Monday, July 6, 2009

Sneak Preview: Summer Honey

There have been many things in 2009 that I'd never have dreamt would've happened to me. For example, I never would've thought that I'd meet a future employer while fully decked out in bee camo at the Beekeepers' Ball, waggle dancing my little stinger off. While traversing Wall Street in full costume, I didn't feel incredibly "employable." But a few weeks later and I've begun my new (awesome) job at Added Value, a farm in Brooklyn. Yes, a farm in Brooklyn. Check out these stunners: verdant collard greens so robust that a single leaf could act as the Jolly Green Giant's loin cloth! Delicious and nutritious!
All this farm work is building muscles and character, but it is also making me want to crawl into bed before double-digits. I have so many tales to tell about the honeybees but am simply too fatigued to do them justice. Instead, I will share highlights from my 4th of July Weekend, beginning with a 6am walk in good old Wash Heights. (No, this is not a Cara-impersonator, and no, I didn't mean 6pm.)
Morning light never fails to amaze me.
I wanted to sew my western shadow to my feet, but brought the wrong color thread so captured it on my camera instead.
Waiting for the train in Harlem...
...to visit this guy:
And this guy:
And these girls:
Look at that honey glimmering in the sunlight! The bees are capping it with wax.
Everything looked A-OK in the hive.
Both queens were photographed... but you have to come back tomorrow to see them! Ha!
Look at that sweet smile... human bean Hayden:
On the farm today, I learned about the 3 sisters: beans, squash, and corn. Feel free to assign each veggie to each Chard sister at your discretion.
I finally got the broom to work!
So did Dana. She was a natural.
Just a regular Independence Day.
Hayden's shadow looks firmly attached.
Marley and Bosco are my idols. They know how to kick it.
In between my stick-shift lessons, roses:
A perfect Sunday night in early July.

3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 06, 2009

    so you ate giant collards, then stayed up all night, and caught a train heading north, where you flew around on a broom, visited with your boys and girls, and took amazing photos. Has Frank been baking again?

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  2. It's enlightening and encouraging to see the self sufficiency of the bees. The weather was, by and large, lousy and the bees seemed to stay alarmingly close to home causing some consternation and worry on my part However, you reveal a healthy and seemingly happy community of bees and I can apparently put my worry beads away.

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