Happy World Bee Day!! In May 2010 a swarm of honey bees decided to build their new home in the compost bin of our California home. This felt quite auspicious because:
In August of 2009 I had joined a local group of beekeepers with the intention to have a hive.
The day the bees arrived was a Friday, like today, which is attributed to Venus/Aphrodite.
Backwards Beekeepers
The gift of this swarm of winged alchemists, my code word for the honey bees, felt so very auspicious, as if I had been given a nod by the divine that the path I was intending to journey was correct. Since I had found my bee guru, Kirk Anderson in August, with the intention to eventually start a hive, the arrival of this little group of very sweet, friendly honey bees was a joyful surprise.
I contacted John Lyons, one of the expert bee mentors in the bee club, who came to help us transfer the bees from the compost bin to a temporary nuc box. Read and see pictures of that event following this link or follow the jump below titled Bee Happy. Regrettably that swarm choose to depart, but left me a bit of beautiful white beeswax.
Meanwhile one of the fellow members of the group said I could have her "bird house" bees if I came to get them. Thus, those bees were relocated and took over thee periwinkle bee hive box we had set up for the original swarm. Meanwhile, Greg, Eve and I quickly began learning the art of beekeeping.
Venus / Aphrodite
The book The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall states "The bee is sacred to the goddess Venus and, according to mystics, it is one of several life forms of life which came to earth from the planet Venus millions of years ago."1 The Greek Goddess of beauty Aphrodite is also associated with the planet Venus which governs Friday.
Sometimes May flowers bring us more than just floral bouquets!
Humans are at an interesting crossword as we choose to either take the highroad or plunder down into a murky darkness of hate. According to some ancient texts there is the potential for more lower chakra stupidity before we finally migrate to the higher realms of consciousness.
In the meantime, there are sectors of people who are equating the use of beeswax with that of civet paste. I was not aware of this rather odd point of view, thus, I am here to clarify a few things...
Big agro beekeepers, like John Miller showcased in More Than Honey, are very different than those of us who save feral hives and act as their guardians using holistic and mindful methods.
Civet is a nocturnal animal related to the cat that secretes a pale yellow, viscous substance used in perfumery. Originally introduced to Europe by Marco Polo from China it died off in use when synthetic materials replaced the original palette of perfumers. Regrettably, civet has made a comeback as "natural" perfumers use it within their palette which contains animal ingredients. The fragrant substance is secreted from the animals anal glands and then scraped while the cat is teased and stressed in a tiny cage. Quite horrific and certainly not in keeping with what we associate "green" and "natural" perfume with. According the Chandler Burr "Civet is like adding whole cream to soups or sauces." Indeed, in France and in the 14th century Venice, civet was an immensely popular ingredient in fine fragrance due to its alchemical magic at incremental amounts as well as adding tremendous longevity to a perfume.
So, what do you think, is using beeswax in perfume the same as using civet paste? It's possible that the confusion might be because those who are part of the "vegan" tribe prefer to obtain from"bee related" products but are okay with petroleum products, go figure. I'm still trying to understand that one.
At the end of the day, or our lives, each of us will be held accountable for what we've done here on planet earth or maybe not. What I do know is that if I hadn't saved the three colonies of feral bees that share there honey and beeswax with me, they would have been exterminated using toxic chemicals.
Last weekend was packed with three different bee related happenings along with lots of writing for aromatherapy journals and projects. Read my latest contribution to Fragrantica here. Most people rest on the weekends, not me, I must be part feral bee! Yes, I said feral, because they work much harder than the European honey bee.
Friday in the late afternoon we headed into downtown LA for the book signing of Save the Bees with Chelsea, Rob and little Will MacFarland at The Last Bookstore. Always a treat to wonder around the galleries above the bookstore, like LB Lovejoys eclectic workshop where the image above was taken.
While at the signing we met up with George Langworthy, the director of The Vanishing of the Bees, and his beautiful girlfriend Alexandra so we headed over to Bottega Louie for dinner. We brought home a box of delicious macarons.
On Saturday we were planning to head up to Topanga to save a swarm of bees located in a sprinkler box under a Sumac bush but decided to wait a few days since we had a storm heading in.
Then on Sunday morning, in the midst of torrential rains, I drove into Culver City for the first HoneyLove Meet up of 2016 featuring a lecture by Rob McFarland titled Wild Bee Sex.
This afternoon Greg and I went back up to the site in Topanga to move the bees in the sprinkler box, but, they had already left, no bees only honey comb with a bit of pollen.
Last Sunday morning Greg and I attended a HoneyLove meet up at the Rediscover Center in Venice Beach regarding the Flow Hive. Perhaps you heard about the IndieGogo campaign last year that raised over 12 million dollars for a beehive which miraculously gives you honey by the turn of a knob? I personally received loads of e-mails and facebook messages about this magical device.
What was clear to me and other fellow bee'ks upon seeing the campaign is that there were lots of things that didn't quite make complete sense, particularly in the first video (not the one shown above) and that it was all about honey and very little about bees..
Lots of the concerns I and others were addressed quite succinctly by Faith Landsman (pictured above), a backward beekeeper and medical researcher at UCLA who describes herself as a dilettante. She delivered a fun, very well researched and objective presentation on all aspects of the hive including some of the ethics with the marketing of the campaign.
The lecture began with an introduction by Ceebs, one of the founders of HoneyLove who brought up how the timeline of when humans first started beekeeping has now been pushed back to 9000 years ago by Bee Culture magazine. She then mentioned that the Flow Hive has caused quite a lot of debate in the bee keeping community between those of us who are "bee-centric", the commercial bee keepers and the "newbees" who are fond of the honey on tap without interaction with bees idea.
The other bit of news is that HoneyLove founders Rob and Chelsea, have a new book called Save the Bees. I'll have copies of it at the perfumery shortly, just in time for holiday gift giving.
The power point presentation by Faith included commentary occurring on several online forums regarding the Flow Hive. The most disturbing were the folks who assumed that they would place the unit in their yards and bees would just make deposits of honey into the Flow Hive. Many people who saw the early video on IndieGogo made quite a lot of assumptions based on dis-information coupled with lack of knowledge.
Some of the main concerns of the Flow Hive are:
- Plastic sheets in the honey super affecting bees and sanitation.
- Relationship between bee keeper and bees.
- Brood in the honey super.
- Propolis and thick or crystalized honey clogging the mechanics.
The bee-centric community tends to avoid using plastic (propylene) in the hive, not only because its an environmental hazard but because bees don't tend to like it and its yet another human intrusion on the little creatures.
"But for bees, comb is far more than a tupperware container for somebody else's lunch; it is the tissue and frame of the hive and as such it forms multiple functions. Cells have wall thicknesses of just 0.07mm, and are made from over 300 different chemical components. Wax removes toxins from the honey. The resonant frequency (230-270 Hz) of the comb is matched to the bees' vibration sensors and acts as an information highway between bees on opposite sides of the comb. Bees manage the temperature of the cell rims to optimize transmissions of these messages. Wax holds history and memory via chemical signals put into it by the bees. Its smell and condition aid the bee in managing the hive. It assists in the ripening and conditioning the honey and is the first line of defense against pathogens. Honey bees are able to recognize the smallest differences in wax composition ... but not polypropylene."
If you hunt around the forums you will notice a pretty thick and heated debate about this new gadget. Within the bee-centric community, where you have large amounts of people who care about the bees as their primary focus, the concern about the product is evident with the verdict still pending.
After the lecture attendees had the opportunity to check out all the pieces and mechanics of a flow hive brought in by a community member.
Meanwhile here at the happy house I've been extracting beeswax via the crockpot method, so far the results have been quite good but its a heck of a lot of work! More about the technique with photos once the process is complete. In the meantime our home smells like honey 24/7!
This weeks word rant refers to the use of the term bee keeper. Did you know that not everyone who uses the term "bee keeper” actually owns or wears a bee suit and/or manages their hives? Many of these folks use the term loosely to infer they have and tend to bees when really someone else is managing their hives for them. Sometimes the term is a marketing gimmick.
We live in a world where disinformation has reached astronomical levels. According to some theorists disinformation is a tactic to discredit true data and confuse the masses. On a small scale I observe individual makers and smaller brands doing it to get attention.
In the Spring of 2010 a hive of bees descended on our compost bin. Since then I have saved several colonies from the fate of extermination, including the feral hives which Greg and I are guardian to. For my business, whose emblem is the honey bee, it was a very magical and auspicious Spring day when our desire was made manifest. Not only did it give Illuminated Perfume a real mascot but it also gave me deeper insight into what was occurring with the bees. In turn I have been able to pull the veil on what is actually happening, which differs from what is reported in the media.
Conclusion, if the person using the word "bee keeper" isn't seen in a bee suit AND actively working on "their" hives on a regular basis don't make the assumption that they are actually a bee keeper. Yes, intentions are powerful, but truth is very much needed...especially if like me you are committed to authenticity.
Greg and I sustain quite a lot of stings from actively working with our hives, which is incredibly uncomfortable although good for the immune system. Thus, as you can tell, I get irritated with peeps using the word as a marketing gimmick. My daughter Eve took a bunch of photos while Greg and I were going through our two hives to investigate what was happening and if they were actually using the space in all those hive boxes. I'll post those photos next week. During that hive inspection we took a few frames of honey while we were at it...and sustained about twenty stings between the two of us. I refer to those stings as immune boosters, part of our apitherapy routine.
Photos taken by Rebecca Fishman back in September of 2012.
Some of the plants in my garden are acting as if its Spring, even though we are in the middle of Summer. I'm guessing this is due to the extremely weird weather coupled with a little extra watering with our shower water. If you didn't know, California is having a massive drought and thus we are suppose to be mindful about our use of H20. Here at the woodland cottage we take showers with tubs and buckets to collect the water and use for our plants.
The fairy duster planet we put in the ground back in the Autumn of 2012 or so has gotten quite large, has had some children and is FINALLY attracting honey bees. Yay! For a little while there we thought there was something wrong with it. I am not sure why it took so long, but, relieved that the reason why we purchased it is now manifested. Judging by how many honey bees are on it all day long I'd say hands down its the favorite plant in the entire garden.
I love how the flowers of the Fairy Duster first appear like little balls of yarn which slowly unfurl into their magnificent red strands that then call over all the different pollinators.
The Matilija poppies, which didn't flower last year have now started to bloom. I thought they weren't going to produce flowers this year because in the neighborhood and other parts of the Santa Monica Mountains they were blooming back in Spring. Ours generally bloom in July, thus I'm thinking it must have to do with where they are placed. Something else that is happening with these is that they are spreading. This is exactly what we wanted! In a few years we are hoping that they will be covering a quarter of the front slope.
Other positive things happening in our garden is that lots of natives have been coming up on their own accord, like Quercus agrifolia, our native oak, and Artemisia californica. This is especially potent since our neighbors continue to hack down large grandfather oaks in the area. When I see people cut down those ancient trees I can't help but think humans are one of the stupidest species on the planet, really. I mentioned to Greg that before allowing someone to purchase a house here in the woodland people need to be asked the question "Can you be a steward of our woodland flora and fauna?" If not, than hey, go find another seat on this airplane.
The scent of honey emanating from our two hives has been pretty overwhelming for the last several months. Almost every time we go outside the fragrance of a sweet, slightly salty aroma wafts our way. This enchanting tang is most prevalent in the afternoon when the pacific ocean breezes start to move northward through the canyon. Speaking of canyons, aren't these pictures of two fused combs amazing!
Generally early Spring is a good time to harvest honey because the nectar flow has started and the bees will be able to restock whatever we take easily. The challenge this year was that the top boxes weren't just honey but a mix of brood (baby bees) and honey. In "normal" situations the bees keep their brood nests down below and use the upper boxes for honey. Thus, instead of taking the entire top box off we only took a few frames so as not to disturb their slumbering babes too much. Here's a photo of some crazy comb that was built across two frames. The image I am showing you has empty cells with capped honey cells, but deep within and on the other side it is all capped. I photographed this side because it was much more interesting visually with all the undulating levels. The perfectly capped comb is pretty boring, thus no photos of those.
This seasons crop is dark with rich notes of caramel. I am not entirely clear what imparted that imprint since what has been blooming in our woodland for the last six months has a more camphorous character. The rich, molasses type note might be from our California native everlasting, Pseudognaphalium californicum, although it hasn't bloomed in the woodland since last Spring.
Each frame of completely capped cells contains about 1 gallon of honey. A honey bee gathers nectar from two million flowers for one pound of honey! Although I haven't actually measured the amount of wax from one of those frames will likely be in the ballpark of 5% of the yield. It's pretty amazing to think that such a small amount of beeswax is used to hold so much honey! We are told that the average worker bee makes 1/12th of a tspn of honey in her lifetime. Eight to ten pounds of honey will yield approximately one pound of wax.
Pretty staggering numbers, imagine if humans were that focused!
Sunday evening HoneyLove is having their annual "Yellow Tie Event" to raise awareness about our important little pollinator while inspiring and educating new urban beekeepers! The late afternoon early evening affair will feature Yellow Carpet photos, great food, fun drinks, local honey tasting, and a special musical performance.
I am donating an oval compact filled with Mellifera solid perfume for the silent auction. The fragrance began as a sketch at last years Wax symposium. The word Mellifera is the part of the latin name for the European honey bee and translates as honey bearing. If you are curious about the smell come seek me out at the event and ask for a sniff. Mellifera has not yet been released, expect it to appear in the next few weeks.
Look forward to seeing you at the Yellow Tie event!
Yesterday morning, in downtown Los Angeles, the City Council approved a study to be done to approve urban beekeeping. This monumental event was in most part done by the efforts of Rob and Chelsea MacFarland of Honey Love. This comes on the heels of seventeen councils within the city of LA voting in favor of urban beekeeping.
The bees found Rob one afternoon working and his garden and clearly choose to swarm there knowing they had found their hero. Three years later, after becoming part of the Backwards Beekeepers and creating Honey Love, Rob and Chelsea have managed to get the somewhat uptight and conventional members of the LA City Council to approve a measure to study the affects of urban beekeeping by the Planning Department.
Our first hive arrived here in May of 2010. Since then it's been a continual, magnificent learning curve as we become educated on how to support these tiny beings.
The anthroposophic movement seems to be the furtherest ahead in holistic beekeeping work out in the world right now. Here's a video of the Sun Hive (“Weissenseifener Haengekorb”) designed by the German sculptor Guenther Mancke. How I would love to attend that workshop and replace our Langstrom hives with a handmade, rye straw.
The season of advocacy has sprung here locally in the Woodland and within the City of Angels. First off, as mentioned previously, I've been working with my neighbors regarding a lot where four oaks were cut down prior to a building project being approved. On Thursday four of us met with the developer and his son at the field office of our local councilman Bob Blumenfield. Cesar Diaz, the planning director for Blumenfield was present at the meeting.
The gathering proved very interesting and gave us lots of information for the upcoming hearing scheduled in Van Nuys where the developer will present his project before the review board. At that time, those opposed to the project will have a chance to speak.
Meanwhile, Chelsea and Rob of HoneyLove have made tremendous headway with legalizing efforts for urban beekeeping within Los Angeles. They begun the task by getting local city councils within LA to approve it, now up to seventeen. On February 12th the City Council in downtown LA will be voting on three bee measures:
1: Legalize urban beekeeping in Los Angeles
2: Saving America’s pollinators act
3: Humane policy for live bee removal
This is THE VOTE, which will finally have Los Angeles join other major metropolitan cities all over the US and the world that have been visionary in legalizing urban beekeeping.
While I had the ear of Cesar I mentioned several sites within the Los Angeles area that have been planted with California native plants to see if Blumenfields office seemed sympathetic to the cause. It appears they are, more on that shortly.
Here in the Southern California woodland Spring arrives early, even when we've had little to no rain. The first flowers to appear our on the back slope covered with rosemary, these begin to blossom as early as November. Right now the purple sage, botanically known as Salvia leucphylla, is blooming and the girls are all over it in the morning. I've noticed the honey bees tend to prefer plants when they are hit by the sun, at least in the morning at this time of the year. Probably because they are elemental beings of the sunlight.
I patiently observed them this morning, waiting for the perfect moment to capture one of them at work. On Monday while when I was doing this I got a shot in the arm by one of the girls, not quite sure why (!) but I figure little doses of api therapy are always good as it is used in Europe to assist a wide variety of ailments.
The reason this particular salvia does so well in our garden is because it likes clay soil, something of which we have in abundance. Besides being a great plants for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, the native quail love the seeds. Once established it needs no water!
This one is on my list to get more of, in fact, might be good to get a bunch of them!
This Saturday is the annual HoneyLove Wax Symposium, I'll be leading a class for the event titled "Scent and the Honey Bee" at the Culver City Headquarters here in LA.
Where: Honey Love: 5950 W. Jefferson Blvd. #8, Los Angeles, California 90016 MAP What: Learn how to make natural, solid beeswax perfume based on scents related to the Honey Bee. When: Saturday, August 10, 2013, 12:30pm until 2:00pm Here is a link to the Facebook Page for those of you on that social media platform. Then at 7:40 join us for a special screening of More Than Honey in Beverly Hills, afterwards the films director Markus Imhoof and fellow Backward Beekeeper Susan Rudnicki will be part of a Q and A discussion. Bee Smart, Bee Happy, Bee Free and Live in Mindfulness.
The two bee hives here in the hills of the woodland are doing fabulously. We are planning a hive inspection this evening and will have further news shortly. In the meantime a fellow bee'k from my club, the Backwards Beekeepers, posted this little piece, enjoy.
APILOGUE
(Excerpt from Stein, Stung)
My mother was a queen and I am a queen. I was nurtured in a queen’s chamber. Catered to. Cleansed. Fed a steady diet of royal jelly. One of my sisters was born in a royal chamber, too. Our destiny was to meet. Oh, yes. We met. And she is no more. Her will was weak. Her body snapped under mine. The battle was ghastly and short. Only my mother, the queen, now stands in the way of my destiny. I seek her out. She knows why I have come. I place my young, fertile body against the aging brittle shell of hers. There is room for only one of us. She tests my will and I hurl her down. I would do what is needed but allow her to choose exile. She signals her followers. They leave in tens, in thousands. I will never see her again. The past is gone. There is only the future.
The scent of my pheromones becomes the new tone key of the hive. It is my colony. My entourage will anticipate and attend to my every need. My sole purpose will be to become an object of desire. There will be an evening, warm and gentle, when I will make my virgin flight into the world. The air will be dizzy with fragrance, none more erotic than my own. He will find me. He will be drawn to me out of the air. He will descend upon me in flight. When I have taken from him every cell he has to give he will fall away and I will be taken by another. He will encircle me, beating his frantic wings. He must have me or die. Yes, I will say to him, yes and yes.He has me and dies. And when he is done there is another who must have me or die and a dozen more. When I return to the colony the future is within me. I will never again return to the outside.
I will lay eggs. Filling every chamber with my legacy. My genes. My pitch. Legions of incomplete females and stingerless males. From the moment they break through the wax, all the days of their lives will be a succession of services to me. They will clean the nursery. They will tend the brood. They will construct new comb to store honey for the winter. Their wings will beat in unison and keep the colony at perfect temperature. They will search for nectar and pollen that will feed us. They will explore for miles. They will return with unerring accuracy. They will ride on currents of light and fluctuations of heat and magnetism, scent and ultra violet. They will guard against invaders. They will fight for me to the death. Tens of thousands may die that I shall live. So it must be. I am the future. I am the life. I am the heartbeat. I am the essence. I will lay two hundred thousand eggs this summer and the next and the next. Among them shall be the one who will be destined to supplant me.
If she lives.
The queen is dead. Long live the queen.
Stein, Stung by Hal Ackerman, available via Amazon
Vital nature perfumes related to this post: To Bee and Vera.
The latest collection in the ever expanding perfume lockets and cases is the Honey Bee emblem oval compact in jewel tones. Right now I have listed them with Blanc. If you want one with a specific fragrance send me a note. I'm working on loads of new perfumes including a series of soliflores which will be called "Soul Flowers." Blanc is in that category, as a soliflore (single flower) perfume of the orchid bean, vanilla.
I've also added the little golden heart box with three "posey" perfumes, stemming from the language of Flowers. If you would like one of these customized with specific messages for your lover please send me a note.
The team at Honey Love has deemed me the "HoneyLover" of the month, check it over at the Honey Love site here.
Whew, now back to making perfume for me, Greg and I have a surprise coming soon, keep your eyes peeled its a beauty! I'm so excited I can barely contain it.
