by Francisco G. Gómez
So it’s been a month since we set up our new beehive; what a rush getting those incredible little creatures settled into their new home. It was thrilling to say the least and truly one of the most exciting things I have ever experienced.
We traveled about an hour and forty minutes to the apiary up north in Montague N.J. to pick up the three pound package of bees we purchased. That’s 3 to 4 thousand bees per pound, folks, plus the queen. We built our own Langstroth hive a few weeks before we bought our bees, and I can’t tell you how happy we were to see how quickly our bees took to the box. Something totally unnatural for bees, but the honey foundation on the frames worked its magic quite well.
This past year I spent lots of time reading books and watching Youtube vids made by api-enthusiasts. The plans that we used to construct our bee box came from the tube as well. I imagine that it might have been wiser to have attempted an internship with a seasoned apiarist; however, I neither had the time or desire to spend money by going that route, and the truth of the matter is that you can just about learn anything and everything by surfing the Net. Of course this might not be the case when we run into some unforeseen problem given the plight of bees globally; this is almost certain to happen. But, I have come across a few very dedicated and knowledgeable bee keepers that have offered to help, may the need arise. For this we are very thankful.
We have contaminated our planet, irreversibly according to some experts, by the use of neonicotinoids, plastics, pesticides, genetically modified crops, co2 emissions and a whole host of other contaminants that we have so irresponsibly introduced into our delicate eco-systems. This has disturbed the natural balance of our biosphere. All of us have contributed to this dilemma in some way, and there is no denying that truth! I know, you’re saying “but how can I help it?”. Perhaps the first thing to realize is that you have to begin the change with yourself by slowly transforming who you are and how you view the natural world!
This transformation isn’t easy because we’ve been so indoctrinated and separated from nature by accepting the social and economic bill of goods forced upon us by the powers that be. We continue to accept the erroneous beliefs that we are hopelessly at the mercy of those forces.
As I delve more into growing food and re-discovering the beauty and complexities of my own natural world, I understand that I can help transform myself more quickly by helping creatures less fortunate than me, especially the honey bee. These little guys are so important to our survival, most people just don’t understand how much. Studies done by the US Department of agriculture state that the honey bees pollinate 80 percent of our flowering crops; that translates into 1/3 of everything we eat. As you can see, they do much more than just make honey!
As our bees flourish, I’ve noticed that so many more insects and animals have appeared around our micro farm this year. This beautiful butterfly happened into our greenhouse this past week; we didn’t see any last year. It might be that my imagination is getting the best of me, but it seems to me that Gaia is looking over us for having taken the initiative to help some of her most endangered children. 😉
If you are interested in doing your part to help the honey bees, please come out to a presentation sponsored by Raices on Intro Beekeeping :
Date – July 20, 2014
Time – 2:00 pm
Place – Buccleuch Park
321 Easton Ave, New Brunswick, NJ
08901
* We’ll meet under the gazebo in the middle of the park. There is plenty of parking in the lot directly in front of the gazebo!
For further information please feel free to call or email Fuyo at: 908.227.5671 fuyo@raicesculturalcenter.org or Nicky at 732.236.7618 nicole@raicesculturalcenter.org