I want to be a beekeeper.
Yes, go ahead, laugh if you like.
But I'm just a bee charmer...
That was said with a long southern drawl...anyone know that movie?
Seriously, though, I love honeybees. Their happy little buzzing. Their hard working spirit. They don't sting you for the fun of it like a wasp or hornet. I've actually let bees crawl onto my hands and carried them outside if they get stuck in the house...be nice to them and they'll be nice to you.
They're the friendlies of the bug world.
Aside from my general love for them, bees are important to a homestead for a number of reasons.
Pollination, for one big one.
When I had my squash and zucchini growing in pots on our patio last year, there was a severe lack of pollination. I had to use a paint brush to pollinate the squash blossoms to get them to actually grow. I succintly coined it "plant sex."
I'd rather let the bees handle that next time, thanks though. Guess I'm just not "in the mood" to whip out my paintbrush every day. Hardee har har...
Second main reason: honey.
I love me some honey.
Not just for the flavor, but I've used raw honey as a facial mask and as a treatment for cuts and scrapes.
In a study in India they found that in first-degree burn patients who were treated with honey versus conventional treatments, 91 percent of those treated with honey were infection-free as opposed to only 7 percent infection-free using conventional methods. At the end of the study, the patients who had been treated with honey had wounds that more readily healed. In patients who had c-section and hysterectomies, those who received the honey treatment instead of the standard disinfecting treatments of iodine and alcohol were" infection-free in fewer days, healed more cleanly, and had reduced hospital stays." By the way, all those facts were taken from The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray & Joseph Pizzorno, page 651.
There is also the theory that eating honey or pollen from the area that you live in will help with allergies. I think there's some validity to this, as I had been having lemon and honey in hot water every morning during the blooming spring season, and while most people walked around with a kleenex stuffed up their nose and doped up on Benadryl, I seemed to be allright.
Thirdly, fourthly and fifthly are bee pollen, propolis and royal jelly .
The Encyclopedia lists their primary uses as such:
Bee pollen
Allergies
Antioxidant support
Energy enhancement
Menopausal symptoms
Support for chemotherapy and radiation therapy
Propolis
Common cold
Gastrointestinal infections
Immune enhancement
Upper respiratory tract infections
Royal Jelly
Elevated cholesterol levels
Energy enhancement
There's also a theory that bee stings can be good for you. While in Romania, one of my friend's dad is a beekeeper and is convinced being stuck every now and then is healthy.
Besides the health benefits to beekeeping there's just something about bees I love. Its constant company buzzing around. Its a lesson in patience and calm to stand there with bees swarming around you. They can clue in as to how you're feeling. They can even predict some weather. If there's not a bee to be found, rain is on the way.
Maybe someday I'll tell you the story of how we found out I wasn't allergic to bees. It involved my friend's dad in Romania and some poor unlucky bee.
Till then, bee happy!
They're the friendlies of the bug world.
Aside from my general love for them, bees are important to a homestead for a number of reasons.
Pollination, for one big one.
When I had my squash and zucchini growing in pots on our patio last year, there was a severe lack of pollination. I had to use a paint brush to pollinate the squash blossoms to get them to actually grow. I succintly coined it "plant sex."
I'd rather let the bees handle that next time, thanks though. Guess I'm just not "in the mood" to whip out my paintbrush every day. Hardee har har...
Second main reason: honey.
I love me some honey.
Not just for the flavor, but I've used raw honey as a facial mask and as a treatment for cuts and scrapes.
In a study in India they found that in first-degree burn patients who were treated with honey versus conventional treatments, 91 percent of those treated with honey were infection-free as opposed to only 7 percent infection-free using conventional methods. At the end of the study, the patients who had been treated with honey had wounds that more readily healed. In patients who had c-section and hysterectomies, those who received the honey treatment instead of the standard disinfecting treatments of iodine and alcohol were" infection-free in fewer days, healed more cleanly, and had reduced hospital stays." By the way, all those facts were taken from The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray & Joseph Pizzorno, page 651.
There is also the theory that eating honey or pollen from the area that you live in will help with allergies. I think there's some validity to this, as I had been having lemon and honey in hot water every morning during the blooming spring season, and while most people walked around with a kleenex stuffed up their nose and doped up on Benadryl, I seemed to be allright.
Thirdly, fourthly and fifthly are bee pollen, propolis and royal jelly .
The Encyclopedia lists their primary uses as such:
Bee pollen
Allergies
Antioxidant support
Energy enhancement
Menopausal symptoms
Support for chemotherapy and radiation therapy
Propolis
Common cold
Gastrointestinal infections
Immune enhancement
Upper respiratory tract infections
Royal Jelly
Elevated cholesterol levels
Energy enhancement
There's also a theory that bee stings can be good for you. While in Romania, one of my friend's dad is a beekeeper and is convinced being stuck every now and then is healthy.
Besides the health benefits to beekeeping there's just something about bees I love. Its constant company buzzing around. Its a lesson in patience and calm to stand there with bees swarming around you. They can clue in as to how you're feeling. They can even predict some weather. If there's not a bee to be found, rain is on the way.
Maybe someday I'll tell you the story of how we found out I wasn't allergic to bees. It involved my friend's dad in Romania and some poor unlucky bee.
Till then, bee happy!
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