Lisa – Page 9 – Don't Fleece the Bees

Busy as Bees at Monkey Hollow

June 11, 2020September 28, 2022 Lisa

I visited Monkey Hollow recently to help with the honey harvest. Monkey Hollow is a small farm not far from where I live, and it’s kind of a magical place. For one thing, it’s a beautiful property, with woods, meadows, fields, a pond; chickens, lambs, and bees. For another, the owners, Al and Jill, are naturalists who know about everything! Al might humbly correct that they know a little bit about a lot of things, but my experience with them points to the former. I learn so much every time I see them.

IMG_20190730_162026 — A helpful chart on display in the equipment room

On this trip to Monkey Hollow, I was looking forward not only to extracting and bottling honey, but seeing the actual bee hives. At first, though, a visit to the hives looked a bit unlikely since it was a rather rainy day. The bees like to stay home when it’s rainy rather than go out foraging, and they can be cranky when people come and disturb them. I can relate, I suppose. I also like to curl up and enjoy a quiet day at home when the weather is gloomy. But as luck would have it, by the end of our honey extracting work (learn more about that in THIS post), the clouds disappeared and the sun came out, making it a perfect day to see where all that honey began.

The first order of business for a trek out to the hives was to suit up. Al had plenty of extra bee-suits for visitors. He explained that the suits are white because to the bees, the white blends in with the sky and becomes part of the backdrop. (However, a dark color, like black, looks like a bear to them. Fair warning!) I felt very protected: thick, tightly woven suit all zipped up, gloves in place, head net secured. I was eager to see the bees, but I really did not want to get stung. It’s been decades since I’ve had a bee sting, but with the way I swell up from mosquito bites, I could only imagine how painful a sting would likely be.

(Of course, I didn’t think to ask the question until we were out at the hives, surrounded by thousands of bees: Wait, can you get stung through these suits? “Oh yes!” Al cheerfully replied. “And after a bee stings, it releases an alarm pheromone to alert other bees to try to sting that same spot.”)

So I was a little scared. But I made sure to take nice slow breaths and exude nothing but calm, positive vibes. I mean, those bees are all about the pheromones. No fear to smell on me!

Al’s bee hives are comprised of stacks of boxes called supers. Each super has nine frames hanging within it on which the bees construct their hives, lay their eggs, and produce their honey.

Al began by filling a small canister with wood shavings. The smoke is a way of saying “Hi” to the bees and alerting them to your presence, but it also can help you gently maneuver them this way or that. Whenever Al needed to restack one of the supers on the hive, he’d hit the box underneath with some smoke to shoo the bees downward and reduce the number that might get squished. Unfortunately, a certain number of bees fall victim anytime the beekeeper tends the hives. Al estimated about 140 or so. And yet a good beekeeper must keep up on his or her hives, checking them every few weeks to ensure the health of the hive and stave off any infestations or problems.

As Al prepared his smoker and tools, I stood in the clearing and listened to the hum of activity. There was a constant stream of bee traffic in and out of the hives. Hundreds; thousands! I had to resist the instinct of flinching from or waving away bees that came too near, reminding myself that I was protected from them (well, you know) and didn’t need to worry. Remember the scene in Batman Begins when the bats are swarming around grown-up Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale) in the cave, and he slowly rises and calmly stands in their midst? It was kinda like that.

Al opened up one of the hives and began prying out individual frames to check on the bees. He uses a small tool that looks like a mini crowbar to dislodge the frames, which become sort of glued in place by a substance called propolis. Also known as “bee glue,” propolis is a sap or resin that bees collect to repair, seal, and protect their hive, and in fact we spotted one bee with her tiny saddlebags full of the reddish material. Apparently, even in ancient times people recognized the healing and antifungal properties of propolis, and it remains a highly sought health supplement today.

Al’s been a beekeeper for so long that in a glance, he recognizes a million details that I wouldn’t notice even if I stared at the frame for hours. To make it easier to find the queen bee in each hive, Al marks her with a tiny dot of paint, using a different color each year. (This year, it was green. Can you find her in the photo?)

Speaking of queen bees, that reminds me of a potentially awkward scene we had in the workshop. Al showed us some eggs and larvae on one of the frames, which triggered a few questions from my curious three-year-old nephew: Where is the mom of all the baby bees? Where’s their dad?

The other adults in the shop cast their eyes around, unsure how to tackle such a fraught topic, loathe to describe the gory intricacies of apiary copulation to a three year old. I quickly slipped into Teacher Mode and stepped forward, kneeling down to answer him.

“Well, you see, a queen bee takes one mating flight in her life, during which anywhere from 10 to 20 drone bees—lured in by her irresistible pheromones—deposit their seed in a marvel of midair choreography. However, the drone must eject his seed so forcefully into the queen that it rips off his endophallus and tears his abdomen, and he dies.”

He nodded thoughtfully and ran outside to chase the chickens.

I’m kidding! He’s three for goodness sake. We told him the moms and dads were back at the hive.

But it is true that drones go out in just such a blaze of glory. And then the queen, full of semen, returns to the hive where she spends the rest of her days laying and fertilizing eggs, around 2,000 per day, in the cells of the hive. The eggs are tiny, hardly even as big as a pinhead. Even when I knew where to look, it was still hard to see them.

To the untrained eye like mine, a beehive is clearly a busy place, but the more I learn about bees, the more I can admire the organization and complexity of their communities. The hive has a rigid social organization in which each bee diligently executes his or her assigned role. They are unselfish in maintaining the wellbeing of the hive.

I’m not sure we’d want our human community to be a macro version of a beehive, necessarily, but surely there are some lessons there for us. If we all thought a little more about others and a little less about ourselves, it might just make life a little sweeter all around.

Sources/References:

Batman Begins gif
Honey Bee Reproduction
Propolis

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A Lesson in Humility

April 12, 2020September 27, 2022 Lisa

Spring is my favorite season of the year in central Ohio.

In winter, we curl inward, hunker down, and brace against the cold. We clad ourselves in knitted helmets and puffy armor to do battle with winter.

And then one day, finally, spring arrives. My shoulders loosen and lower. I take a nice deep breath. Nature transforms into a Seussical wonderland, trees daubed with fragrant pink fluffs and covered with lacy veils of delicate buds. The goldfinch sloughs off his drab winter disguise and pulls his bright yellow cape out of storage.

But the sign of spring that I anticipate above all others is the gentle emergence of the spring wildflowers.

They quietly poke their heads from beneath the leafmeal blanket to warm their faces in the light of the lengthening days. Without the fanfare of summer’s buds, it might be easy to overlook these humble harbingers of spring. Soft and muted, more leaf than blossom, many of them.

It is a show of modesty with the violets and anemone, nothing flashy or extravagant like some of their hot-weather brethren:

Purple-Coneflower_Monarda_Richard-Baumer

Seeing the wildflowers amidst the fallen leaves and branches, bravely facing the chill of early spring, inspires a sense of hope and admiration. For something so small and delicate, they are surprisingly hardy.

Spring is the best. It’s the light at the end of winter’s cold, dark tunnel. I know that the humidity and mosquitoes of summer will arrive all too soon, but for this window of time, all is fresh and gentle.

I feel calm and happy when I pass my wildflower friends on the trail. They offer a lesson in humility. Understated is underrated.

We exchange quiet smiles and tilt our faces back up toward the sun.

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Bucket List Bookstores

March 25, 2020September 27, 2022 Lisa

You don’t have to spend much time on my blog to figure out that I really like books. I’ve had a love of reading since before I can remember, and it remains my favorite pastime to this day. That’s a good thing for sure, because in the midst of the present Coronavirus outbreak, books are one of the few escapes left to us.

Someday, hopefully soon, when the crisis has passed and we’ve closed our social distances, you’ll be more than ready to get out of the house and explore. As enjoyable as it is to curl up at home with a good book, it will feel great to venture out to observe them in the wild—at bookstores of course! Every bookstore has something to recommend it, but I’ve been to a few—both near and far—that warrant a special shout-out and would be worth a visit if you ever find yourself in their vicinity.

Book Loft

The Book Loft is a gem in the heart of German Village, a historic little enclave on the southern end of downtown Columbus. The cobblestone streets of German Village frame the 32 cobbled-together rooms that house this independent bookstore’s bargain books. At different times over its 150-plus-year history, the building has been used as a general store, a saloon, and even a nickelodeon theater.

Outside the store, the ivy-covered brick courtyard sets a cozy and welcoming atmosphere with benches, fountains, and twinkle lights. If you don’t linger here on your way in, then on your way out you might just want to find a little seat and begin reading your new books.

Inside, get ready to get lost! There are maps available, but it’s much more fun to just wander and see where you end up. You may find yourself thinking that Daedelus had a hand in designing the store. It’s truly maze-like, room after room, full of twists and turns, dead-ends and switchbacks. Wasn’t I just in this room!?… At times I’ve doubted that I’d ever be able to find my way back out. (Somehow, I always do.)

Once inside, you can go upstairs or down (eventually you’ll do both), browsing books that line long corridors and tiny nooks. No space is left unused.

In addition to books from every possible genre, the Book Loft also features its share of gear and swag, from postcards and posters to t-shirts and cuckoo clocks. I mean, we ARE in German Village, after all.

The Book Loft is a store you could visit 100 times and never follow the same path twice. But the truth is, even if you did hit upon the same path, I doubt you’d ever know it. Whenever I need a place to lose myself for a couple of hours, it’s the perfect spot.

Parnassus Books

Ann Patchett is one of my favorite authors. The first book of hers I read (though it was her sixth novel) was State of Wonder, and it floored me. It is a brilliant, complex, and moving novel. A little mystery, a little anthropology, and plenty of real life human drama. I immediately set to reading everything else Ann had published to that point, and then each of her new books as she completes them. In my early days as a fan-girl I discovered that Ann is co-owner of an independent bookstore in Nashville, the city where she was raised. And then a few years back, my husband and I were vacationing in Tennessee, a loop that included Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Nashville. So of course, a pilgrimage to Parnassus Books was in order.

First, the name. Here’s the Parnassus backstory in their own words:

“In Greek mythology, Mount Parnassus was the home of literature, learning, and music. We are Nashville’s Parnassus, providing a refuge for Nashvillians of all ages who share in our love of the written word.”

A worthy goal indeed! From the exterior, you might not guess that it is such a special place. It’s a rather unassuming storefront alongside other shops in typical suburban-stripmall fashion.

Inside, though, Parnassus is cozy, inviting, and whimsical. I didn’t see Ann at the store that day; she was probably busy working on her next novel. But all of the store-keepers are friendly and extremely well-read. On the bookstore’s blog, the employees recommend titles from all genres, for all age groups. A good majority of my personal reading comes from the staff picks, because they are always so spot on!

If I lived in Nashville, I’d try to attend every author event hosted at the store. It would be tough, though, because they have events almost every day. They attract talented authors both novice and seasoned, with a special eye toward promoting local writers. (In fact, If I lived in Nashville, I would love to work at Parnassus. Ann?…) And then there are the shop dogs! These furry little ambassadors are welcoming, well-behaved, and surprisingly well-read. They chime in regularly on the blog with recommendations of their own.

Acqua Alta

Libreria Acqua Alta is in Venice, Italy. In some ways, Venice might seem like a bit of a cliche—the canals, the gondolas. But this is exactly what makes it such a fairytale place. A city built on water? What an unlikely and daunting endeavor. But holding back the relentless sea is an ongoing battle for the Venetians. Flooding is a constant concern, and in recent years Venice has suffered several particularly brutal episodes. The floods in November 2019 were the worst the city had seen in 53 years.

If you live in a city built on water, though, you find ways to adapt, as my husband and I discovered when we happened across Acqua Alta. We were exploring Venice—or rather, we were hopelessly lost, wandering the impossibly labyrinthine streets and bridges—and found ourselves standing before a most unusual bookstore. We’ve all heard the saying “If you can’t beat them, join them”—well, Acqua Alta (whose name translates to “high water”) takes that philosophy to a new level.

Peering through the front entry, we could see that the store was crammed floor to ceiling with books. Not unusual, especially for a bargain bookseller. But what was out of the ordinary was the bathtubs, gondolas, and canoes being used to store and display the majority of the books. High water? Bring it on!

6A75D902-035C-4395-BAAF-561A297AB491 — Not all of the books fit on the boats though. Some must make do by clinging to a door as they dangle in the icy water.

Book-lover though I am, I couldn’t tell you what kind of titles, genres, or languages Acqua Alta had to offer. I was completely distracted and enthralled by the whimsy and ambiance of the space. Costumed mannequins riding in a gondola. Shop cats perched gnomishly on shelves or swirling around my ankles. Everywhere I turned held something surprising or funny that had nothing to do with books. Except for in the little courtyard at the rear of the store….

Because despite Acqua Alta’s clever problem-solving, some of its books do occasionally become waterlogged. But even those volumes are put to good use, given new life as the building blocks of a staircase in the courtyard. Climb to the top for a “wonderful” view! (Of the adjacent canal. What else?)

I know that some people today question the longevity of books. Won’t they become obsolete faced with the magic of digitization and e-readers? That would be a very sad state of affairs, but it’s one I don’t worry too much about. Nothing can replace the allure of a physical book. Every time I open the cover of a new book it’s like unwrapping a present. And reading a used or borrowed book adds a layer of anthropological adventure to the printed story. Hmm, what led her to dog-ear THIS page? Why is that passage underlined? Is that a coffee stain, or tea? E-readers can’t quite compare.

So in addition to all the books you’ve been wanting to read, now you have a few special bookstores to add to your bucket list. They’re definitely worth a visit.

Do you have a favorite bookstore to contribute to the bucket list? If so, please feel free to tell us about it in the comments below!