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  • Local, Honey, It’s the Place to Bee

    Have you heard the buzz about bees in crisis?
    • More than a quarter of the Western bee population has been lost.

    • Some hives are seeing all the adult honeybees disappear for no overt reason, a syndrome dubbed “Colony Collapse Disorder”. The cause for CCD is unknown.

    • Keeping in mind the important role bees play in food production- in this country, one in every three bites depends on the bee– this could have dire consequences on our food supply, as well as on the already worrying cost of food.

    What can we do to Save the Bees?

    1. Buy local. Support your local beekeepers and the knowledge they provide to those researching a solution. Local honey also allegedly helps with seasonal allergies, because it contains local pollen. (We’ve just started buying it, but I’ll let you know if we see any improvements.)

    2. Plant wildflowers. Bees are particularly attracted to diversity, bright colors, sunny spots and native plants.

    3. Support bee research. Donate directly to research programs like the one at Penn State University.
      Or, a tasty option: Buy Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream or other “bee dependent” flavors. Haagen-Dazs has created Vanilla Honey Bee, and a “help the honeybees” website, in an effort to raise awareness of the bee problem. They also are donating funds to research.

    4. Don’t use pesticides. Remember pesticides don’t discriminate: they kill the good and the bad. And the effect they may have on our children makes me very nervous.

    5. Spread the word. Always, always.

    “Words are also actions, and actions are a kind of words.”
    -Ralph Waldo Emerson


    Those who live in the Northern Delaware/ Chester County area; you have got to try Walt Broughton’s Swarmbustin’ Honey. You can find it at the co-op in Newark.

    Oh man, is it sweet and delicious, especially spooned into homemade yogurt. I am trying to replace table sugar with Walt’s yummy honey whenever possible.

    Doing my part to support local beekeepers! Not too much of a burden.

    P.S. This comes from my Domino magazine:

    Beautify your yard with a free packet of wildflower seeds from Haagen-Dazs- as a bonus, the nectar will feed endangered honeybees. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:

    HAAGEN-DAZS SAVE THE HONEY BEES PROGRAM/ DOMINO
    50 FRANCISCO STREET, SUITE 400
    SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133

    I imagine this falls under the heading “Limited Time Offer- While Supplies Last”.

  • Thursday Emerson is Not Pretty

    When nature has work to be done,
    she creates a genius to do it.
    -Ralph Waldo Emerson

    I am fascinated and repelled by turkey vultures. We have lots of them, as there is plenty here for them to eat; the deer population in our area is explosive and the speed limit, apparently, optional.

    When we first moved into our house, a turkey vulture parked himself right on the roof of our front porch, and I actually phoned my brother, who was inside, to let the dog out and chase it away. I had never been that close to a bird that big before, and they are really big– wingspans of six feet!

    While I did not really think it was going to snatch my baby up and carry it away, I was worried it might snatch my baby up and carry it away. Or at least seriously freak her out.

    (I feel the need to comment, as I always do, that the hunched-over demeanor of the turkey vulture is captured exactly in Bugs Bunny cartoons. But exactly.)

    In my effort to come to terms with my creepy avian neighbors, I thought I would share some turkey vulture facts.

    • A group of vultures is called a “Venue”. Vultures circling in the air are a “Kettle”.
    • The turkey vulture has a bald head because it is forever sticking its head into carcasses, and a lack of feathers makes for easier cleanup. The sun bakes off any residual yuck.
    • They are one of very few bird species with a sense of smell.
    • The turkey vulture is not aggressive and will not stalk or eat live things, nor swoop down and carry them away to their nest.
    • They nest on the ground, not high in trees, no matter what you learned from Bugs Bunny.
    • Their takeoffs are not quick or graceful, and that is why you often see, ironically, roadkilled turkey vultures.
    • Their primary mode of defense is vomiting. I would guess this to be very effective.
    • Due to the nature of their diet, vulture poop is a sanitizer. The acids within are so strong they kill off bacteria.
    • It is illegal to keep a vulture as a pet. (Good to know.)

    So, there you have it. The genius of nature. Nature’s trashmen, taking care of us, ensuring we can keep our windows open, for there is nothing like the ungodly stench of a week-old deer carcass in the heat of summer. Gross gentle giants who will not make off with your children.

    I apologize that today’s inspiration was not pretty.

    Would we love the turkey vulture more if he had the stunning plumage of, say, the peacock? It’s an interesting point to ponder…

    Vulture facts come courtesy of The Turkey Vulture Society.
    Vulture photos taken outside a chinese take-out at the beach.

  • One Local Salad

    One Local Summer kicked off June 1st and I skipped off to the Farmer’s Market for some local goodies. The challenge, remember: Eat one meal weekly comprised entirely of local ingredients, exceptions being oil, salt & pepper, and spices.

    I bought spinach and lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, and a half dozen eggs. All local, all organic.

    I did not take into account the salad dressing. I hemmed and hawed for a bit, ultimately decided to man up and go without. I added a drizzle of olive oil, a touch of salt and dug in.

    Wow! Local tomatoes are really good! I wish I had bought more. Sometimes I like to snack on just a slice of tomato with a bit of salt and pepper.

    So, week one, meal one: DONE. Simple, perhaps, but satisfying and delicious nonetheless. I will become more adventurous once wedding season is behind me and I have a bit more free time. I had also glossed over the fact that I am allowed to use spices, so that opens up a lot of new possibilities.

    I still have lots of salad ingredients, so I will be eating mostly local lunches for a few more days. But with dressing. I will have to figure out how to make a salad dressing with local ingredients; I am an addict.