Another winters activity-Sourdough Pizza

and a walk in the storm...

and deciding on seeds and plantings and cover crops etc.

Winter musings-More on pollinators

Thinking about the loss of Bees and other Pollinators

I am learning about bees in my bee class and thinking about the colony: bees reproduce like cells and the whole colony is interdependent, almost like its actually one being. A colony ranges from around 10,000-60,000 bees-workers(female) drones(male-not present in winter) and one queen(only fertile female)-depending on the season, and needs and activities of the hive. If I start "bee keeping" I could think about it like I have one more pet, like I think about keeping sour dough starter or kefir-these are colonies too...of bacteria. Or I could think about it like my bee school teacher, who says she has 60,001 pets including her dog. Then how many do I have, with the kefir grains, cider, and sour dough and the 2 cats?

However, to me, my cats are friends that share my life. I like to think of it more like I would be working with these beings rather than keeping them. It seems as if with bees, this started near the beginning of time-as humans know it. There is evidence of humanoids in relationship with bees in drawings on caves and in our mythologies all over the world. This amazes me all the more now, knowing bees are dying at an alarming rate, and frightens me all the more, knowing what a long relationship this is to mourn.

I have written about how people have capitalized on the industrious nature of bees in recent history, in more ways than one. Bees are trucked all over the country to pollinate crops because they are very hard workers. Bees are fed sugar water through out the winter because bees make honey to survive winter, but people sell it. Bees are forced to make new comb that they would normally reuse because beeswax is also a product or it is taken to get the honey. But farmers milk cows and their babies are fed by bottle. I drink milk and I eat honey.

Abbé Warré(1867-1951) who wrote "Beekeeping for All" seems to have advocated for a more balanced approach to bee keeping as well as life. I began to read his book and resonated with his philosophy. I believe he was interested in selling honey and may have, but was more moderate in his expectations for production. I loved what a guest beekeeper to my Bee class, Mel Gadd, does too. He takes honey in the spring instead of the fall so the bees can eat what they produced for their survival all winter and then if there is any left over, he can have it. That would be enough honey for me and my family, I am sure. And if not, hopefully it would be a good year for maple syrup.

I have thoughts on our native pollinators too. Their population is also in serious trouble, to the point of the disappearance of many species already. I have contemplated not keeping honeybees and only concentrating on creating gardens for native pollinators, but honeybees have been here for a long time now. Europeans who immigrated and brought their bees also brought their plants which are also well established here. Humans are a source for the spreading of seed like the bluejay who spreads oak forests by flying away with and dropping or burying acorns. Burrs get caught in animal fur as well as our clothing and hair and we move around and remove the burrs which are impossible to contain. Bringing bees was intentional. Does that make it different? Are we natural participants or are we invaders of landscapes reeking havoc on environments? Both? However, we do have free will to decide the extent of our impact.

It seems that right now We-people as a colony, culture, society-cannot see the value in this very old and special form of coexistence, or do we not understand the danger to ourselves and our home planet of letting go of a mutual partnership with a creature so vital to our survival and well being? Do we realize we are giving up the pleasure of a summers day with buzzing busy bees on the flowers, the taste of honey, or the light from a wax candle at a romantic dinner? Yes, we can manufacture another kind of candle, but does it smell of bees wax? Is it healthy for us? I am one of those sensitive people that artificial substance and scent gives an allergic reaction. Yes, we can eat sugar instead of honey, but can we really? Obesity and Diabetes are big problems in our colony now. Maybe, we can hand pollinate our crops(as they are trying to do in China in areas full of chemicals where bees are already extinct.) But bees (and more so other pollinators)are doing this for us much more efficiently than we could ever do. So why give it up? Do we still not understand why other species are dying off?

The evidence is too strong to ignore that chemicals like neonicotinioids are contributing to Colony Collapse Disorder. However, scientists believe there are other contributing factors like stress from their demanding and long schedule of crop pollination, trucking them to these crops as well as loss of their habitat and forage-which is a huge loss for our native pollinators too.

And to me this loss is so unnecessary. I have grown food for 23 years and have never used chemicals to do it. Some years I have grown my own food, had extra to share and put up for winter, while also raising a child, working a job, and producing artwork. It always is difficult to balance, but I have enjoyed life doing this. I have enough money to survive and be happy. But the world that I enjoy and live in is becoming increasingly polluted. So much so that if I try to participate too much in regular society I get sick.

I may mourn the loss of our pollinators more than others now, because I am more sensitive. However, I do believe that I am the canary in the coal mine. Evidence is showing that cancer and other diseases are linked to chemicals-in our water, on our food, in our personal care and cleaning products, etc. It feels short sighted to me not to see the loss of bees, butterflies, flies and wasps as a warning that our ways need mending. To make money now, we risk our future well being. Is this smart, especially when there ARE OTHER OPTIONS?

Chemical companies often defend their chemical production after scientists find out these same chemicals are causing harm, with the plea that farmers will lose income.( I feel this is debatable.) The EPA has a formula for assessing risk of health problems and even deaths with economic loss to corporations and communities. Really? Would you rather lose someone or your own quality of life for jobs? Wont their be new ways to make money if we change our farming techniques to create a healthier environment for all species including ourselves?

Calling all PEOPLE to leave your TV's game stations and computers, take a day off from work, and go OUTSIDE and experience what is REAL, before it is too late.

 It really is an incredibly beautiful, interesting and diverse world.

Winter Fire-what is the farmer up to?

Burning Brush....
Those mammoth piles that I liked to photograph are becoming ashes and smoke.

Still aflame tonight. I did wonder if these fires would be harmful or frightening to the atmosphere, the wildlife, etc. But farmers will be farmers and they need cleared fields to grow our food.

Fire is transformation. The Pheonix in action. Get rid of the old and make way for the new. A perfect winter activity, warming by a brush fire while preparing for spring.

photos by Ed Howe the farmer

Still Winter

The snow melts

The snow falls again

and all the while we ruminate

and the beings we coexist with

hibernate

On a warm day we all go outside

and drink work and play

On snow days we prepare

 or sleep and stay

inside and try to keep warm

until life thaws again.

Checking in on Cider

I still cant seem to get myself to take a hydrometer reading. I did decide that I wanted to bottle the cider and then I tasted it. We have two. One is a blend of our apples and those from Hutchins Farm-I dont know the variety, I think they were drops. The other is mostly from our apples. The latter tasted vinegary, the former was bitter but very complex.

Here I am siphoning the smaller Ivory Silo Blend that is tangy but has slight taste of vinegar. I decided both of the ciders needed more time. For the 1/2 gallon, I used these smaller jars just until we washed and sterilized the original jar lid and airlock to pore the cider back into.

Leaving the sediment at the bottom I siphoned the 3 gallon cider blend into another carboy. This cider tasted a little bit like the blueberry wine I once made with my friends, while it was still young. I thought when I tasted that wine, it needed to age, my friends threw their portion out. In ten years my portion was delicious. However, this cider wasnt as bad as that wine, but the complexity gives me hope.

The sludge from both was composted. It was hard for me to discard it.

We also have 2 jars + of vinegar brewing. The smallest amount(not pictured here) even has a mother growing.

The mother of vinegar is forming even with the airlocks and in a lower than household temperature.

I took the airlocks off and replaced the top with cheese cloth to allow the oxygen to help in the process.

These I put back downstairs where they may be colder than ideal, but I wanted to keep them away from the cider.

Difficult Cider back on the bench to mellow. Although I feel next year I might have a better idea of what I am doing if we get any apples. (See 2 earlier posts: one in November "Making Apple Cider," and one in December "Hard Cider and Vinegar.)