Lyne has been practicing bee venom therapy on Ed's various aches and pains, namely arthritic knees and several bone spur sites in his shoulder and lower back. It really does help with reducing the pain and inflammation. As a registered nurse, it makes sense that she will pursue the art and science of Apitherapy Services as an offshoot of her love of tending bees and humanfolk.
Nucs and queen cells may be available for purchase locally in fall '08 if this amazing bee year continues. What kind of bees do we have? Well, mongrels, to be honest. We're trying to raise bees best adapted to our region's climate and threats. Our hives have never been exposed to pesticides, antibiotics, or chemicals, so hopefully we're selecting for bees with superior immunity. We have added some out of state university program queens to broaden our gene pool (these are our college educated bees : )
Ed has had a passion for brewing beer, wine and mead for over 20 years. In the works are a small commercial Meadery (honey wine) along with a Honey Vinegar plant within the next year or two. Our all-natural mead will be unlike almost all other commercially available products in that it's drier than most, and will be fermented from our own chemical-free honey. Secret tannic ingredients deepen the character of the final product. As a testament to the powers of Ed's mead, Lyne has been overheard to say it was the real reason she married him. Ed hopes that isn't the whole story.
As wonderful as honey is, pollination is the real gift of bees. Lyne dreams of having at least one beehive established per mile gridded across the land. This is the stuff of non-profits and tremendous community education and support. In the meantime, we participate with local and state bee organizations and will talk your ears off about bees whenever we get a chance.
We also have had serious discussion about offering a garden-hive placement service for homeowners wanting to reap the benefits of having honey bees within their flower and vegetable gardens, but without the commitment of time, knowledge and expense of hive management. Clients would enjoy seasonal harvests of fresh, raw, chemical-free honey plus pollination services as well as the aesthetic prestige of their own backyard "outdoor fishtank" beehive. There's possibly nothing finer than sitting in front of your own beehive while sipping on a favorite beverage after a hard day at work - true relaxation therapy and probably cheaper than drugs.
But first, we'll get the webstore up and running.
All tucked in.