I’ve spent hours with my bees these past weeks, watching them build comb, bring in pollen and nectar. I sit right at their front doors as they zoom in and out. They’re completely calm when I’m around. About a half hour ago while I was standing off to the side watching, one little bee lifted up from the entrance, landed on my bandaged hand an inch and a half below where the stitches are and calmly stung me. Earlier this morning I told the bees if I needed a sting to help my hand heal better, that was okay with me. Seems it was. I left the stinger in the full 30 seconds so all the venom gets in and stimulates my immune system. Love these little girls.

As a bee gardener, I let all my vegetables go to flower. If more people knew how beautiful vegetables are as flowers, they wouldn’t pull them out so soon. This white bush is ONE radish plant that’s become a 4′ x 4′ bush covered with white flowers. Lettuce gets 6′ tall with gorgeous blue flowers. My winter kales just finished blooming last week, most of them 5′ tall with bright yellow flowers the bees find irresistible.

Yet another reason I love our farm: Newborn calf hooves. The calf is only 30 minutes old. His hooves feel like warm candle wax, not hard yet and very pliable. They firm up pretty quickly once they’re in the air but these were still soft. I always like to touch them once the calf is on the ground.

I led Miss Amelia outside the pasture to the five foot tall compost pile that is overgrown with climbing cleavers on six foot tall radishes and mustard. She buried her head in it and made herself a garland to wear on her horns. It takes so little effort to bring joy to a cow. Click the link below to see her highness in cow happiness.

Cow Garland, such joy