The flowers of five months of the cool, northern summer have passed and only a few yellow goldenrod and purple aster plants color the countryside. The work of the beekeepers is now to gather and extract the crop. For many beekeepers, the bees made a crop at the very end of the season. In the honey house we are bottling the goldenrod/fall crop and blueberry honey. The elderberry crop has been picked, and this fruit, new goldenrod honey, and fresh pollen have been appearing in bowls of oatmeal many mornings around the honey house.
working at the honey house………
For the last few years working for Honey Gardens I have proudly boasted about the health benefits of “our” raw honey and plant medicine. I live in the New York City area and serve as a demo rep and communicator, proudly known as the “Northeastern Sister”. My work includes educating staff in natural foods stores, introducing Honey Gardens’ products to new stores and, of course, performing lots of honey tastings! I do my best to represent the bees, in appreciation of their tremendous hard work and organization of which I am truly in awe. I also share information about the healing properties of the medicinal herbs and contents of plant medicine.
One way I strive to obtain this knowledge for myself is by visiting Honey Gardens in Vermont and being close to the source. Here I can visit with the bees and get “hands-on” experience by helping with bottling, labeling and anything else they will let me do! The folks up there are so very patient with me, allowing me into the honey house to get in their way. I feel like a complete tourist!
I was able to be a part of the production team for one day and we made Apitherapy Organic Elderberry Syrup (that had been a dream of mine for a while). I actually picked elderberries that were growing right outside of the honey house. They are amazing shades of red and purple and you must hold them up towards the sun to check that they are ripe. They must be nearly black before they are ready to pick.
As I was de-stemming elderberries for the kettles, I thought about how so many people across the country, and perhaps beyond, will be able to use this formula for healing. It was a very rewarding feeling and with these intentions in mind, I went forth throughout what could have been a demanding and difficult day with a big grin on my face and lots of positive energy. Together we managed to produce and bottle well over 1000 bottles of plant medicine, being sure to finish each packed box with a personal hand-written symbol of health and well-being. Talk about spirit……
Vermont is a verdant, flourishing land and Honey Gardens’ garden is no exception. There are elderberry bushes, sunflowers, healing medicinal plants and herbs and a thriving veggie patch!! Andrew, our herbalist, gave me a tour of elecampane, nettles, thistle and much more. I have been raving about these plants and their healing powers as ingredients in Honey Gardens’ products and here they were!
I saved the best for last……
Todd took me out to see the bees, it is so very inspiring, almost breathtaking to be this close to the source. We visited several hives including some wild bees that had moved into some old equipment. They had survived the summer with seeming abundance. Lots of honey was there as we chiseled through the propolis seal to check on them. We provided the bees with a few more boxes with which to build for the remaining three weeks or so of the bees’ goldenrod season. I realized this assists them and it helped me to understand the relationship between us and the bees and how we do support each other.
It is important for me to try to give back, and I really hope to have hives someday. I would like to provide some bees a clean and safe place to live. Until then, I appreciate all that I can experience and learn from Todd and the community here. I can truly say I feel like a real part of a team, something so much larger and greater than myself. Honey Gardens is truly like a beehive with everyone working and cooperating together. I know I will be buzzing for a while!
Susan Blacklocke
Pumpkin Raw Honey Spice Cookies by Ann Kennedy
1 15 oz. can pumpkin or fresh pureed pumpkin, if you have it
1 stick butter, softenedPumpkin cookies
1 cup raw honey
2 eggs
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 ¾ cups flour
1 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t salt
1 t each ginger and nutmeg
1 ½ t cinnamon
½ cup chopped pecans, if desired
½ cup golden raisins, if desired
Mix together first 5 ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy.
Sift together dry ingredients.
Combine moist and dry ingredients and mix well.
Drop by rounded soup spoon onto parchment covered baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
Sprinkle lightly with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees for 13-14 minutes.
These are great served right out the oven with French vanilla ice cream and home made caramel sauce.