A Honey of a Post

8000-year-old cave painting near Valencia  Spa

Oldest image of honey gathering

Stands the church clock still at three?
Is there honey still for tea?

Joanna here, talking about honey, which I'm fond of. 

The aldenberry bestialry

Medieval bestiary

Humans have been exploiting honeybees for a long, long time. This cave painting on the left, from Valencia, Spain shows someone honey stealing 8000 years ago.
(Is that a tree being robbed, or a cliff face over who knows how great a fall?)

Somebody taking a chance, anyway.

The wandering hunter gatherer would notice some bees innocently engaged in bumbling about on some ancient clover and say to herself (or himself) “By golly, I’d like a spot of honey on my Neolithic bread.”

St gobnait is the patron of bee keepers

St Gobnait is the patron saint of beekeepers

Your bee-seeker would follow the bee across the clearings and through the woods to the hive. Little did the worker bee realize what he’d let the communal homestead in for.

Bees, by the way, are fussy about the tree cavity they’ll live in. About a 12 gallon space (ask at your local fish store) is preferred and between 3 and 15 feet above the ground. Our gymnastic honey-napper seems to be going after one of the high ones.

The intrepid prehistorical type would shinny up the tree or hang down from a ledge with – that looks like a basket or a bag, doesn’t it? – and grab out big gobs of honeycomb and carry them off.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch,” prehistorical type would go, hotfooting home.

Once home they may have eaten it and the comb like candy or might have doled it out bit by on top of the stew or bread.
Or they might have made mead.

I favor mead, myself, the oldest reliable booze. They’ve found the remains of mead of a sort (wild grapes, honey and rice ) in 9000-year-old pottery jars in Northern China. The linguistic root of the word mead, medhu, is Proto-Indo-European. Its lineal descendants are found in ALL the Indo-European languages.That tells you how old mead making is.

Our clever prehistoric forebearers probably found uses for the nifty beeswax, waterproofing baskets or hats, slippering up bowstrings. Cosmetics, too, I’ll bet. 

Gracious words are like honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
  
Proverbs 16:24

Clay hives tel rehov

A cylinder hive with bee door
Lide at opposite end

lid at opposite end

In the fullness of time, the honeybee, like the horse, the goat, and the dog, was domesticated. Humans made irresistibly tempting houses to lure them in.

Some of the oldest beehives we’ve found are 3000 years old. These Middle Eastern hives were long clay cylinders made of unbaked clay, straw, and dung, stacked several high. One end, with an entry hole for the bees—bees like a single entry. The other end was a door for the beekeeper to extract the honey.

Removing_combs

It may not be crystal clear that these Egyptians are smoking bees and collecting honey

 

 

Collect_honey_tube_w Hossam Farag Abou-Shaara

modern cylinder hives

In the same time period tomb portraiture shows us the Egyptians were smoking the bees to quiet them while the honey was gathered. Here on the right they're doing just that.

Surviving examples of these tube hives are laid out in batteries of longitudinal hives. Massive operations of hundreds of thousands of bees.

Interestingly, the three-millennia-old bees found in Tel Rehov, Israel, are most closely related to Turkish bees. Were these early apiaries staffed by carefully imported honey bees?
I’m trying to imagine travelling the ancient world with honey bees.

The Romans kept bees. They left us apiaries built as rows of little caves.

Malta_-_St._Paul's_Bay_-_Xemxija_Heritage_Trail_-_Roman_Road_-_Roman_beehives_(lower)_03_ies

Roman beekeeping on Malta

Their preferred honey was thyme honey, which is admittedly pretty good.

Pliny the Elder called honey the “sweat of the heavens” and the “saliva of the stars.” Had a way with words, Pliny did.

 

De Natura animalium  Cambrai ca. 1270 Douai  Bibliothèque municipale  ms. 711  fol. 37r

Bee skep and unhappy beekeeper

Medieval beekeeping in Europe departed from this Mediterranean custom of clay cylinders and caves and went for a shape and material that would keep the bee sisterhood warm and dry and comfy. 

Enter the bee skep, a woven conical structure that breathed in warm humid days but also shed water nicely on the rainy days. Think of them as baskets placed open end down. They were in use in Europe for 2000 years, right up to the end of the Nineteenth Century.

A woman’s sewing kit would not have been complete without a piece of beeswax, usually a lump about half the size of a hen’s egg.  The wax was used to weld together the loose ends of threat or to make a needle more slippery.

Our folks in the Regency would have encountered these skeps as a familiar sight in the country.

Cottagers treasure

Telling the bees

There'd be a couple in every cottager’s farmyard. They were part of the smallholder’s economy. A market product as well as a welcome addition to the table.

Beeswax “is become the greatest supply of light in all polite assemblies."  1827

Weaving a bee skep

Weaving a skep

 
 

By old tradition, every hive was politely informed of the important events of the family. Births, deaths, marriages. All the news.
Who knows what would happen if this duty was ignored?

 

Are you a fan of some particular honey?
My favorite is Tupelo, made from the tupelo gum tree. Best. Just the best.

We’ve come a long way from just grabbing whatever happened to be in the tree.

 

Photocredit AbouShaara amithaimazar

 

135 thoughts on “A Honey of a Post”

  1. Thanks for a fascinating post, Joanna. I found the cave painting stunning! I don’t have a particular favorite honey and will happily eat most kinds. I am fond of Violet Crumble honeycomb candy, but I don’t think it’s made with honey.

    Reply
  2. Thanks for a fascinating post, Joanna. I found the cave painting stunning! I don’t have a particular favorite honey and will happily eat most kinds. I am fond of Violet Crumble honeycomb candy, but I don’t think it’s made with honey.

    Reply
  3. Thanks for a fascinating post, Joanna. I found the cave painting stunning! I don’t have a particular favorite honey and will happily eat most kinds. I am fond of Violet Crumble honeycomb candy, but I don’t think it’s made with honey.

    Reply
  4. Thanks for a fascinating post, Joanna. I found the cave painting stunning! I don’t have a particular favorite honey and will happily eat most kinds. I am fond of Violet Crumble honeycomb candy, but I don’t think it’s made with honey.

    Reply
  5. Thanks for a fascinating post, Joanna. I found the cave painting stunning! I don’t have a particular favorite honey and will happily eat most kinds. I am fond of Violet Crumble honeycomb candy, but I don’t think it’s made with honey.

    Reply
  6. The quote “A woman’s sewing kit would not have been complete without a piece of beeswax, usually a lump about half the size of a hen’s egg. The wax was used to weld together the loose ends of threat or to make a needle more slippery.”
    19th century, heck. If a person who sews still prefers all cotton thread to cotton poly, (which I do – easier on the fingers) it is still in a sewing basket. For applications such as sewing on a button, I wax the thread. This is for any application where there may be strain and particularly abrasion. Still in any sewing shop, or from Amazon.
    https://smile.amazon.com/Dritz-622-Beeswax-with-Holder/dp/B00AQ7CVPO/ref=sr_1_3?

    Reply
  7. The quote “A woman’s sewing kit would not have been complete without a piece of beeswax, usually a lump about half the size of a hen’s egg. The wax was used to weld together the loose ends of threat or to make a needle more slippery.”
    19th century, heck. If a person who sews still prefers all cotton thread to cotton poly, (which I do – easier on the fingers) it is still in a sewing basket. For applications such as sewing on a button, I wax the thread. This is for any application where there may be strain and particularly abrasion. Still in any sewing shop, or from Amazon.
    https://smile.amazon.com/Dritz-622-Beeswax-with-Holder/dp/B00AQ7CVPO/ref=sr_1_3?

    Reply
  8. The quote “A woman’s sewing kit would not have been complete without a piece of beeswax, usually a lump about half the size of a hen’s egg. The wax was used to weld together the loose ends of threat or to make a needle more slippery.”
    19th century, heck. If a person who sews still prefers all cotton thread to cotton poly, (which I do – easier on the fingers) it is still in a sewing basket. For applications such as sewing on a button, I wax the thread. This is for any application where there may be strain and particularly abrasion. Still in any sewing shop, or from Amazon.
    https://smile.amazon.com/Dritz-622-Beeswax-with-Holder/dp/B00AQ7CVPO/ref=sr_1_3?

    Reply
  9. The quote “A woman’s sewing kit would not have been complete without a piece of beeswax, usually a lump about half the size of a hen’s egg. The wax was used to weld together the loose ends of threat or to make a needle more slippery.”
    19th century, heck. If a person who sews still prefers all cotton thread to cotton poly, (which I do – easier on the fingers) it is still in a sewing basket. For applications such as sewing on a button, I wax the thread. This is for any application where there may be strain and particularly abrasion. Still in any sewing shop, or from Amazon.
    https://smile.amazon.com/Dritz-622-Beeswax-with-Holder/dp/B00AQ7CVPO/ref=sr_1_3?

    Reply
  10. The quote “A woman’s sewing kit would not have been complete without a piece of beeswax, usually a lump about half the size of a hen’s egg. The wax was used to weld together the loose ends of threat or to make a needle more slippery.”
    19th century, heck. If a person who sews still prefers all cotton thread to cotton poly, (which I do – easier on the fingers) it is still in a sewing basket. For applications such as sewing on a button, I wax the thread. This is for any application where there may be strain and particularly abrasion. Still in any sewing shop, or from Amazon.
    https://smile.amazon.com/Dritz-622-Beeswax-with-Holder/dp/B00AQ7CVPO/ref=sr_1_3?

    Reply
  11. I don’t know much about different kinds of honey, but I do know I have severe reactions to bee stings! The last time it happened (on a big, open beach, of all places), my arm swelled up to the size of my thigh.
    We use beeswax to make pysanky – those intricately-decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs. It’s much harder to find these days.

    Reply
  12. I don’t know much about different kinds of honey, but I do know I have severe reactions to bee stings! The last time it happened (on a big, open beach, of all places), my arm swelled up to the size of my thigh.
    We use beeswax to make pysanky – those intricately-decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs. It’s much harder to find these days.

    Reply
  13. I don’t know much about different kinds of honey, but I do know I have severe reactions to bee stings! The last time it happened (on a big, open beach, of all places), my arm swelled up to the size of my thigh.
    We use beeswax to make pysanky – those intricately-decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs. It’s much harder to find these days.

    Reply
  14. I don’t know much about different kinds of honey, but I do know I have severe reactions to bee stings! The last time it happened (on a big, open beach, of all places), my arm swelled up to the size of my thigh.
    We use beeswax to make pysanky – those intricately-decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs. It’s much harder to find these days.

    Reply
  15. I don’t know much about different kinds of honey, but I do know I have severe reactions to bee stings! The last time it happened (on a big, open beach, of all places), my arm swelled up to the size of my thigh.
    We use beeswax to make pysanky – those intricately-decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs. It’s much harder to find these days.

    Reply
  16. Years ago, some bees made a hive in my daughter’s bedroom wall. We realized this when the occasional bee wandered (accidentally, I assume) into her room. They had swarmed to our place from some hives across the road, and a hole in the siding made a perfect entrance. We had some beekeepers come and move them (they use a very cool vacuum of sorts) to a location elsewhere. We got to keep the honey and comb… The honey was very good, a little sharper-tasting than commercial honey. We had to pick out the occasional carcass of a bee. One of my relatives keeps bees and absolutely loves it. They are truly fabulous creatures.

    Reply
  17. Years ago, some bees made a hive in my daughter’s bedroom wall. We realized this when the occasional bee wandered (accidentally, I assume) into her room. They had swarmed to our place from some hives across the road, and a hole in the siding made a perfect entrance. We had some beekeepers come and move them (they use a very cool vacuum of sorts) to a location elsewhere. We got to keep the honey and comb… The honey was very good, a little sharper-tasting than commercial honey. We had to pick out the occasional carcass of a bee. One of my relatives keeps bees and absolutely loves it. They are truly fabulous creatures.

    Reply
  18. Years ago, some bees made a hive in my daughter’s bedroom wall. We realized this when the occasional bee wandered (accidentally, I assume) into her room. They had swarmed to our place from some hives across the road, and a hole in the siding made a perfect entrance. We had some beekeepers come and move them (they use a very cool vacuum of sorts) to a location elsewhere. We got to keep the honey and comb… The honey was very good, a little sharper-tasting than commercial honey. We had to pick out the occasional carcass of a bee. One of my relatives keeps bees and absolutely loves it. They are truly fabulous creatures.

    Reply
  19. Years ago, some bees made a hive in my daughter’s bedroom wall. We realized this when the occasional bee wandered (accidentally, I assume) into her room. They had swarmed to our place from some hives across the road, and a hole in the siding made a perfect entrance. We had some beekeepers come and move them (they use a very cool vacuum of sorts) to a location elsewhere. We got to keep the honey and comb… The honey was very good, a little sharper-tasting than commercial honey. We had to pick out the occasional carcass of a bee. One of my relatives keeps bees and absolutely loves it. They are truly fabulous creatures.

    Reply
  20. Years ago, some bees made a hive in my daughter’s bedroom wall. We realized this when the occasional bee wandered (accidentally, I assume) into her room. They had swarmed to our place from some hives across the road, and a hole in the siding made a perfect entrance. We had some beekeepers come and move them (they use a very cool vacuum of sorts) to a location elsewhere. We got to keep the honey and comb… The honey was very good, a little sharper-tasting than commercial honey. We had to pick out the occasional carcass of a bee. One of my relatives keeps bees and absolutely loves it. They are truly fabulous creatures.

    Reply
  21. I live in Northwest Ohio where the most commonly found honey is clover honey. It is a light colored honey that is great for sweetening everything from tea and toast to ganache (in place of corn syrup). In our area, we have at least 2 apiaries that sell raw local honey which can be used as a homeopathic remedy for pollen allergies. Because I live in a small rural community (no matter where you live there, you are never further than 2 blocks from a corn or bean field), I am always happy to see the bees busily going about their daily tasks. Without these small winged wonders, there would be no harvest in the fall.

    Reply
  22. I live in Northwest Ohio where the most commonly found honey is clover honey. It is a light colored honey that is great for sweetening everything from tea and toast to ganache (in place of corn syrup). In our area, we have at least 2 apiaries that sell raw local honey which can be used as a homeopathic remedy for pollen allergies. Because I live in a small rural community (no matter where you live there, you are never further than 2 blocks from a corn or bean field), I am always happy to see the bees busily going about their daily tasks. Without these small winged wonders, there would be no harvest in the fall.

    Reply
  23. I live in Northwest Ohio where the most commonly found honey is clover honey. It is a light colored honey that is great for sweetening everything from tea and toast to ganache (in place of corn syrup). In our area, we have at least 2 apiaries that sell raw local honey which can be used as a homeopathic remedy for pollen allergies. Because I live in a small rural community (no matter where you live there, you are never further than 2 blocks from a corn or bean field), I am always happy to see the bees busily going about their daily tasks. Without these small winged wonders, there would be no harvest in the fall.

    Reply
  24. I live in Northwest Ohio where the most commonly found honey is clover honey. It is a light colored honey that is great for sweetening everything from tea and toast to ganache (in place of corn syrup). In our area, we have at least 2 apiaries that sell raw local honey which can be used as a homeopathic remedy for pollen allergies. Because I live in a small rural community (no matter where you live there, you are never further than 2 blocks from a corn or bean field), I am always happy to see the bees busily going about their daily tasks. Without these small winged wonders, there would be no harvest in the fall.

    Reply
  25. I live in Northwest Ohio where the most commonly found honey is clover honey. It is a light colored honey that is great for sweetening everything from tea and toast to ganache (in place of corn syrup). In our area, we have at least 2 apiaries that sell raw local honey which can be used as a homeopathic remedy for pollen allergies. Because I live in a small rural community (no matter where you live there, you are never further than 2 blocks from a corn or bean field), I am always happy to see the bees busily going about their daily tasks. Without these small winged wonders, there would be no harvest in the fall.

    Reply
  26. Local honey – for my allergies is my favorite. I do not live in an area with the honey I used to love – timothy hay honey. Wonderful.

    Reply
  27. Local honey – for my allergies is my favorite. I do not live in an area with the honey I used to love – timothy hay honey. Wonderful.

    Reply
  28. Local honey – for my allergies is my favorite. I do not live in an area with the honey I used to love – timothy hay honey. Wonderful.

    Reply
  29. Local honey – for my allergies is my favorite. I do not live in an area with the honey I used to love – timothy hay honey. Wonderful.

    Reply
  30. Local honey – for my allergies is my favorite. I do not live in an area with the honey I used to love – timothy hay honey. Wonderful.

    Reply
  31. Lovely post
    I stitch with the wife in a beekeeping family from Nebraska. I love their honey better than any other I’ve tasted. They don’t move their bees from spot to spot, so I have to assume the local growing in their area produces just the correct taste for me.

    Reply
  32. Lovely post
    I stitch with the wife in a beekeeping family from Nebraska. I love their honey better than any other I’ve tasted. They don’t move their bees from spot to spot, so I have to assume the local growing in their area produces just the correct taste for me.

    Reply
  33. Lovely post
    I stitch with the wife in a beekeeping family from Nebraska. I love their honey better than any other I’ve tasted. They don’t move their bees from spot to spot, so I have to assume the local growing in their area produces just the correct taste for me.

    Reply
  34. Lovely post
    I stitch with the wife in a beekeeping family from Nebraska. I love their honey better than any other I’ve tasted. They don’t move their bees from spot to spot, so I have to assume the local growing in their area produces just the correct taste for me.

    Reply
  35. Lovely post
    I stitch with the wife in a beekeeping family from Nebraska. I love their honey better than any other I’ve tasted. They don’t move their bees from spot to spot, so I have to assume the local growing in their area produces just the correct taste for me.

    Reply
  36. Sonya, try beekeepers supply places — they’ll have wax. And if you get to know a beekeeper, they might swap you some wax for a gorgeous pysanky egg.
    You need to watch that bee sting reaction — it can build to a full-blown allergy.

    Reply
  37. Sonya, try beekeepers supply places — they’ll have wax. And if you get to know a beekeeper, they might swap you some wax for a gorgeous pysanky egg.
    You need to watch that bee sting reaction — it can build to a full-blown allergy.

    Reply
  38. Sonya, try beekeepers supply places — they’ll have wax. And if you get to know a beekeeper, they might swap you some wax for a gorgeous pysanky egg.
    You need to watch that bee sting reaction — it can build to a full-blown allergy.

    Reply
  39. Sonya, try beekeepers supply places — they’ll have wax. And if you get to know a beekeeper, they might swap you some wax for a gorgeous pysanky egg.
    You need to watch that bee sting reaction — it can build to a full-blown allergy.

    Reply
  40. Sonya, try beekeepers supply places — they’ll have wax. And if you get to know a beekeeper, they might swap you some wax for a gorgeous pysanky egg.
    You need to watch that bee sting reaction — it can build to a full-blown allergy.

    Reply
  41. My favorite honey was that made by my dad’s bees, and for a while my bees. Beekeeping runs in my family, and my grandpop always had masses of thyme around his hives, which makes for lovely honey. But Dad’s was the best, because it was made from the flowers in suburban gardens, and coastal tea-tree, and lots of thyme in dad’s garden as well.
    I don’t keep bees any more (alas) but our honey was stronger flavored than most bought honey, and more complex. Utterly delicious. I still miss it.

    Reply
  42. My favorite honey was that made by my dad’s bees, and for a while my bees. Beekeeping runs in my family, and my grandpop always had masses of thyme around his hives, which makes for lovely honey. But Dad’s was the best, because it was made from the flowers in suburban gardens, and coastal tea-tree, and lots of thyme in dad’s garden as well.
    I don’t keep bees any more (alas) but our honey was stronger flavored than most bought honey, and more complex. Utterly delicious. I still miss it.

    Reply
  43. My favorite honey was that made by my dad’s bees, and for a while my bees. Beekeeping runs in my family, and my grandpop always had masses of thyme around his hives, which makes for lovely honey. But Dad’s was the best, because it was made from the flowers in suburban gardens, and coastal tea-tree, and lots of thyme in dad’s garden as well.
    I don’t keep bees any more (alas) but our honey was stronger flavored than most bought honey, and more complex. Utterly delicious. I still miss it.

    Reply
  44. My favorite honey was that made by my dad’s bees, and for a while my bees. Beekeeping runs in my family, and my grandpop always had masses of thyme around his hives, which makes for lovely honey. But Dad’s was the best, because it was made from the flowers in suburban gardens, and coastal tea-tree, and lots of thyme in dad’s garden as well.
    I don’t keep bees any more (alas) but our honey was stronger flavored than most bought honey, and more complex. Utterly delicious. I still miss it.

    Reply
  45. My favorite honey was that made by my dad’s bees, and for a while my bees. Beekeeping runs in my family, and my grandpop always had masses of thyme around his hives, which makes for lovely honey. But Dad’s was the best, because it was made from the flowers in suburban gardens, and coastal tea-tree, and lots of thyme in dad’s garden as well.
    I don’t keep bees any more (alas) but our honey was stronger flavored than most bought honey, and more complex. Utterly delicious. I still miss it.

    Reply
  46. I get beeswax candles sometimes, usually as gifts. They smell just lovely, burning.
    I light them as a special treat to myself at the Winter Solstice or Christmas. Or on St Ludia’s Day. We do that in my family and it’s pretty cool.
    Pysanky sounds intricate and fun. I’m unlikely to actually DO it, you understand, but I can dream.

    Reply
  47. I get beeswax candles sometimes, usually as gifts. They smell just lovely, burning.
    I light them as a special treat to myself at the Winter Solstice or Christmas. Or on St Ludia’s Day. We do that in my family and it’s pretty cool.
    Pysanky sounds intricate and fun. I’m unlikely to actually DO it, you understand, but I can dream.

    Reply
  48. I get beeswax candles sometimes, usually as gifts. They smell just lovely, burning.
    I light them as a special treat to myself at the Winter Solstice or Christmas. Or on St Ludia’s Day. We do that in my family and it’s pretty cool.
    Pysanky sounds intricate and fun. I’m unlikely to actually DO it, you understand, but I can dream.

    Reply
  49. I get beeswax candles sometimes, usually as gifts. They smell just lovely, burning.
    I light them as a special treat to myself at the Winter Solstice or Christmas. Or on St Ludia’s Day. We do that in my family and it’s pretty cool.
    Pysanky sounds intricate and fun. I’m unlikely to actually DO it, you understand, but I can dream.

    Reply
  50. I get beeswax candles sometimes, usually as gifts. They smell just lovely, burning.
    I light them as a special treat to myself at the Winter Solstice or Christmas. Or on St Ludia’s Day. We do that in my family and it’s pretty cool.
    Pysanky sounds intricate and fun. I’m unlikely to actually DO it, you understand, but I can dream.

    Reply
  51. Your whole house, transformed into a beehive.
    I love the thought of a bee vacuum cleaner and am warmed by the knowledge they saved the bees.
    “Who you gonna call?
    dah dah
    BEE KEEPERS”

    Reply
  52. Your whole house, transformed into a beehive.
    I love the thought of a bee vacuum cleaner and am warmed by the knowledge they saved the bees.
    “Who you gonna call?
    dah dah
    BEE KEEPERS”

    Reply
  53. Your whole house, transformed into a beehive.
    I love the thought of a bee vacuum cleaner and am warmed by the knowledge they saved the bees.
    “Who you gonna call?
    dah dah
    BEE KEEPERS”

    Reply
  54. Your whole house, transformed into a beehive.
    I love the thought of a bee vacuum cleaner and am warmed by the knowledge they saved the bees.
    “Who you gonna call?
    dah dah
    BEE KEEPERS”

    Reply
  55. Your whole house, transformed into a beehive.
    I love the thought of a bee vacuum cleaner and am warmed by the knowledge they saved the bees.
    “Who you gonna call?
    dah dah
    BEE KEEPERS”

    Reply
  56. I have never heard of Fireweed Honey, but now I will keep an eye out for it.
    The cave painting was what made me think of doing a post on honeybees. It works that way sometimes. You see something …

    Reply
  57. I have never heard of Fireweed Honey, but now I will keep an eye out for it.
    The cave painting was what made me think of doing a post on honeybees. It works that way sometimes. You see something …

    Reply
  58. I have never heard of Fireweed Honey, but now I will keep an eye out for it.
    The cave painting was what made me think of doing a post on honeybees. It works that way sometimes. You see something …

    Reply
  59. I have never heard of Fireweed Honey, but now I will keep an eye out for it.
    The cave painting was what made me think of doing a post on honeybees. It works that way sometimes. You see something …

    Reply
  60. I have never heard of Fireweed Honey, but now I will keep an eye out for it.
    The cave painting was what made me think of doing a post on honeybees. It works that way sometimes. You see something …

    Reply
  61. I don’t know how long humans have been aware of the work bees do among the flowers. I like to think we have respect for them nowadays, especially in farming places.
    I love clover honey. It’s kinda my fallback sort.

    Reply
  62. I don’t know how long humans have been aware of the work bees do among the flowers. I like to think we have respect for them nowadays, especially in farming places.
    I love clover honey. It’s kinda my fallback sort.

    Reply
  63. I don’t know how long humans have been aware of the work bees do among the flowers. I like to think we have respect for them nowadays, especially in farming places.
    I love clover honey. It’s kinda my fallback sort.

    Reply
  64. I don’t know how long humans have been aware of the work bees do among the flowers. I like to think we have respect for them nowadays, especially in farming places.
    I love clover honey. It’s kinda my fallback sort.

    Reply
  65. I don’t know how long humans have been aware of the work bees do among the flowers. I like to think we have respect for them nowadays, especially in farming places.
    I love clover honey. It’s kinda my fallback sort.

    Reply
  66. I hear a lot about local raw honey being good for allergies. I hear this so often it’s likely there’s something in it.
    My father use to have hives down near a big ole swamp. His honey was dark and strong flaovred. Almost like molasses. But I like it.
    Don’t know whereas I’ve ever tried timothy hay honey. I will keep an eye on it.

    Reply
  67. I hear a lot about local raw honey being good for allergies. I hear this so often it’s likely there’s something in it.
    My father use to have hives down near a big ole swamp. His honey was dark and strong flaovred. Almost like molasses. But I like it.
    Don’t know whereas I’ve ever tried timothy hay honey. I will keep an eye on it.

    Reply
  68. I hear a lot about local raw honey being good for allergies. I hear this so often it’s likely there’s something in it.
    My father use to have hives down near a big ole swamp. His honey was dark and strong flaovred. Almost like molasses. But I like it.
    Don’t know whereas I’ve ever tried timothy hay honey. I will keep an eye on it.

    Reply
  69. I hear a lot about local raw honey being good for allergies. I hear this so often it’s likely there’s something in it.
    My father use to have hives down near a big ole swamp. His honey was dark and strong flaovred. Almost like molasses. But I like it.
    Don’t know whereas I’ve ever tried timothy hay honey. I will keep an eye on it.

    Reply
  70. I hear a lot about local raw honey being good for allergies. I hear this so often it’s likely there’s something in it.
    My father use to have hives down near a big ole swamp. His honey was dark and strong flaovred. Almost like molasses. But I like it.
    Don’t know whereas I’ve ever tried timothy hay honey. I will keep an eye on it.

    Reply
  71. It makes sense that a year’s run of honey in one place would be harmonious and good tasting.
    Also, I think farmers can select a particular tranche of honey combs in the hive, by color and placement, that were all laid down at the same time and contain the flowers in bloom one week, perhaps.
    So maybe your friend takes out the “Early June Vintage” of honey for her guests, with its hints of clover and violets, daffodils and crocus.

    Reply
  72. It makes sense that a year’s run of honey in one place would be harmonious and good tasting.
    Also, I think farmers can select a particular tranche of honey combs in the hive, by color and placement, that were all laid down at the same time and contain the flowers in bloom one week, perhaps.
    So maybe your friend takes out the “Early June Vintage” of honey for her guests, with its hints of clover and violets, daffodils and crocus.

    Reply
  73. It makes sense that a year’s run of honey in one place would be harmonious and good tasting.
    Also, I think farmers can select a particular tranche of honey combs in the hive, by color and placement, that were all laid down at the same time and contain the flowers in bloom one week, perhaps.
    So maybe your friend takes out the “Early June Vintage” of honey for her guests, with its hints of clover and violets, daffodils and crocus.

    Reply
  74. It makes sense that a year’s run of honey in one place would be harmonious and good tasting.
    Also, I think farmers can select a particular tranche of honey combs in the hive, by color and placement, that were all laid down at the same time and contain the flowers in bloom one week, perhaps.
    So maybe your friend takes out the “Early June Vintage” of honey for her guests, with its hints of clover and violets, daffodils and crocus.

    Reply
  75. It makes sense that a year’s run of honey in one place would be harmonious and good tasting.
    Also, I think farmers can select a particular tranche of honey combs in the hive, by color and placement, that were all laid down at the same time and contain the flowers in bloom one week, perhaps.
    So maybe your friend takes out the “Early June Vintage” of honey for her guests, with its hints of clover and violets, daffodils and crocus.

    Reply
  76. For those who need beeswax for pysanky, and are curious about the art. This group has been around for so long I remember writing to the group, mailing checks, and getting my dye tablets back. The right vegetable dyes were hard to find in the US, if you didn’t have a local community. (In hindsight, I probably did, but I don’t think I ever told my elderly next door neighbor that I was attempting what any good Ukrainian eight year old once could do with one arm tied behind her back.)
    I have no Ukrainian heritage that I know of–I just love the eggs.
    http://www.ukrainiangiftshop.com/

    Reply
  77. For those who need beeswax for pysanky, and are curious about the art. This group has been around for so long I remember writing to the group, mailing checks, and getting my dye tablets back. The right vegetable dyes were hard to find in the US, if you didn’t have a local community. (In hindsight, I probably did, but I don’t think I ever told my elderly next door neighbor that I was attempting what any good Ukrainian eight year old once could do with one arm tied behind her back.)
    I have no Ukrainian heritage that I know of–I just love the eggs.
    http://www.ukrainiangiftshop.com/

    Reply
  78. For those who need beeswax for pysanky, and are curious about the art. This group has been around for so long I remember writing to the group, mailing checks, and getting my dye tablets back. The right vegetable dyes were hard to find in the US, if you didn’t have a local community. (In hindsight, I probably did, but I don’t think I ever told my elderly next door neighbor that I was attempting what any good Ukrainian eight year old once could do with one arm tied behind her back.)
    I have no Ukrainian heritage that I know of–I just love the eggs.
    http://www.ukrainiangiftshop.com/

    Reply
  79. For those who need beeswax for pysanky, and are curious about the art. This group has been around for so long I remember writing to the group, mailing checks, and getting my dye tablets back. The right vegetable dyes were hard to find in the US, if you didn’t have a local community. (In hindsight, I probably did, but I don’t think I ever told my elderly next door neighbor that I was attempting what any good Ukrainian eight year old once could do with one arm tied behind her back.)
    I have no Ukrainian heritage that I know of–I just love the eggs.
    http://www.ukrainiangiftshop.com/

    Reply
  80. For those who need beeswax for pysanky, and are curious about the art. This group has been around for so long I remember writing to the group, mailing checks, and getting my dye tablets back. The right vegetable dyes were hard to find in the US, if you didn’t have a local community. (In hindsight, I probably did, but I don’t think I ever told my elderly next door neighbor that I was attempting what any good Ukrainian eight year old once could do with one arm tied behind her back.)
    I have no Ukrainian heritage that I know of–I just love the eggs.
    http://www.ukrainiangiftshop.com/

    Reply
  81. I’m very late in reading this post, but I do love honey! Whenever I travel somewhere I end up buying some, which makes a great souvenir. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I had some very dark and strong tasting chestnut honey from Italy which was wonderul. And I also love orange blosson honey, which usually comes from Florida. Yemen also has some wonderful and very expensive honeys. It probably comes from desert plants like acacia.

    Reply
  82. I’m very late in reading this post, but I do love honey! Whenever I travel somewhere I end up buying some, which makes a great souvenir. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I had some very dark and strong tasting chestnut honey from Italy which was wonderul. And I also love orange blosson honey, which usually comes from Florida. Yemen also has some wonderful and very expensive honeys. It probably comes from desert plants like acacia.

    Reply
  83. I’m very late in reading this post, but I do love honey! Whenever I travel somewhere I end up buying some, which makes a great souvenir. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I had some very dark and strong tasting chestnut honey from Italy which was wonderul. And I also love orange blosson honey, which usually comes from Florida. Yemen also has some wonderful and very expensive honeys. It probably comes from desert plants like acacia.

    Reply
  84. I’m very late in reading this post, but I do love honey! Whenever I travel somewhere I end up buying some, which makes a great souvenir. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I had some very dark and strong tasting chestnut honey from Italy which was wonderul. And I also love orange blosson honey, which usually comes from Florida. Yemen also has some wonderful and very expensive honeys. It probably comes from desert plants like acacia.

    Reply
  85. I’m very late in reading this post, but I do love honey! Whenever I travel somewhere I end up buying some, which makes a great souvenir. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I had some very dark and strong tasting chestnut honey from Italy which was wonderul. And I also love orange blosson honey, which usually comes from Florida. Yemen also has some wonderful and very expensive honeys. It probably comes from desert plants like acacia.

    Reply
  86. Sounds like wonderful honeys. I love acacia. And I’ve frequently bought orange blossom.
    Right now I have some perfectly acceptable honey that’s labelled “orange blossom”. I tried it and it doesn’t in the least taste like orange blossoms. It seems to come from here in Virginia. I rather think I’ve been scammed.
    The chestnut honey I’ve never heard of and it sounds interesting.

    Reply
  87. Sounds like wonderful honeys. I love acacia. And I’ve frequently bought orange blossom.
    Right now I have some perfectly acceptable honey that’s labelled “orange blossom”. I tried it and it doesn’t in the least taste like orange blossoms. It seems to come from here in Virginia. I rather think I’ve been scammed.
    The chestnut honey I’ve never heard of and it sounds interesting.

    Reply
  88. Sounds like wonderful honeys. I love acacia. And I’ve frequently bought orange blossom.
    Right now I have some perfectly acceptable honey that’s labelled “orange blossom”. I tried it and it doesn’t in the least taste like orange blossoms. It seems to come from here in Virginia. I rather think I’ve been scammed.
    The chestnut honey I’ve never heard of and it sounds interesting.

    Reply
  89. Sounds like wonderful honeys. I love acacia. And I’ve frequently bought orange blossom.
    Right now I have some perfectly acceptable honey that’s labelled “orange blossom”. I tried it and it doesn’t in the least taste like orange blossoms. It seems to come from here in Virginia. I rather think I’ve been scammed.
    The chestnut honey I’ve never heard of and it sounds interesting.

    Reply
  90. Sounds like wonderful honeys. I love acacia. And I’ve frequently bought orange blossom.
    Right now I have some perfectly acceptable honey that’s labelled “orange blossom”. I tried it and it doesn’t in the least taste like orange blossoms. It seems to come from here in Virginia. I rather think I’ve been scammed.
    The chestnut honey I’ve never heard of and it sounds interesting.

    Reply
  91. Thank-you for the history lesson. Georgian, Regency, Victorian women would have also been aware of the medicinal uses of honey. It has marvelous antimicrobial properties. The Strong Women we all love to read about would have it on hand for culinary and sewing purposes, but also medicinal purposes. A little honey in tea will soothe a sore throat. Say if a gentleman were to come upon highwaymen and be shot. The nearest help was a cottage nearby were a woman, who is resistant to the vapors, would treat the wounds with honey. The honey prevents the wound from turning septic. Whether it is a bullet or a wound from ablade, honey’s binding power will help slow the bleeding with or without stitching.

    Reply
  92. Thank-you for the history lesson. Georgian, Regency, Victorian women would have also been aware of the medicinal uses of honey. It has marvelous antimicrobial properties. The Strong Women we all love to read about would have it on hand for culinary and sewing purposes, but also medicinal purposes. A little honey in tea will soothe a sore throat. Say if a gentleman were to come upon highwaymen and be shot. The nearest help was a cottage nearby were a woman, who is resistant to the vapors, would treat the wounds with honey. The honey prevents the wound from turning septic. Whether it is a bullet or a wound from ablade, honey’s binding power will help slow the bleeding with or without stitching.

    Reply
  93. Thank-you for the history lesson. Georgian, Regency, Victorian women would have also been aware of the medicinal uses of honey. It has marvelous antimicrobial properties. The Strong Women we all love to read about would have it on hand for culinary and sewing purposes, but also medicinal purposes. A little honey in tea will soothe a sore throat. Say if a gentleman were to come upon highwaymen and be shot. The nearest help was a cottage nearby were a woman, who is resistant to the vapors, would treat the wounds with honey. The honey prevents the wound from turning septic. Whether it is a bullet or a wound from ablade, honey’s binding power will help slow the bleeding with or without stitching.

    Reply
  94. Thank-you for the history lesson. Georgian, Regency, Victorian women would have also been aware of the medicinal uses of honey. It has marvelous antimicrobial properties. The Strong Women we all love to read about would have it on hand for culinary and sewing purposes, but also medicinal purposes. A little honey in tea will soothe a sore throat. Say if a gentleman were to come upon highwaymen and be shot. The nearest help was a cottage nearby were a woman, who is resistant to the vapors, would treat the wounds with honey. The honey prevents the wound from turning septic. Whether it is a bullet or a wound from ablade, honey’s binding power will help slow the bleeding with or without stitching.

    Reply
  95. Thank-you for the history lesson. Georgian, Regency, Victorian women would have also been aware of the medicinal uses of honey. It has marvelous antimicrobial properties. The Strong Women we all love to read about would have it on hand for culinary and sewing purposes, but also medicinal purposes. A little honey in tea will soothe a sore throat. Say if a gentleman were to come upon highwaymen and be shot. The nearest help was a cottage nearby were a woman, who is resistant to the vapors, would treat the wounds with honey. The honey prevents the wound from turning septic. Whether it is a bullet or a wound from ablade, honey’s binding power will help slow the bleeding with or without stitching.

    Reply

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