over. We’re still getting strawberries out of our strawberry beds. They are small but tasty! I added some organic strawberries, maple syrup, and voila! This jam is the perfect spread for waffles or pancakes.

Come see us at the “Hats & Honey” table!

We’ll be at the Hereford Farm Market tomorrow, Saturday, June 10, from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Hereford High School. In addition to the jam and preserves, we’re also bringing honey and Queen Scarlett and her retinue in the Observation Hive. Last week, we sold out of nearly everything, so don’t wait to come see us!!

June 1, 2023June 1, 2023

We’re bringing honeybees to the market this Saturday!

This Saturday, June 3^rd, we’re bringing an observation hive to the market.

What’s an observation hive?

It’s a specially made hive box that allows a queen and her attendant bees to be transported safely to an event, so that people can see what the bees look like up close. Everyone (especially kids) have a great time looking for the queen. The observation hive is sealed, so air can get in but bees can’t get out. There are two clear panels on either side of the top that give observers a chance to see what’s going on in the hive.

If observation hives are so neat, why don’t you bring one every week?

Moving a queen and her attendants from their regular hive box (the Langstroth box where they live year round) into a temporary observation hive is stressful to both the queen and the hive. In the past, we occasionally did it, because bringing live bees to an event always leads to some great interactions and discussions. But, because it was stressful for our bees, it was also stressful for us. Good news though! One of our beekeeper friends recently caught a swarm and loaned it to us for this summer. It’ll live in the observation hive until early fall and then we’ll return it, so that it can overwinter at our friend’s house in a winterized Langstroth box.

We’re excited to have an extra queen and hive just for observation purposes! Since this queen is going to be a celebrity, I’m naming her Scarlett after Scarlett Johansen, who dabbled in beekeeping. (This was a quick pick name – want something different? Stop by our table and you can suggest a different one!)

What else are we bringing to the market?

Honey! We have about two dozen jars left and then we’ll be out until we harvest again at the end of the summer.

Honey-sweetened strawberry jam: I’m excited about this batch because it was made with strawberries we grew and honey we harvested – neat, right? Because my strawberry patch is small, I supplemented it with some of Krista’s awesome berries. Foggy Bottom Berry Farm grows different varieties than we do, so the mix is delicious!

I also have a few jars left of my Spring Honey Rhubarb Jam and Chai Tea Blends (both caffeinated Assam and decaf Rooibos).

It’s biking season!

Since there was no market last weekend, Craig and I took a trip to Pittsburgh to visit Beekeeper Rebecca (Rebecca, a.k.a. Boudica II’s namesake). On Saturday, we hiked in McConnells Mill State Park. We toured the mill and then walked down to Eckert Bridge and back. It was a pretty hike and relatively easy. There are some other intriguing places like Hells Hollow and Breakneck Falls that we might explore next time.

On Sunday, we biked the ‘Burgh’s streets, bridges, and one tunnel during the city’s Open Streets.

If you’ve never been to Pittsburgh, you need to visit! It’s beautiful, has great food, Point State Park at Three Rivers, inclines, and tons of bridges and tunnels. A very fun weekend getaway / road trip destination!

That’s it for this week! I wish you happy hiking, biking, gardening, beekeeping, or whatever else you do that makes you happy. Craig, new Queen Scarlett, and I hope to see you this Saturday!

Hereford Farm Market at Hereford High School, 17301 York Road, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Saturday, June 3, 2023. Lots of parking! Easy to get to! Easy to walk around! Look for us at the “Hats & Honey” table.

One of our honeybees on our garden’s clover

May 19, 2023May 19, 2023

Celebrate World Bee Day with Us + A Modified “No Mow May”

Tomorrow is World Bee Day, a global celebration of the importance of bees, beekeeping, and pollinator-friendly gardening, lawn, and ag practices. The date was chosen because it’s the birthday of Anton Jansa, a Slovenian pioneer of modern apiculture. Historically, honeybees have been kept in many different shaped containers. The two most of you would recognize is the bee skep (the woven upside-down basket) and the Langstroth box, which is the type we use. The Jansa hive boxes can be arranged in rows and stacks. Many of the front panels are hand-painted with nature scenes because Jansa was also a painter.

Rosie Posie has a new bee sweatshirt!

Mandi has a cute collection of animal/avian sweatshirts — foxes, birds, and now bees! The new bee sweatshirt will be available to buy tomorrow. I’m bringing wildflower honey, rhubarb and berry jams, loose leaf chai tea blends, and peanut butter banana granola. I’m also bringing our queen bee t-shirts and my remaining seed bombs. THIS IS THE LAST WEEK I’LL BE SELLING SEED BOMBS!

Is there a better way to celebrate World Bee Day than to buy some of our bee-themed merch and wear it proudly?!

Modified “Mo Mow May”

It’s a coincidence that World Bee Day is celebrated during the month of No Mow May, but it also makes perfect sense since the purpose of each event aligns almost magically. No Mow May encourages people to leave their lawns in a wild state so that pollinators can have access to food during the crucial early spring when they’re active and hungry, but when many flowers haven’t yet had a chance to bloom.

A perfectly manicured lawn is like a desert to honeybees and other pollinators. Honestly, I don’t even think all-green lawns look good. To me, they look unnatural. Regarding No Mow May, I understand if you are a bit reluctant to participate. Afterall, not mowing your lawn for an entire month can lead to some pretty tall grass where we live. There could be lots of reasons you’re hesitant about participating: you have young kids who need to play outside, you’re understandably concerned about ticks, you have neighbors who would complain, etc. I get it. I’d rather people participate halfway (which is what we’re doing) than not at all.

If you can’t go an entire month without mowing, consider these alternatives:

Mow less. Instead of mowing every week, maybe just mow 1-2 times a month during April and May.
Set your mower at the highest setting.
Don’t use pesticides or herbicides on your lawn!
Intentionally plant clover. We sprinkle clover seed (not grass seed) in every bare patch. This gives our yard a beautiful cottagecore look.
Make as many wishes as you can! Encourage dandelions to grow in your lawn. Then have fun picking them and making wishes as you spread more dandelion seeds around your lawn.

No Mow May Bonus – Dandelion Harvest

Did you know that dandelions are edible? They were once a beloved flower and medicinal botanical. Most people think of them as weeds, but they’re an herb. If you participate in No Mow May (or a modified version of No Mow May) you can harvest your dandelions and make all sorts of delicious things out of them. I plan to make Dandelion Honey (a.k.a. Dandelion Syrup). If you harvest your dandelions, let me know what you make! 🙂

Quick Strawberry Update

Our little strawberry beds are looking great! I couldn’t believe that we had to once again cover them the other night. I’d been lamenting that I haven’t yet had a chance to get my zinnia seedlings in the ground, but this past Wednesday I was glad for my delay because it was less for us to cover that night. Hopefully, that will be the last spring frost warning for 2023!

We’ll be at the Hereford Farm Market tomorrow, May 20th, from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Hereford High School. There’s no market on Memorial Day weekend, so our next market after tomorrow will be June 3rd. Look for us at the “Hats & Honey” table. Hope to see you there!

May 10, 2023

Introducing the 2023 Queens

For those of you who love my “Bee Reports” — here’s the first of this season! Three of our queens and their hives successfully overwintered. We caught some swarms, split one of our hives, and bought some new nucs, so our hive boxes are once again full of buzzing bees. Below are my notes on the queens and hives who survived and the new ones we’ve adopted since I last posted an update.

#1 – Boudica III

Boudica III survived winter. Her genes are mean and supreme. She is the descendant of the original Boudica, who was also a strong queen. (Boudica I swarmed in the spring of 2022. She was lightning fast, and we were unable to catch her. Her and her feral descendants are hopefully off populating new wild and woolly Hereford hives.)

#2 – Elizabeth II

Also survived winter. Her hive hums along. Never the most bustling hive but a solid player in the honey production game.

#3 – Argine (a.k.a. the Queen of Clubs)

A new queen, taking over for Cleopatra, who unfortunately didn’t make it.

#4 – Deborah

Three cheers for you if you already knew that Deborah means “bee.” Deborah is also an alternative name for the medieval Irish saint, St Gobnait, who battled brigands by sending bees after them. She was the original Bee Whisperer. Deborah is taking up residence in Pandora’s old hive box.

#5 – Dottie

Most of my queens are named after strong women. I’ve been reading Geena Davis’ memoir, DYING OF POLITENESS, the tale of her “journey to badassery” for my book club. Debated naming this queen Geena but decided to go with one of her most iconic roles, Dottie from A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN. She is in Aethelflaed the Undead’s hive box. Losing Aethelflaed was a bummer but with her history, her spirit might live on and she will embolden Dottie to become a super-producer.

#6 – Dahlia

Maybe I was stuck on “D” or maybe I just adore dahlias? The mildly named Dahlia supplants Buffy the Varroa Mite Slayer. She has some big shoes to fill!

#7 – Rebecca (a.k.a. Boudica II)

Elphaba, the queen whose name we crowd-source on Instagram, didn’t make it. Ugh. Losing hives is always hard – maybe more so when I name them? I’m sure other beekeepers think I’m bonkers. The Boudica line has strong swarm genes. Rebecca reigns over our most recently caught swarm. She swarmed (for the second time, see below) on my bestie and fellow beekeeper Rebecca’s bday and we put her in Elphaba’s old hive box.

Hives #8 and #9 are at Lisa Duff’s Oak Spring Farm

#8 – Clover (a.k.a. Boudica IV)

Clover’s hive box was first occupied by Tempest, who was a fantastic queen. But we lost her last summer. When Boudica II first swarmed, we caught her and took her to Lisa’s. She hung out there, successfully overwintered, and then swarmed again (because the Boudicas are overachievers). We caught her again, brought her back home to the Windtree Bee yard, and renamed her Rebecca to avoid confusion. Her Oak Spring Farm progeny is now named Clover, after one of honeybees’ favorite foods.

#9 – Meadow (a.k.a. Boudica V)

When we lost Gaia, the former queen of this box, Craig took some queen cells and nurse bees from box #8 and put them in this empty hive box. We’ve had mixed luck with “splits” (that’s what it’s called when beekeepers create a new hive that way), but this one was successful. I decided not to pressure the new queen with unrealistic expectations, so I named her after a small, beautiful place, instead of an entire belief system and the personification of the Earth itself. While I don’t think Gaia’s name had anything to do with her undoing (it was hive beetles), Meadow’s probably more chill knowing she doesn’t have the weight of the world riding on her shoulders.

Honorable Mention – Frankenstein

Frank is a garden, not a queen bee. Our bee yard is a rough square to one side of our house. Along the road is a split rail fence with cherry trees and pines. There’s an old shed in the corner and then a row of forsythia that we planted in memory of my mom. (She loved those flowering yellow spring bushes!) Then we’ve got a line of beehives hidden amongst some arborvitae. The last edge of the bee yard is bounded by our house and a little garden where we used to have only wildflowers. Every year it was an utter mess, but I loved it – and so did the bees and the butterflies.

We’ve lived in our house for nearly twenty years. Over that time, we’ve received lots of beautiful plants, bulb flowers, herb bushels, etc. None of them ever match anything else in our yard, so we plant all our cute little orphans in the Frankenstein Garden. Honestly, it’s one of our favorite parts of the yard. We installed some bird feeders and a bird bath, which the bees use more than the birds. It’s a work-in-progress, but also perfect just the way it is. 🙂