The other day, I was looking out at the yard, full of blooming clover it was alive with the buzzing bees. How I love bees. Back in the day, I even tried my hand at have a hive or two of my own. I had a Queen loss one time, and a swarm went to the apple tree, and one time my husband peeked inside a hive and felt the fury of the stings! It is super hard work! You need to really study this art and I found I just didn't have the time to do it, or the energy. I would've loved having my very own honey, but I've found that there are others down the road who DO have the time to devote to it, so I buy their honey. We are both happy.
Bees are super important to us all, and I know only too well how we wouldn't have 1/3 of our harvests in the fall if we didn't have these busy workers. These tiny little flying buzzers provide ½ of the world’s fibers, oils, and other raw materials, create many medicines, provide food for wildlife, and help prevent soil erosion, and provide us with honey. And just because I don't have my own hives, doesn't mean I can't help the bees out.
There are several ways we can encourage and aid the bees. The first way is to create a bee garden. This garden should include pollen and nectar rich blooms. My lavender blooms have been really popular, and many herbs have much wanted nectar but there are others like Alyssum, Cleome, Zinnias, Salvia, Calendula, Verbena and Bee Balm to start. And whatever you do, choose native varieties whenever you can. The next thing to do is ditch the chemicals. Bees are super sensitive and so it is best to go organic and use natural materials in the garden. Last, why not give the bees a cool drinking station. It is very easy. Round up a shallow dish, an old shallow pan or whatever you can find. Add some stones to the bottom. Then add water just to the tops of the stones. The bees can land on the stones and get a drink of water any time they need to. You'll probably need to add water frequently especially on super warm days. You can make it as easy or elaborate as you want, but I'm sure the bees will love it all the same.
You can also get more ideas from the National Honey Board Help the Bees | National Honey Board. Their website also includes honey recipes that sound delicious! If you are looking for an easy snack, here's one I found:
Chewy Honey Oatmeal Cookies
YIELD: Makes 24 cookies
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup - butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup - granulated sugar
1/2 cup - honey
1 large - egg
1 tsp. - vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups - quick cooking rolled oats
1 cup - whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. - salt
1 tsp. - ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. - baking soda
1 cup - raisins, chocolate or butterscotch chips
DIRECTIONS
In medium bowl, beat butter with sugar until thoroughly blended. Blend in honey. Blend in egg and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
In separate bowl, mix together oats, flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda; blend into honey mixture. Blend in raisins or chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 12 to 14 minutes until cookies are golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool 2 to 3 minutes before removing from baking sheet.
Cool completely then store in an airtight container.
Add comment
Comments