The yin yang is a symbol of of the concept of dualism; the delicate dance of opposites
that we are all familiar with. Being a Gemini, I carry both with me as a curse and a blessing! Part of me, the determined and creative force and the forever optimistic dreamer, and then there is the other side of me, the rational, doubting, critical and analytically unbiased unformal citizen scientist. When merged they bring a wholeness to the apiary, fresh perspectives, more productive apiary and informed bee keeper.
Thanks to a mentor and friend Ray Walker from Walker’s Apiary, and the amazing beekeepers we share with in our international and online social community, we were
introduced to a product called Broodminder. This is exactly where curiosity is found, at the empass of art and science. These are gages and gadgets for beekeeping used to monitor temperature, humidity, and weight of a hive. The data is then uploaded to a platform to share with anyone around the world. I think that is the most exciting aspect of it all; the sharing of data!
Now, thanks to these simple additions to the hives, we can be less invasive, which means
reduced stress to the bees. We can monitor them with these implements and draw
correlations with what we see recorded and what we observe in nature. It literally opens
up a whole new chapter of beekeeping (I am an avid note taker).
In our apiary the bees take center stage and their honey their masterpeice. Our instagram posts are often fotos and information learned, connections made, and simply a way to share in these moments in time. We enjoy conversing with folks about our practices, new connectionsbetween the environment and the bees’ habits, honey, color, flavor, and production. Bee health always takes center stage, as I learned many years ago, do what is best for the bees, if they are happy, they will be bountiful. This is such a moment of patience, reflection, and time. A simple act to help bees that we often share with folks is, ‘give them some drinking water during hot summer months’.
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