Warm Winter Weather Hive Inspections

Bright pollen stored in old brood comb.

"It took my breath away, too, 

how we could take up so little space and yet contain it all, 

the vast demands, the amplitude of love."

- Marisa de los Santos

Brood comb is darker than honeycomb mostly because some of the cocoons that the bees develop in remain and merge with the comb. This comb is from one of my four hives that died over the winter (the one the bear got into this past summer). All these provisions (3 and a half medium supers) will be used for the other hives and any splits I make. I will make at least one split to replace this loss. 

The other three hives are doing well and all have 60-140# of honey on them each. So I may harvest honey in the Spring once a good nectar flow is on and there is no expectation of any super cold stretches. My fingers are crossed that I lose no hives in the next couple months with this strange warm weather. (78! degrees today!).  

The bees are bringing in loads of pollen which stimulates brood rearing. Once there is brood in the hive to keep warm, the bees may prioritize this over leaving the brood to die, even if it means starving to death because the nectar stores are just a bit too far away to get to because of cold temperatures. The bees are clustered in a ball, and move and work as a unit in the hive, when the temperatures are in the 40s; in the 30s they will not break cluster. The queen is kept in the middle of the cluster to an amazing 95 degrees regardless of outside temps! 

So, strangely warm weather in winter can jump start Spring processes with the bees, just like it does with, for instance, fruit trees.  The warm spell makes the creature think spring is here, and their cycle changes, then we get a cold snap...and flower buds freeze - meaning no fruit for the year, or bee queens lay eggs that metamorph into larvae that then need to be kept warm. 

Ariadne, pollen laden landing

Stella, full pollen baskets

These two above hives are of genetics in their 8th winter, with no treatments, no re-queening...  These are hives whose genetics are what I've been working for - bees who can do their thing without my coddling or manipulation, just gentle support, those who can withstand mites, etc. without my propping them up with artificial inputs or anthropocentric meddling - and will continue working for as I go into my 11th year of beekeeping...  I knew when I began that this had to be possible and I am finally feeling vindicated in going against what I was taught (ie:  you must put pesticides in the hive to control mites, you must kill the queen and replace her every two years, etc.)

'Cheshire Kaleidoscope' - a new bio pic / meta-collage!

I wanted to create an avatar pic that represents lots of the things I am into; I managed to incorporate art, gardening, belly dance, herbalism, and beekeeping (and maybe even spirit!) in this meta-collage...

'Cheshire Kaleidoscope'

...and while we're at it, some stimulating reading material (one can never have too much of that!) and lastly, a video that is the Yang to this winter's Yin....

“If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death
Perhaps the world can teach us
as when everything seems dead
but later proves to be alive.”
- Pablo Neruda

 

“He who has rejected his demons badgers us to death with his angels”
  -Henri Michaux

 

"When we get out of the glass bottles of our ego
and when we escape like squirrels turning in the cages of our personality
and get into the forests again,
we shall shiver with cold and fright
but things will happen to us so that we don’t know ourselves.
Cool, unlying life will rush in,
and passion will make our bodies taut with power.
We shall stamp our feet with new power and old things will fall down,
we shall laugh, and institutions will curl up like burnt paper."
  - D.H.Lawrence

 

 “Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.” 

 -​ ​Louise Erdrich, '​The Painted Drum​'​

This video was taken at the height of summer's growth and watching it now in the depth of winter's rest really showcases...
"...when everything seems dead
but later proves to be alive.” 

Rapture and Priorities

"A room without books is like a body without a soul." - Cicero

"Sit in a room and read - and read and read. 

And read the right books by the right people. 

Your mind is brought onto that level, 

and you have a nice, mild, 

slow-burning rapture all the time." 

      - Joseph Campbell from The Power of Myth

In these pictures are some of the books in my house, which has twice as many books as it does square footage.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. . .The People cannot be safe without information. When the press is free, and every man is able to read, all is safe."
 - Thomas Jefferson

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read." - Mark Twain

    "I think we ought to read 
      only the kind of books 
      that wound and stab us."
           - Franz Kafka

"If we could read the secret history of our enemies, 

we would find in each man's life sorrow and suffering 

enough to disarm all hostilities." - Longfellow

Kitchen books - books in every room of the house.

This is the only poem
I can read
I am the only one
can write it
I didn't kill myself
when things went wrong
I didn't turn
to drugs or teaching
I tried to sleep
but when I couldn't sleep
I learned to write
I learned to write
what might be read
on nights like this
by one like me
~ Leonard Cohen

“The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” 

- Thomas Jefferson

How-to Books

Art Books

"Proverbs often contradict one another, as any reader soon discovers. 

The sagacity that advises us to look before we leap promptly warns us that if we hesitate we are lost; 

that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but out of sight, out of mind."  

                                                                   - Leo Rosten

                         What are YOU Reading?
 “Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the world.” - Voltaire



 “You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”  Ray Bradbury



"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." - Cicero

Paridaeza Flower Essences For Sale

Flower essences work on a vibrational level to encourage balance.
They work on the subtle body.
They are not biochemical medicines.

Essences can effect change slowly or quickly; the change will be subtle: changes in eating, sleeping, dreaming, energy, thinking, feeling, moving.

It’s important each day to take a moment to center yourself and draw attention to what you are working on in your emotional/mental life.  This is something you can do each time you take the essence.  Awareness of the body, thoughts, and emotions is the foundation from which you can create and witness change.








 All of these flower essences (except the White Lily which was given to me by a friend) have been created with Love off the land I caretake organically on Blue Mountain in Virginia (since 1998).  I harvest the flowers at their peak on a sunny day, and using well water and the sun, I allow the essence to become, then I prepare and bottle it.  I do this with intention and gratitude and sometimes with the help of a friend.  Here are some of the flowers that bloom on this land.  I will be working to make essences out of more of them over the coming years…

  “I do not have to go to Sacred places in far-off lands. 

The ground I stand on is holy.

Here, in this little garden I tend, my pilgrimage ends.
The wild honeybees, the hummingbird moths, the flickering fireflies at dusk
are a microcosm of the universe.

 Each seed that grows, each spade of soil is full of miracles.  

And I toil and sweat and watch and wonder and I’m full of love.  

Living in place, in this place.  For truth and beauty dwell here.”

- Mary de la Valette

 ~ ~ ~

Paridaeza Flower Essences: 
Each Essence is $4.95, See Price at Bottom for Special Offers.
 

Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) - Spark and Vigor *
Assists with inspiration and will that one may be joyful and live their dreams - Clears psychological obstruction so that one may grow and transform - Helps workaholics not be so serious
 -  Helps leaders use their power positively for others

 

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis) 
- Learning from Our Elders
Promotes creative visualization, balancing the intellect - Connect with one’s heritage - Heal old wounds - Move from despair to the light - Embracing one’s roots as one moves forward in their evolution
 - Heart Chakra

 

Dogwood (Cornus florida) - Deep emotional trauma *
Brings our gifts up from the depths of us, giving us a new ability to be in this world, including psychic abilities, connection to all that is, a deeper knowing - Awakens the Phoenix that rises from inside of us after a traumatic experience

Mayapple (Podyllum peltatum) - Meditation Assistant *
Readys one for growth, teaches temperance, good for impatience and the need for instant gratification,
Be Here Now

 

Mimosa (Albizzia julibrissin) - Delivering Your Truth *
Facilitates intuition and awareness so that one may open to others without doubt, with power, particularly if one is introverted, timid, or dependent - Helps with depression that may result from being closed off to others - Personal strength

 

Orange Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) - Rebirth and Release *
Aids in letting go of a need to control by understanding that life is eternal and infinite, hence beyond our control - Teaches about the cycles of death and rebirth

 

Red Horsechestnut (Aesculus x carnea) - Live and Let Live *
Teaches one to not be overly concerned, worried, anxious, or fearful for others, to allow them to be and live their lives - also helps animals with respiratory issues

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) - Open Heart Center *
Supports one in healing the Heart, which often closes from painful life experiences and fear - This flower opens to the sun each day and helps your Heart to flower, to be open and let the light in

 

Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata) - Enthusiasm for Life *
Helps to release anger or tension that one feels in the "pit of my stomach" - Brings hope when one is depressed and feels there is no end in sight, brings about sweetness when one is feeling low

 

 Virginia Bluebell (Mertensia virginica) - 
Freedom from Restriction, Safe to Love *
Transmutes fear and clears blocks, particularly in throat and feet chakra areas - Allows for free expression of Love without fear, especially in speaking, chanting, or singing (throat) and moving or taking the next step (feet) - Aids in saying what needs to be said and doing what needs to be done (Love)

 

White Lily (Lilium candidum) 
- Integrate Sexuality and Spirituality
Works to bring wholeness to one’s sexuality - Join with others at a higher level of consciousness - Helps one to gain a healthy understanding of  sexuality and find the balance between prudishness and excessive promiscuity that is not fulfilling and feels empty - Aids in healing sexual trauma, which can arise from many circumstances:  rape, prostitution, invasive medical procedures, physical abuse in a sexual relationship, porn addiction, and so on  - Crown Chakra

 

Wisteria (Wisteria japonica) - Relax into Intimacy*   
Increases vitality while smoothing emotions, helps with focus, softens - allows one to enjoy, to not be uptight, but be vulnerable in relating - Promote calm through chaos and turmoil, particularly helps with separation and/or lack of equality in relationships - Great for use with any type of meridian therapy

 

 ~ ~ ~

* These essences have been “Honeybee-potentized” - a name I have given to those essences that came into being while sitting on one of my organic beehives in the sun.  I do this so that the essence is also infused with the life-giving, steady tenacity of the Honeybee.  Flowers and Bees are intimately linked and together they make a potent essence.

Price List*
All orders come with a printed sheet of details about each essence.
10 mL brown glass bottle with dropper - $4.95 each (plus shipping, add below)

Individual Essence -

  ***Please note which Essences you would like.***

Buy 3 get 1 free! (4 for $14.85) 
Purchase 3 individuals, add shipping below, and tell me which 4 essences you want.




Shipping and Handling - Sent first class mail via USPS in recycled packaging.

$4.95 flat rate for up to 2 bottles

$9.95 flat rate for 3-24 bottles

SPECIAL OFFER!  ‘Full Kit’ One of each, 12 total, for $39.95! (plus shipping, add above)

 (a savings of almost $20 off the individual price!)

Take two to four drops four times a day, under your tongue or mixed in  a few ounces of water,
ten minutes prior to eating or one hour afterward. You can take them more often if you want, as needed.
Listen to your Inner Guidance.  You can also add them in with a bath or lotion, etc.
  I would love your feedback after using these Essences...

These Flower Essences are in a base of 140 proof Vodka.
They have been made with a homeopathic succussion of 6X.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA; These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

*If you are buying several Ravenwind Botanica products at one time, whether the same item or not, you can save substantially on shipping as I will ship it all together, please inquire and we'll get the payment set up right for you.  :)  You can click on 'Ravenwind Botanica' in the list to the right to see all products available.  Thanks for supporting my work.