Free-Bee Honey and Turkey Abundance

This morning we woke up to a skim of snow covering the ground. In October. Before Halloween yet! Totally unheard of here (at least in my memory) in this corner of southern Maine. This rivals the year that there was snow on my mid-May birthday. But the thing is, it was beautiful. It was calm, peaceful, and beautiful doing barn chores in the early morning light. As much as it makes me a bit crazy to think of the as yet un-planted garlic, the roots still waiting to be dug, the beds needing mulch, I had to admire the beauty of it...and marvel at how long ago it felt since we had last seen snow. So much has happened, so much work done, so much abundance harvested.

I started keeping bees about 10 years ago but had taken the last few years off. Back in January I was on-line, just about to hit 'Purchase' for the $100 nuc that would get me back into the apiary when I heard my brother-in-law's voice in my head - "Really, do you eat $100 worth of honey in one year?!" NO! And what's more, I don't have the time to mess with bees along with everything else! And my neighbor keeps bees so there would be no shortage of pollinators. She had expressed interest in buying a turkey last year. Maybe she would be interested in swapping honey for turkey - everyone would be happy! I love barter! Still, as I clicked out of the website I thought, "But...you could send me a swarm!", thereby putting it out to the universe. I promptly forgot about it until the day in mid-June when a visitor pointed out the bees totally covering the outside of the the hive - my swarm had arrived, right on schedule! And they are the most  vigorous hive of bees I have ever had. AND I harvested honey for the first time in 6 years or so! About 4 gallons of honey. I feel rich with that much honey put away. It will be put to good use in herbal elixirs and concoctions.

That was the kind of summer we had - abundant. That is the only word that can describe it. Even considering the dry summer followed by wet fall, the plants grew and produced...abundantly. They were covered all summer by what seemed to be a larger-than-normal crowd of bumble bees, honey bees, pollinators. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries produced prodigious crops. Two flocks of red range chickens and 11 turkeys grew big and fat, survived the indignity of being put into a stall during Hurricane Irene, and are now safely in the freezer. A trio of egg laying mamas successfully co-raised two broods of chicks, some of whom are already beginning to lay eggs. Many of our meals are totally from this farm...either that or with contributions from nearby farms. I LOVE that!!! Abundance. We are blessed.

To Blog...or not to blog

So, I have been going back and forth about blogging. Agonizing over it, for Pete's sake. For weeks. Months. I am assured by friends at market that blogging is a necessity these days. But really, does the world need another blog? Can I carve blogging time out of days already too short? Will I commit the horrifying "over share"? But then, as often happens when I am trying to come to a decision, events conspired to point me in the direction of, yes, give it a go. So, here we are!

Trailside Farm Herbs is a small, certified organic (by MOFGA) herb farm in southern Maine. We grow health. Yep, health from plants! Some of it looks like vegetables. Some of it looks like landscape plants. Some of it looks like trees and grass and flowers. Quite a bit of it looks like weeds! Some of the health we grow here looks like clean air and open fields and hard work. Sunshine, rain, compost, manure. Dirt! As a herbalist/farmer I suppose I should say 'soil' but I really think it is the dirt that has the health benefits. Keeping our fingers in the dirt keeps us grounded, in tune with what is important, and healthy in mind and spirit not to mention body. We grow organic medicinal & culinary herb plants for sale at our spring sale. We are regulars at the Kennebunk Farmers Market with herbal health products and it has been great getting to know Kennebunk's loyal  market customers and merchants. For the winter season we get to move indoors to digs at the Saco River Winter Market. Come on down and check out this new and exciting market full of fabulous merchants, in a great rustic space with a spectacular view down the Saco. And HEAT! We have heat...the importance of heat cannot be overstated!!

As important as growing the plants, making herbal products, and being at market all are,  our main goal is sharing a love of healing plants that can be grown/wild crafted right here in Maine, along with knowledge of how to use them to enhance health and wellness for family and pets. We have an ongoing series of classes and plan on adding more. Future plans are for a more in-depth study, an apprenticeship of sorts, with an emphasis on knowing the healing plants from seed to remedy. Look for information on that in early 2012.

So, ok, I give...a blog can be useful towards that goal...I will go forth with my little Canon Power Shot and blog away!

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