Propolis is one of the most magical substances that the bees produce. The bees fly around to all the trees and shrubs locally and collect sap to line their hive with. It prevents mold from forming, because it is antibiotic, anti microbial and antifungal. My toner is made from my propolis that I collect from my hives and a local organic maize alcohol for the tincture, which I mix with my mountain water that I have distilled. It is constantly changing with whatever sap the bees can bring back to the hive, and it smells and tastes like tree sap! I use the toner to reduce bacteria on my skin and in my mouth. I always spray it into my...
This past winter was low snow and warmer than normal. I was not happy, as I love to ski, but my bees are happy. The bees are so happy with the warm weather, and they came out of their hibernation and are buzzing with gay abandon!
I'm beyond happy that I didn't lose any hives this winter, which is really amazing as most bee keepers do lose some hives every winter. I left my hives with lots of honeycomb so that they wouldn't run out of food stores, and would come out of the winter with vigor and a growing population.
Polar bears aren’t the only ones getting screwed by our rapidly shifting climate. Bees are seriously struggling with climate change—as if they didn’t have enough problems already. Because they're tiny insects, bees aren't widely addressed as one of the potentially devastating casualties of climate change, but we should all be paying closer attention. It’s well known that without bees, humans would be in big trouble. Just imagine your local grocery store—even a produce palace like Whole Foods—with a virtually barren produce section. That’s what's at risk if we lose the bees—a whopping percentage of our global food supply. And let's be honest, bees already have a loaded plate. As they continue dealing...
We love the snow, but this week has reminded us that spring is around the corner and now we can’t wait for the warmer and longer and sunnier days ahead.
