Attic Bee Podcast

The owners of Vintage Family Farms joined me to talk about their flower farm operation and the importance of allowing pollinators to thrive. Their approach to farming, agritourism, and "flowertainment" is intriguing AND admirable!

To learn more about Monica's work and the learning opportunities available, visit the Mission Beelieve website.
You may also want to check out the other organizations Monica mentioned: 
Hives For Heroes
Heroes to Hives at Michigan State University Extension
Eastern Apicultural Society

As an instructor for beginning beekeepers and the manager of the Montgomery County Beekeepers Association teaching apiary, Maureen has knowledge and experience that will benefit anyone contemplating beekeeping, as well as those who have already gotten started.
Our conversation covers aspects of managing a teaching apiary, the wonderful diversity of the beekeeping community, and a little bit about native bees. She mentions a couple of organizations that MCBA has supported, including Mission Beelieve and the work of Sam Droege from USGS, both of which are worth learning more about.

Honey's Harvest Farm hosts a variety of workshops and retreats that nourish both body and spirit. Additionally, Anna and her team offer a wonderful variety of healthy, delicious, and beneficial products. Visit their website to learn more and to sign up for one of their upcoming programs.
I'm especially excited about the apitherapy workshop on February 8 and the functional energetic healing workshop on February 23! Maybe I'll see you there.

For more information on some of the topics Kim and I cover in this episode, click on the links below:
Clean Bee Soapworks
Books by Dr. Tom Seeley
Nancy Grace Roman Telescope 
Beekeeping Year 2 and Beyond: Class starts January 13, 2025. Email Kim at kimnmike89@verizon.net
EAS Master Beekeeper Program
Cornell Beekeeping Program
University of Montana Beekeeping Program
University of Florida Beekeeping Program
BUMBA: Bowie Upper Marlboro Beekeepers Association
Anne Arundel Beekeepers Association
DC Beekeepers Alliance
James Webb Space Telescope (“JWST”)
Snelgrove Boards
MSBA (Maryland State Beekeepers Association)
 

In this brief episode, I share a few thoughts on Robin Wall Kimmerer's book, Braiding Sweetgrass, which I recently read and absolutely LOVED. As a professor of ecology and a woman with Native American heritage, Dr. Kimmerer shares her thoughts and research on many aspects of the natural world through those significant lenses.
One of the indigenous practices she shares in the book is the recitation of a Thanksgiving Address. This recitation isn't related to our American holiday, per se. Rather, it's a reminder of how connected we are to the natural world and how much we have to be thankful for it every single day. Hopefully, it also inspires us to take better care of all our natural wonders, including each other.
For this recording, I read a translation from the Mohawk version of this address, which I found on the National Museum of the American Indian website. I hope you enjoy it and take time to venture outdoors, reciting your own thanksgiving address.

I hope you enjoy my interview with Dr. Tammy Horn Potter! Using the links, you can learn more about the Beginner Beekeeping Program at Kentucky State University as well as their Small Farm Development Program.
Tammy's books include the following:
Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation
Beeconomy: What Women and Bees Can Teach Us about Local Trade and the Global Market
Flower Power: Establishing Pollinator Habitat
Work I Knew I Must
Whenever possible, please support independent book stores; they need our business!
And, as a correction to something Tammy said about the percentage of farmers in the U.S. who are women, she sent me the census data that shows women make up 36% of the nation's farmers. I'm sorry that neither that document nor the photo of the autoclave are able to be attached here; they're both remarkable! 
 

Death is an unfortunate part of our life experience. At times, it can completely derail us. And when it does, we need to step back before stepping forward again.
The Attic Bee Podcast is back with a few tweaks to our programming. While we're going to continue interviewing amazing women in beekeeping, we're also going to introduce the healing power of nature, which is always available when we need it, through guided nature therapy practices.
Thank you for your patience while I've been "away." I hope you enjoy reconnecting with me and my guests in the upcoming episodes.
 

Lisa Grezzi has taken a very intentional and intellectual approach to beekeeping. She's now an EAS Certified Master Beekeeper and currently serves on the board of the American Beekeeping Federation ("ABF"). She is also the Maryland State Delegate for ABF, represents Talbot County in the Maryland Beekeepers Association, and is an all-around lovely person with a lot of knowledge to share.
Lisa's sensible approach to beekeeping includes the advice to learn all you can from books, classes, and hands-on experience with a beekeeping mentor before investing in your own hives. As a Master Gardener, she's also keenly aware of the need to create and nurture pollinator plants as a way to support both honeybees and native bees, among other pollinators who depend on healthy forage.
A few of the resources that are mentioned in this episode are books by Dr. Dewey Caron, the Eastern Apicultural Society annual conference, books by Diana Sammataro, Wye River Beekeepers club, American Beekeeping Federation, Maryland State Beekeepers Association, American Bee Journal, and Bee Culture magazine.

Thanks for tuning into this episode of the Attic Bee Podcast!
Imagine having a honey bee "Venus fly-trapped" in your eyelashes, or stepping on a large nail while carrying a hive box (that you thought was empty!) full of agitated bees. Lauren Pascarella of BayBees Honey shares these tales and more!
During my interview with Lauren, we cover a lot of ground, including her ongoing challenges with Metabolic Myopathy, the meditative qualities of beekeeping - even for people with ADHD, the importance of joining a bee club and finding a mentor, record keeping for your business, and creating safe habitats for native pollinators.
The following resources were mentioned in this episode...
Books by Tammy Horn:
Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation 
Beeconomy: What Women and Bees Can Teach Us about Local Trade and the Global Market
Organizations and events to explore, support, or donate to:
UMES Small Farm Conference
UMD Extension's Women in Agriculture
Lower Eastern Shore Beekeeping Association
Xerces Society