Try to be informed

-Posted by Isaac

I realize, it’s hard sometimes.

Sometimes opinions get in the way of information, don’t they? So do politics. And ideologies.

Case in point: climate change. It’s happening, it’s going to get worse, and it’s caused by us. Those are the facts. 100% Settled science. We know this, but it’s still a debate isn’t it? Still a fight— an impossible inertia to actually act on anything. Opinions and alternative theories abound. Flying rampant. But the facts don’t seem to care about our opinions, our politics.

Still we remain devoted to our tribe. Especially on Facebook.

A friend of mine put this photo on Facebook yesterday. Yet another flood where there’s never been a flood. I notice we use the word ‘unprecedented’ a lot these days.

I have a bee yard about a quarter mile from that cemetery, so today we went to check out the damages.

Thankfully the bees are still in California. And as it turns out, the water got high enough to move the hive stands, but not high enough to float my supers away.

I’m angry at myself. Why not move that yard? I know the weather is crazier every year, yet I know I won’t do anything. Stubbornness? Wilful ignorance? I tell myself… what are the chances it could happen… again?

It’s too hard to take action. Even being informed. It’s too hard.

Hmmm… could this apply to our pandemic predicament? I think it does.

So here we are, 2020, on societal quarantine, distancing ourselves, disinfecting everything, hoarding food, TP, ammo, whatever, like it’s the end times.

Aside from me being angry, what’s going on in Honeyrun world? Well, we try to find ways of coping with this brave new world.

As it turns out, we’re doing pretty much the same thing we did in the good old days.

Life before the pandemic. Finding arrowheads.

Hiking the hills.

Birding and bird nesting.

Taking baths.

Finding ways…

…to deal with it…

…and maybe, just maybe, we’ll get lucky this time.

Worthington Farmer's Market "Drive Through"

-Posted by Jayne

We interrupt your social distancing to bring our regular farm market customers an option to purchase items from us in Worthington this Saturday. The Worthington market manager came up with a great idea - customers can email us to place orders and pay us online- we drop orders off at a central location- and customers drive up and have items loaded into their vehicle at a specific time frame. Here are the logistics, if you are interested:

1. Look over our product offerings available online at www.honeyrunfarm.com. 

2. Email us at info@honeyrunfarm.com and let us know what you'd like to order. (please do not order online for this "drive through market").

3. I will send you an invoice to prepay by Friday night.

4. Pick up your items in Worthington at the Worthington Community Center, 345 East Wilson Bridge Road on Saturday, March 21 between 10:00 am — Noon. Your items will be safely loaded into your vehicle by volunteers, and you will not need to leave your car.

If you have any questions please feel free to email us. We are practicing social distancing the best we can- only going out to deliver honey to the back door of grocery stores. In times like these it is great to produce a product with such a long shelf life (eternity). 🍯

Hopefully if this method works well on Saturday we can continue to offer this service until it is safe to resume markets again.

Contingency plan

-Posted by Isaac

Evening, Friday the 13th. Almost through, and totally unscathed.

Good thing nothing bad has happened.

I posted that 15 minute clip just the other day. My one good deed on Facebook. In some ways it really woke me up. If you’re like me, and hang on our President’s every word, you probably thought this thing was a big hoax. A liberal-media conspiracy.

I thought it would blow over in a few days, and we could all get back to denying climate change.

But it appears we’re in it for the long haul.

This thing. What is this? Schools, markets, races, March Madness, concerts… all shut down. Wow. The world has changed. Just a week ago I was yammering about our rapidly changing society. And if you’re reading this, you obviously didn’t heed my advice and go find yourself an island. Shame on you.

But it’s ok, I didn’t either. I guess I sort of feel obligated to go down with the ship. It was bad advice anyway. But, but, but, I’m not an expert. Joe Rogan and Sam Harris are great because they have long-form conversations with experts. One is 15 minutes, the other an hour. If you really want to understand this thing, give them a listen.

What, did you have something better to do?

Oh, maybe you did… home schooling?

The Governor says it will be three weeks. But I’m not so sure, having listened to those podcasts. I think maybe school is over for the year. Tonight at dinner we made a list, and tried to map out the next few weeks. How do you deal with a global pandemic in little Pickaway County?

I’ve practiced social distancing all my life. I guess it’s time we teach the next generation.

We now have a contingency plan.

News from the isle of Saint Honey Bee

-Posted by Isaac

Hello World! Give me some good news!

What do you tell the next generation?

Yesterday we tried to figure that out.

We were three hours. Guest speakers at a class funded through the vocational school, designed to get kids thinking about their futures. And I thought we did a pretty good job.

Well, here… I’ll let Jayne explain. This is what she posted:

Of course the day’s topics centered around our business, but there was plenty of general advice peppered throughout all the bee talk: —Stay interested in the world, keep an open mind. —Be flexible, be malleable, quick to adjust. —Be nice, be humble, be willing to work with people. —Work lots of jobs. —Travel a lot. —Make mistakes. —Build up a nest egg while you take small risks. —Educate yourself continually. —College isn’t required, but it sure doesn’t hurt. —Same for trade schools, military, apprenticeships, or business school. —Laugh at yourself… It’s only your future.

…and so on. It was sort of fun. Kinda made me reminisce the teaching days. But in some ways it made me a little nervous, looking at all those clueless 14-year-olds, thinking about their lives to come. I tried to put myself in their shoes… and I couldn’t do it. I have no idea what’s in store for this generation. It’s scary. The world is moving faster than it was when I was 14. Back then, the teachers and parents had a better grasp on what was coming.

The tech, the climate, the politics… makes my head spin. What’s in store 10 years from now? 20, 30, 40 years? Just look at this week alone: Tornados in Nashville, ongoing spread of the coronavirus (prompting clownish tweets from the President), Super Tuesday and the rise of Biden (more tweets, childish), Bloomberg dropping out, Warren dropping out (more ridiculous tweets), the stock market plummeting, recovering, crashing again (like clockwork, the ensuing tweets… blame it on the Dems!)

This is one week! In just one country. Does it feel like we’re flying off the rails? What do we really tell our kids? Work hard? Study hard? Nose to the grindstone?? You tell me… because I’m at a loss.

Jayne kept it positive the entire time. And on the surface I guess I did too. I couldn’t show those poor kids my true apprehensions. I couldn’t give them real advice. Solid advice. But I did take some mental notes, collecting my hidden thoughts. And I’ll share some with you—

1. Find an island (preferably tropical and uninhabited) (Throw your phone in the ocean.)

2. Bring a gun, bring a fishing pole.

3. Shoot anyone within range.

Simple, solid advice for our aspiring next generation. Just the basics. And if you want to get fancy, I’d recommend a healthy stockpile of honey, freshwater, drugs, maybe some music… something classy and cultural to fit your new surroundings … Jimmy Buffet? Or better yet, something to remind you of the basket-case world you left behind… maybe some Chili Peppers, or Green Day, or Lit. Goodbye modern world, and good riddance.

Good luck kids!

By the time we left the school I was daydreaming about Napoleon Bonaparte. Remember how they stuck him on that island? —The Isle of St. Helena— exiled to the death. Was it really that bad? Don’t you think maybe he sort of enjoyed it? Felt like he’d probably done enough for his generation and deserved a break? I can’t speak for him, but I know how I’d feel. Anyway, he got an awesome song out of it.

Oh boy, sorry. I have a tendency to get worked up. (‘What’s to come, you know not… Your race, it could end, on the Isle of St. Helena.’)

It’s only our future.

Let me fill you in on this week. What’s happening on the Isle of Honeyrun?

Well, the work on the shop continues.

One more week, we should be about done.

Which is good, because it’s time to get serious about the bees.

I did some feeding this week. About half looked like the above hive. Big, strong, needing some feed to make it through. The other half were still snuggled tight, working their way up.

And the biggest news on our island…

Two birthdays! Eden turned six, Mason turned 12.

Our youngest and oldest. The next generation— heirs of our best qualities, donors of our worst. Thankfully with these two, there’s a lot more good than bad. We had small evening parties this week, and tomorrow is a big family party.

Where we’ll get to show everyone our eight new family members…

The weather is looking awesome. Hope you can make it out, enjoy the warmth, feel the sun.

Maybe sail on out our direction to build up your honey stockpile.

We won’t shoot you.

Do bees go to Heaven?

-Posted by Isaac

Sure they do. At least the good bees make it to Heaven.

In fact, you can send them there if you take a notion.

I came across this wonderful little clip showing some bee adventures in the California almonds.

Somehow they managed to connect several versions of Heaven— hobo, honey bee, beekeeper, and listening pleasure heaven— all in just a few minutes. Very artistic. Enjoy!

I watched that over and over. It took me back to 2006. And I can’t help but wish I was out there right now. The world is on fire with flowers, the bees have found their big rock candy mountain.

But for now, we bide our time in Ohio… Purgatory?

We’ve got to get these girls through another month!

Last Sunday we took advantage of the sun and went hiking.

A fun few hours, complete with our WMDs. (Not the guns, the kids.)

Over the river and through the woods.

Jumping fences, crossing properties.

Don’t worry, nobody got prostituded.

Normally I wouldn’t tempt fate with a bunch of kids making such a loud racket, but I was on a mission— to spy on Jim’s bees. There’s this place a few miles south of Williamsport we call the Round Rocks.

And sitting up on a bluff overlooking the river, faraway in a quiet field, are Jim’s bees.

It’s about the prettiest spot you can imagine when things are alive and blooming. Bee Heaven. Beekeeper Heaven too.

But it’s a tough road in early March. We have a little while yet. Hopefully in just a few weeks we’ll be licking our winter wounds and breaking out the smokers. Right now, for bees and beekeepers alike, it’s easy to feel a bit demoralized. No birds, bees or cigarette trees. (By the way Jim, you’e only two for five in that yard.)

40% alive. It’s rough. I’ll buy the next round.

“the pain, the heartache, the desperate attempts to stay in business”…

But you know, beekeeping is still awesome. Heaven comes to us, you just have to wait a little. Like he said in the video, Why would anybody choose to live any other way?

Hang on girls! Spring is coming!