SPRING TIME is here. This is the perfect time to get your local honey and start building your immune system for the allergy and pollen season. One or two teaspoons-full of pure raw honey per day does amazing things for many people who have spring allergies.  The Honey ought to be local or from an area that has plants, trees and weeds similar to those in your area and should not be pasteurized like the honey you buy in supermarkets.  Honey is an effective and safe expectorant. Keep some handy for those times when you have a nagging cough or tickle in the throat.  Keeping honey sticks or honey candy (see order form) in your desk, bag or glove box can save your day without medication and drowsiness.  Professional singers use these before performing in order to keep the throat clear.

DONNING THE GEAR

 

On Saturday March 20--first day of Spring--I was lucky enough to catch my beekeeper as he stopped by the farm to make his annual springtime investigation into the beehives at TouchStone Farm.  This was his fourth stop and he had been stung several times by then so he approached the hives in full beekeeper regalia as you see him above.  I shouted across the field to him and got a "yes" when I asked if I could help.  I grabbed my camera and long sleeves and by the time I got out there he has gone back to his truck for an additional pair of over-the-elbow leather gloves and a helmet with netting for me. 

It was an adventure to have the opportunity to handle the frames where the bees bui their honey comb and fill the cells with nectar and pollen and to get to see them up close.  After much staring and tilting of the frame in the light I finally could see the tiny eggs--almost invisible to the human eye at this point.  At this time of year the worker bees begin carrying pollen back to the hive as soon as the Queen begins to lay eggs. They provide the egg with enough food to last for their 21 day cycle when they eat their why out into the world.  The presence of eggs along with the bees carrying pollen into the hive on their hind legs is enough to verify that the Queen has survived the winter and the hive is viable.  Standing there under the netting with bees flying to and fro all around me took a bit of getting used to.I used my yoga breathing the whole time.  It's not for everyone, I'm sure but  the sound is something I'll never forget.  What a thrill!!

ADD HONEY TO YOUR NETI POT??  You Bet!! 
This winter I has one of the worst colds I've experienced in three years.  Fortunately I followed the advice of a friend who said to try adding just a pinch of honey to your neti pot and mix up with salt.  I dipped the end of a wooden stirrer into the honey jar and mixed with hot water and a pinch of salt (let cool or add cold water till warm)and use once a day in the morning, twice if congestion is really bad.  This not only helped me to take less medicine and breathe easier with a cold but it also cut down the longevity of the cold so that it was only really bad for two days.  I also drank a decaf herbal tea with lemon and ginger with honey several times a day. 

WHY BUY LOCAL HONEY??                                                                  Save the American Honey Bee...BUY LOCAL HONEY!!!

Honey is a powerful immune system booster.   It actually contains bits and pieces of pollen. Allergies can arise from continuous over-exposure to the same allergens. Eating a couple of teaspoons-full per day of honey made by bees working in the area where you live for several months prior to the pollen season will often prevent allergic reaction to the pollens it contains.  This is not to suggest that local honey will replace allergists.  It just makes sense to try this quick, safe and inexpensive solution before going to the expense of immunology injections.

(Information based on the work of Thomas Leo Ogren www.allergyfree-gardening.com

WHY DOES HONEY GRANULATE? 

All pure honey naturally granulates.  Sometimes it takes weeks other times several years.  This does not damage the honey.  Honey never spoils!  To liquefy, place the container in very hot but not boiling water and let stand.  Do not place in the microwave.

HONEY contains vitamins, minerals and amino acids.  Researchers have also discovered that honey contains antioxidants—which combat free radicals that can damage cells—as many antioxidants as spinach, apples, oranges or strawberries.

WHAT CAN YOU DO RIGHT NOW TO BRING BACK THE BEES?          LOTS!!  Start by reading Michael Schacker's very engaging and entertaining book, A Spring Without Bees.  Schacker is an investigative science writer and founder of The New Earth Institute, a lifelong learning institute on the internet.

Then Take Action with PLAN BEE! You'll find updated information on the research being done and many suggestions for taking action in your own life. 

Plant a bee garden, even in a window box--you'll find directions at Plan Bee website above.

Learn how to keep bees yourself--you'll be surprised to hear that they thrive even in the city. 

Go organic in whatever ways you can and especially right in your own backyard...If you treat your lawn or garden with anything to control insects or fertilize, be sure that you are choosing the organic bee and bird friendly alternative.  And if you hire someone to do it, check out the book for the right questions to ask.  There are no guidelines for the use of the word "organic" in regard to lawn care so you might not be getting what you think you are paying for. 

There are many, many more suggestions in the book and on the website.  This could be one of the most important steps you take to protect your health, the health of your loved ones and your pets and even our food supply

Michael Schacker explores all of the current theories around CCD and gives us the research that's been done.  Not enough, one might think,  but the questions is, do we have more time to wait?  At the end of his own book, Schacker quotes Rachel Carson's Silent Spring published 45 years ago, 

"We stand now where two roads diverge...the road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy....The other fork of the road, the one 'less traveled by' offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of our earth.  The choice, after all is ours to make....A truly extraordinary variety of altenatives to chemical control of insects is available...They are biological solutions based on understanding of the living organisms they seek to control....Only by taking account of such life forces...can we hope to achieve a reasonable accommodation between the insect hordes and ourselves."

I challenge you to read Michael Schacker's book and explore the paradigm shift that he perceives will be necessary to avoid CCD and the implications he sees that it has for the human world as well as the honeybees. 

FUN FACTS:

HONEY is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including water. HONEY has antibacterial properties so it actually kills germs in the mouth and can be used as a mouth wash.  Mix 1 tablespoon of honey with a cup of warm water. HONEY speeds the healing process and combats infections.

HONEY is an effective expectorant, even more effective than DM cough medicine in treating colds.  (Info from the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.   Honey is safe for children over 12 months old but it can be very dangerous for infants under a year old.

Honeybees have remained unchanged for 20 million years although the world has changed around them!!

We can thank the honeybee population for every third mouthful of food we eat.  Without their pollination, many of our agricultural crops would not be availble.

HONEY FOR ENERGY:  Many pregnant women are packing a few honey sticks into their labor bags.  This small amount of honey provides much needed energy without overloadiing the digestive tract.

Dressing for wounds:  Honey is useful applied externally in a thin layer and covered with a sterile bandage.  It contains 'inhibine' a germ-killing substance , it also draws excess water from the tissues and reduces swelling.

ANTIBIOTIC PROPERTIES:  Thousands of years ago, honey was valued for its healing properties.  Despite a rich history of medicinal use, Western medicine has only recently begun to investigate the healing potential of honey.  Studies are now being conducted to test the efficacy of using honey to treat open wounds and to test its antibiotic properties in the treatment of chronic sinusitis.  (Consult the March 2009 issue of Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing and watch the medical news for breaking stories.