humble bees

torn out page

following through

today i purchased my bees for the spring and i think my heart is going to explode. i have been meaning to live the life i have in my head, but had forgotten how to in the past of couple of years. for weeks, i couldn't go to sleep, i was thinking about spring. renewal. life. i want to run outside right now and just scream. i want to grab the hand of the next person i see, and tell them that its time to do it. live. its good.. but i wont, for fear that it would scare them, or maybe its more likely that i have done it to them already. i have a problem with that. its winter, and this house is chilly, but i am warm. birdhouses that my grandfather built, going up, committing. fantastic garden with warty melons and peppers. written down and committing. hops. daisies and lavender along the old stone barn wall. heartsong, and committing. cold frames, written down, preparing the barter list for the tools, committing. brown turkey figs,can taste them already, committing. a fruit press, for those pears, committing. sap buckets tacked to trees just to hold flowers and twigs, committing. and a stone patio, in the middle of it all, to take in those sweet summer nights. i am ready. i just took my first step.

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one year later...

nicky, january 2011: thirty, girl adventuress, mother, bookworm, eventual author, scout, stick hoarder, punctuation enthusiast, vagabond sympathiser, wildcrafter, disturber of the peace; likes banjo ballads, old books, forgiveness, bubble gum, uncommon folk, smell of pipe tobacco and earl grey, semi-colons, wire, cheese, public radio, tin ceilings, words, fairy lights, folk art, baking, forests, setting things on fire, libraries, tom waits, flip flops, contributing, mr. darcy, farmers markets, blank paper, thrift shop clothing, root cellars, the city, the idea of magic, and learning everything about everything. within reason...

i am not

jelly jars

family photo

man

mustard

mayapple and juniper

our new additions.

simple joy

i would still be on my feet

one last bee thought

The relationship between beekeeping and the herb garden is centuries old. Many herbs have a special attraction for bees and, since the insects pollinate the plants, the two work in unison. Lemon balm (its name is derived from the Greek word for “bee”) has long been a neighbor of the bee skep. Early beekeepers rubbed the insides of their skeps with it to attract bees, or mixed balm with honey to line the insides of skeps. Bee balm thyme and borage also attract honeybees.

friendship and spoons

tasha