I heard a fly buzz when I died;
The stillness round my form
Was like the stillness in the air
Between the heaves of storm.
In high school, when first introduced to Emily Dickenson, I remember thinking how sad that the end-sum of an entire life, no matter how graceful or fulfilled, was a solitary, annoying fly.
But teenagers, like Emily, are prone to bouts of melancholia (and these profound depths of angst and sorrow are important to explore before the full brunt of life’s responsibilities really hit you)
As much as young adulthood is about finding direction, the 30’s are about finding purpose.
I know. I know.
Oprah and Eckhart having been trying to explain this idea for years, but I was always WORKING at 4 o’clock in the afternoon and never had the chance to watch those particular episodes.
This is why it took me to the age of 38 and a truckload of new arrivals at Beekman Farm to truly understand a purpose-driven life.
In the spring of this year, 42 honeybee hives were delivered to the farm, and within minutes of being settled at the foot of Slate Hill, their inhabitants could be seen exploring the clover blossoms scattered throughout the pasture.
Bees are single-minded. They venture out to find flowers as far away as 8 miles, gather their nectar and pollen and then beeline it home. The life span of the worker bee is short—from birth to death in about 6 weeks, so there’s not much time to gather ye rose buds. However, the brevity of their natural existence does not deter them from their responsibilities.
The bee population at Beekman 1802 peaks in mid-July when a queen can lay thousands of eggs a day--which is how a colony of a few hundred can swell to over 10,000 in a couple of weeks.
Honey is the distilled nectar of flowers. To make a pound of it, the 50,000 bees in a typical hive will travel over 55,000 miles and visit more than 2 million flowers (as many as a hundred flowers a day), and with each visit, they are spreading bits of pollen carried on their bodies, legs and wings, inadvertently contributing to the future.
Honeybees are attracted by the fragrance of the nectar that the blossoms emit. The nectar lies deep at the base of the petals. Each trip out for foraging, she (yes, the women do all the work) returns with nectar and by ingesting and regurgitating the nectar multiple times uses her digestive enzymes to break down the complex sugars into simple sugars. The sugars are then placed in the cells of the honeycomb where other worker bees (in the purest example of teamwork) fan their wings until the excess water has evaporated and honey is the result. The average honeybee will produce about 1/12 of a teaspoon of this amber elixir in its lifetime.
The best time to view the hives is at the hottest point of a sunny day. The bees are so focused on the tasks at hand that they cannot be bothered by my voyeurism.
It’s amazing to watch their determination and their efficiency, and it makes me think how wonderful it would be to live in a community in which everyone is working together with purpose. To have an endless supply of delicious food that you created yourself. And to be able to sit in something as all together beautiful as the base of a flower petal.
Wait a second.
I already have all of those things.
One clover, and a bee
And Revery.
The Revery alone will do
If bees are few
But Emily was wrong.
What a fitting final thought: a bee buzzing by on the way to her next blossom.
Purpose, promise and perpetuity.
R.I.B.
Rest in Bees
Have you considered putting all yours and Josh’s blog posts in a book? What a hit that book would be!!
Brent/Josh:
Loved meeting you at the Country Living Fair in Atlanta, I too have considered adding bees to our green farm in Elora, Tn. Tommie and I are really missing seeing you guys each week on TV. You have inspired us in so many ways, it is also nice to meet kindred spirits. Please keep up the great work…..Marta
Just saw a movie that you guys have to see! It is right up your alley. It is about bees and colony collapse. Very moving, inspiring, and fascinating all at the same time. It is called “Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?” In 1923, Rudolf Steiner, a scientist, philosopher & social innovator, predicted that in 80 to 100 years honeybees would collapse. His prediction has come true with Colony Collapse Disorder, where bees are disappearing in mass numbers from their hives with no clear single explanation. In an alarming inquiry into the insights behind Steiner’s prediction QUEEN OF THE SUN: What Are the Bees Telling Us? examines the dire global bee crisis through the eyes of biodynamic beekeepers, scientists, farmers, and philosophers. On a pilgrimage around the world, the film unveils 10,000 years of beekeeping, highlighting how our historic and sacred relationship with bees has been lost due to highly mechanized industrial practices. Featuring Michael Pollan, Vandana Shiva, Gunther Hauk and beekeepers from around the world, this engaging, alarming and ultimately uplifting film weaves together a dramatic story that uncovers the problems and solutions in renewing a culture in balance with nature. http://www.queenofthesun.com/ Let me know what you guys think!
FANTASTIC!!!!!!! After reading this, I am going to look into Beekeeping!! It is something I have been looking at for years & you have inspired me!!!! You guys ALWAYS do!!! I have the new Cookbook & it is really great!!!!
Hi!
I was able to leave comments on your facebook page but now I can’t leave messages. Can you look into this? I can’t leave thumbs up or comments….I have been able to do this in the past so I’m not sure if I was blocked or deleted…. Has this happened to anyone else?
What a wonderful post! I really miss you on TV! Is there any word on when your new season will start?
I just got a email that you will be in Austin, Texas this weekend. I live in Lancaster, Texas, just south of Dallas, but cannot come to Austin this weekend. I would love to meet you both and tell you how much you have brought to my life. I have laughed, cried, and just felt really warm inside from you both.
All my best wishes for you!
Oh, to envy a Bee. Such thoughts fill my head as I start each day anew. I have lived almost forty years and I wake each morning to find that our lives can be as short as that of our friends the Bee. Enjoy each moment.
Great post – I hope nothing but the best for you, Josh and Beekman!
Got the cookbook yesterday! Great job, guys. We will feature it at Cookbook Of The Day real soon.
We’re looking forward to hearing more about your beekeeping efforts. We’re busy planting a couple of acres of white clover for the six hives we work for ourselves, family & friends. Can’t wait to see & hear about your progress.
Lovely thoughts. I love bees, even when they’re flying around my picnic. Urban beekeeping shall be my next hobby.
What a nice thing to say, Helen. Thank you
RIB – perfect. So many people go through life chasing the wrong things when sustenance comes from things within their grasp – purpose and productivity and taking time to appreciate the good stuff around them. Just found your blog and counting it now as one of the things to appreciate.
Dr. Brent,
Hello. Thank you for this beautiful post. It made my day, really. Remember, when I by chance found a large volume of Emily Dickenson poems my first semester at Occidental. When I started reading it, I really thought her words her beautiful but with a welcoming style. Later, I was able to teach some of her poems to my students. It is American Literature at its finest. She is a gem.
I really admire you for your love of nature and your honesty.
Hi, Ryan
Thanks so much for your support. Please keep trying. Hopefully they are being swamped
Hey B. Boys im trying to purchase a few of the Landreth Seed catalogs but im having trouble! It says database cannot connect? is there another link or another way?
As I read your blog about the bees I found my eyes began to sting with tears. I have read a lot about bees these past few years. I am familiar now with everything they endure to produce honey. What I had not realized was this; honey is the food to sustain the colony during the winter months when there are no flowers and no nectar. Each bee works so hard to contribute her tiny portion. But with a 6 week lifespan, nearly all the bees that made the honey will never, ever taste the honey. That nourishment and experience will be there for bees that are not yet part of the hive and who have not helped make it. This is what we’ve lost track of as humans. That deep-in-the-soul feeling of sacrafice and contribution for generations yet to come, for the good of our colony. I feel sad for the bees who never get to taste the honey they made and I am humbled by the evolved and beautiful way they live. There is so much that nature can teach us and so little time to learn.
Love your writing, I’ve had bees before ( last years died) there is a wonderful solitude when you work the bee’s . No one bothers you, no visitors, no cell phones, just a very natural hummmm…
I also avoided excessive (sting swelling) by getting stung every day for 2 weeks.People with breathing difficulty after stings should NOT try this.Our very survival depends on the bees ,they need our HELP and respect. lynda