The Road to Rejuvenation

The honey house goes to Washington County, Maine May 1999

---

Todd, the bee keeper, brought his bees to the blueberry barrens of Cherryfield, Maine. When the bees pollinate the blueberry flowers, the fruit crop is increased around 300% compared to relying on just the wild bees and other insects for pollination.

When this land is cleared, the blueberry crop comes up the next year. The wild, low growing blueberries do not need to be planted here; they have always been in the soil. The brown bears must celebrate the arrival of the bees. Electric fences around each group of beehives and constant patrols throughout the night minimize the number of hives they tear apart looking for the next meal. The blueberries will grow throughout the summer and be harvested in August.

 
The bees on the blueberries barrens in Maine

Research has shown that the antioxidants in blueberries may slow the aging process, reverse memory loss, and improve vision.

The honey house to Waldo County, Maine  February 2004

The fertile, rich fields of Maine have supported these blueberry plants for thousands of years. Every year a dense carpet of low bush blueberries inhabit and flourish on the land. Planted or propagated by the natives long ago or perhaps Nature's own garden, they inspire awe at their abundance.

The family who work hard and harvest the fields hold much thankfulness in their hearts. The connection has inspired a deeper commitment in them to steward the land and to give back to the plants. The land had been chemically fertilized before they moved in and they decided on less intrusive methods. Simple. Their methods of harvest have not changed since the plants were the food of their ancestors. A little hand rake with a basket. No tractors. No plows. No Chemicals. The blueberry plants fertilize themselves from their own berries, leaves, returning to the soil from the guano of visiting birds.

Every year during the flurry of harvest they hire young folk from the community to do the hand work. This could be the most important aspect of the farm. Community participation – exposing the kids (12 years & older) to the purity and connection to the Earth. Being close to the plants, the smells, the tactile sensations, the peace that comes with it.

The little storehouses are not only a rich food source but have many medicinal qualities under study today. They exhibit antioxidant activity, cardiovascular protection, anti-diabetic, vision improvement (night vision), inhibition of cancer forming conditions, ant-microbial & wound healing (using leaves & fruit), relieving diarrhea (leaves), urinary tract infection, gastric protection, brain protection. (Bilberries & blueberries as functional food & Nutraceuticals M.E. Camire, University of Maine.)

Theresa Gaffney in front of her organic blueberry fields
With some of the 2003 crop, on a snowy day February 2004

Todd and his daughter Abigail came to Theresa’s organic blueberry farm in Stockton Springs, Maine to get 700 lbs. of frozen berries from her freezer on the farm and bring them back to Vermont on a cold day in deep winter. This begins a bountiful partnership connecting and synergizing these two natural wonders, blueberries and honey, the plants and the bees. All spring from the soil and inn reverence and awe for these gifts we give thanks.

   Rejuvenation Tonic

---

After months of working together with a team from the honey house, Cornell University, Geneva, NY, the University of Vermont, the Vermont Food Venture Center, and the University of Maine, we have made Rejuvenation Tonic. With organic wild blueberries from Theresa and Tom Gaffney’s organic blueberry farm in Stockton Springs, Maine, this tonic will nutrify and support our bodies well being via the vitamin and mineral content and enzymes of its ingredients. Rejuvenation Tonic will help the body adapt to stress and promote an overall sense of well-being.

This formulation also includes our bees’ Apitherapy raw honey and tonifying herb Eleuthrococcus; this used to be called Siberian ginseng and is considered an adaptogen, helping the body adapt to stressful situations.

This tonic also contains burdock root, which stimulates the natural flow of lymphatic fluid, thus supporting the excretion of toxic products from the body. The nettles, rich in iron, Vitamin C, Calcium Magnesium Zinc support the blood and immune system and urinary tract. The milk thistle seed supports liver protection and exhibits antioxidant activity. The fresh bee pollen is rich in B vitamins, bioflavanoids, and protein. It is energizing. The kelp is high in natural iodine, trace minerals which support thyroid function and lends a touch of ocean energy.

This tonic will nutrify, aid in protecting the body from stress via the antioxidant activity of blueberries, support digestion (raw honey), and strengthen the blood (nettles), supply trace minerals, vitamins and energy.

We have sold all of our 2003 Apitherapy raw honey, and will begin shipping again with the new crop of mid-July. After a few pallets of 5 lb. and 2 lb. cases are filled, we will only be filling one lb. jars. We are directing our bees’ special honey to our line of plant medicine and the 1 lb. jars, both of which are most supportive our sustainability in agriculture.

---

January 2004

Elderberry for colds, flu, building the immunity system     

Elderberry is older than our country.

It has long been used traditionally when a cold or flu comes as it helps to build up the immunity system in our bodies. This may assist in reducing the symptoms and hastening recovery. Elderberry may help to fight some viruses that chemical medicals do not work on, and this is so important with colds and flu going around this winter and with the flu vaccine in short supply.  

It is also beneficial to rest more, drink a lot of fluids, and use sliced raw garlic in soups and sandwiches.  

Elderberry bushes were planted outside of the Vermont farm kitchen so that the berries could be easily gathered and used by family members when they got a cold or flu. Elderberry remains an important part of a home medicine cabinet. It works in synergy with our Apitherapy raw honey and continues a long tradition of plant medicine in our country.

Chris in his organic elderberry orchard, source of the berries	Elderberries ready to harvested, second week of September each season

---

December 2003   
Invasive Species
 by

Tim McFarline               

Invasive Species! This phrase may bring to mind hordes of magenta spiked Loosestrife marauding their way through our northeastern wetlands; or perhaps it’s the choking assault of the Kudzu in the south. Our landscape is thoroughly inundated with non-native species and growing by the year. Honey bees were brought to the Americas in the 1400's, making them an invasive species. Do you think people are being invasive anywhere in the world now?

              What is truly native? Is it defined by geography or chronology, or both?  How long does a species have to be somewhere to attain native status? To me these debates are a waste of energy. We are all of the same world and we cannot halt the blending and mixing of it.  So what can we do when the land as we know it is being overgrown?  Rather than react and try to cut it out, poison it, or introduce another species to control, I feel that we should learn its history what it has to offer and establish a place for it in our lives. A perfect example is dandelion.  Dandelion is cleansing to the liver and kidneys, the greens are nutrient dense, its value to our bodies cannot be elucidated here. So we harvest the plentiful, encourage the rare. Find out what the plants’ medicine or food value is, its utilitarian uses, what animals eat it, what insects live on it, how it smells, its beauty.


Tim in the Degree bee yard,
taking off honey that
the bears left July 31, 2003

             Honey bees, however, are not targeted or maligned because of their non-native status. Through thousands of years of study we have discovered and continue to discover the healing qualities of hive products. Everything the bees make is good for us. We have been inspired to investigate further, driven by a passion and curiosity to know more. Why not apply this same zeal to learning about plants and animals, native or otherwise? I assume that every creature, plant or animal has many healing qualities, if not to us, then to the living earth itself.

             I would ask for a moment that you suspend the negative thoughts that are associated with an invasive species. Purple Loosestrife,  I learned from my Peterson guide, is useful as a gargle for sore throats, cleansing wounds, and good on stings; we use it in our Throat Spray and Wound Wash).Through further research we learned a local herbalist had treated Irritated Bowel Syndrome and Chrone’s disease with it. Is it coincidence that the plants’ spurious growth comes at a time when these maladies are rampant in our society?  There is much more to investigate. Purple Loosestrife also absorbs Nitrogen and Phosphorus from surface water. Purple Loosestrife is our number one honey plant in dry years, giving life to a wide range of pollinating sections. The bees work it as it has many blossoms per spike and flowers for weeks. As for Kudzu, the entire plant has many and varied medicinal uses. The Chinese have a rich history with this plant as it is native to Asia. There is a wealth of potential for this plant. One of my favorite little plants is Plantago major. This little invader is in our propolis salve; it cleans wounds, stimulates healing, draws infection, the leaves are rich in vitamin, the seeds are nutritious, keeping bugs away due to its B vitamin content, and it flourishes in disturbed places where little else except other healing herbs grow. 

             Poison Ivy. What images does this name conjure in you? Itchy, blistery, to be avoided. Poison ivy grows in disturbed areas. Other vegetation soon begins growing amongst the ivy, animal trails weave their way through the now lush area, because people have stayed out, allowing the earth to heal itself.  The poison ivy is the guardian of this healing. Poison Ivy is native as far as I know, and I only mention it here as an example of seeing beyond ourselves.

             The Earth as a living matrix seeks its own vitality, repair, reproduction, and we (all life) are connected on levels beyond just the visually evident.  If we look beyond the confines of our own constructs and the purely material, if we quiet our minds then we may see and feel without prejudice the essential value and beauty of all creatures.  Indeed these “invasive” species are healing us and the land. If we stop reacting defensively, challenge our mental comfort zones and relinquish our prejudices there is no end to what we can learn, understand and ultimately live in harmony. 

---

Some things you can do to help the bees help us.

1)        Stop using synthetic fertilizer, synthetic insecticides and herbicides on your lawn

Most lawns have many flowers that give nectar and pollen to honey bees and other pollinating insects. These give life to the bees at a time when their natural sources of nourishment are being diminished. Seeing the natural expression of a lawn is a beautiful thing, and not cutting it will save time and reduce pollution from not using the lawnmower.

2)        Buy honey, beeswax and other bee products from local beekeepers

Much of the honey in stores over the years is dead, contaminated honey from China and other parts of the world. Safety is in question. By using local honey, you are supporting quality and the pollination of your food and flowers at home, as well as the local agricultural economy.

3)         Think about it all after you get stung by a “bee”

Most of the time people get stung, they blame it on a honey bee, while it is actually one of their “aggressive cousins”, the wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets. But with whatever stings you, this small creature is protecting itself from you, the big aggressor. The value of bee venom therapy is also increasingly recognized as being very medicinal with its role in being an overall health tonic, for treatment of some cases of multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and now Lyme disease.

4)         Plant trees and flowers that will feed the bees

As you plant locust, willows, red maples,  basswood trees and grow flowers that attract the bees like borage and bee balm, the honey bees in your neighborhood will have more to eat and be strengthened. Insects pollinate almost 40% of our food supply, with much of this being done by honey bees, and as the value of pollination is many more times more important than the honey we get from these, you can help by establishing sources of for the bees.

Thank you for your interest in and support of the honey bees and plants.

Todd, Abigail, the crew, and me/John