Did you know crocuses are some of the very earliest plants bees feed on in the spring?

Bee Haven Honey Farm looks out on the village of Putnamville, across the North Branch of the Winooski River, named for the Abenaki word for wild onions, or what are called ramps in Vt. now, which have always been plentiful on the eastern ridge lines of this valley with the Green Mountains of Worcester, Mt. Hunger, Mount Putnam, White Rock Mt. and Hogback Mt. on the west.

Being around bee swarms is a special joy and a blessing.

A gathering of wax and propolis from hive nooks to use in an infused body butter, alongside some spring violets and violas for use in a vinegar. Did you know violas have similar properties to violets and thus can be used in similar ways?

Find a blooming hawthorn tree in the spring and spend some time sitting underneath it. It’s a wonderful way to experience the magic of pollinators local to your scene and to the feel the connections between plants and insects, the earth, the cycles of the seasons. As above, so below and all around.

Bee Haven was somewhat notorious for the use of old, sometimes decrepit hive equipment, much of it inherited from the even longer ago beekeepers who passed on their hives and apiaries to Rick. Old is truly wonderful.

Oh, the times with rose petals and fresh honey.

Honeybees don’t feed on digitalis flowers because their tongues aren’t long enough to reach inside their deep and furry flower passages, though some of the largest pollinator bumble bees will give it a shot. Let this not keep us from growing all the digitalis flowers, including this dreamy favorite, the Grecian Foxglove.

Working in the garden involves being a little more careful when you share it with lots of honeybees, along with all the other native pollinators. It’s helpful to remember they aren’t interested in stinging you. It only happens when you step or sit on them while they’re getting up to their own important work alongside you.

Bees bearding around on the outside of the hive in summer are generally saying it’s really hot and humid and the hive is packed with honey, pollen and nectar inside, and a whole lot of us, in our time of peak population. Kinda like hanging out on the porch when it’s hot.

If you grow Tulsi in your gardens you know how much the bees love it. They literally sing an extra buzzy song while they linger in it.

Gardeners have the best opportunities to witness honeybees and other pollinators up close and learn their habits as well as being able to enjoy hearing their hums and buzzes. Their songs in the garden are such a pleasure.

Honeybees aren’t into the elders but we are and so are the berry-loving birds. Best practice in our world is to harvest what you want and leave some berries for the birds each year.

Same with the garden. When you grow food it’s not really necessary to attempt to protect every last bit of it from the creatures that will seek it out for a meal of their own. There’s enough to go around.

Rick’s Leo birthday is traditionally celebrated with a flower crown on the morning of his day, honoring the sources of honey and the connections between bees and flowers, the Sun and Leo’s.

When all the honey supers are coming and going in the honey house during extracting, it’s a great time to scrape the frames to gather a propolis supply you can tinctured and used in other ways, from throat sprays to balms.

Tnctures and vinegars being infused and stored before their eventual straining, for use in syrups, elixirs and blends back in the days when the shop was still open.

There’s a particular moment in the fall when the fire colors match the ridge line colors on Long Meadow Mt. to the east of Bee Haven, when it gets lit up by its brightest seasonal colors and the sun reflection from the west side of the valley.

The honey extracting line full of frames in extracting season.

Definitely spent a whole lot of time standing right there over the years.

If you grow herbs infusing them in honey is a no brainer. The honey becomes a more specific medicine, carrying the properties of the plants you infuse it with, as well as taking on their beautiful flavors and fragrances. Be mindful of keeping the lid off the infusing vessels so the moisture from the plants can escape the honey and evaporate as you’re infusing. This can be done easily by using cheesecloth or a paper towel you’ve punched a bunch of teensy holes in. You can remove the herbs eventually with a fork and eat them like a candy or plunk them into your teapot as you make a cuppa if you want to strain them out of the honey but this is only necessary if you like it this way. You can must eat them as you spoon out the honey or use them as they come out in a pitcher of tea or a recipe. Honeyed oregano in spaghetti sauce, honeyed tulsi in a cup of tea and so on.

The stunning ridge lines of the valley around Worcester in peak foliage season. Always breathtaking and a little different every year.

The weeping flowering crab we planted over kitty Gris Gris when she finally decided it was time to leave us. All the house hold animals attended the funeral she was such a venerable Mama to us all.

Oh, Calendula, you hearty thing you.