The bees have left

It may not be news to many, especially those who keep bees and those more in tune with their surrounding environment, but our bees are leaving. Where nobody knows. What is certain is that our pollinators are declining at a frightening rate. Just a few years back I can remember the low enveloping drone of bumble bees and honey bees in spring. This spring was quite disturbing, a paltry, feeble murmur of bumbles that seemed to have far less spring fervor than before and a small fraction in number compared to a couple of years ago. I witnessed maybe 5 honey bees this spring so far doing their best to gather pollen and nectar from the nodding tufts of yellow mustard flowers and the the plum trees that bloomed almost 2 months ahead of schedule. Pine trees were blooming responding to late spring like temperatures in January reaching near 80 degrees . Wild blueberries and pears following suit, countless species budding and blooming only to be confronted with temperatures that dove into the mid 20s. Needless to say, this winter along with the last and the one before were uncharacteristically turbulent with no seasonal consistency, spurring the native vegetation into seasonal transition usually to be met with frost and growth again, sucking the energy from the plants, bees, birds and the myriad of earth systems dependent upon a rhythm aeons old. This is not simply freakish weather but a sign of something much larger and more disturbing, what exactly is uncertain but we humans are most assuredly culpable. The kiwi vines are blooming now, so sweet in the air but a ghostly silence surrounds the vines--where have all the bees gone? I am sadly having to pollinate by hand to insure fruit production, never before have I had to do this. The irony is that the smallest and meekest of creatures disappear and we take little notice of their absence until their survices are no longer rendered. Humans cannot survive without pollinators and the most evolved plants, angiosperms which we rely upon for our survival cannot either. If the wildflower is not pollinated, the plum tree, the tomato, the olive, the almond, the bean, the loss is more than beauty or food, the loss is our humanity and our homeland planet Earth.

In The Face Of A Flower

What do you see when you get up close and personal in the face of a flower. A microcosm of the entire universe is present. The form and colors designed to elicit an attraction completely irresistible, perpetuating the species, perpetuating DNA. The veins through the petals mirroring the macrocosm, a fractal of universal proportions showing the kinship of all life. The flowers beauty, a product of our own consciousness, the eye, the mind, the light which radiates from our star, immediately forming our reality. An entire universe within, the quantum reality manifesting itself in the face of a flower. What do you see in a flower? As this Earth Day comes and goes, we should all meditate on the beauty and fragility of our Earthly space craft, journeying through the cosmos with we humans at the helm. Peace and love to all.

Finding Time

In our hectic lives as entrepreneurial artists it seems as if each day ends with so much left to do and blogging is no exception. This morning blogging is the priority, as so many days it has not taken precedence at all, but alas it will! Each day the routine begins with coffee, an hour of interlude--waking up, logging into the net, more coffee, taking care of our chickens and ducks and gardens and what ever else needs to be done. Our studio time is not as structured as it should be although what to do ! We can be right in the middle of soldering a piece and then the cacophony of way too many chickens alarmed by a hawk circling, a fox stealthily closing in, a coyote approaching or even a bobcat lurking and waiting for a fresh chicken or duck dinner causes us to run outside and scare the predator away. Then of course something else catches our eye, maybe new flowers on our never before bloomed Kiwi, or we notice our newly emerging prized bamboo shoots chewed and eaten by squirrels who have just discovered what a delicacy they are. Perhaps at this point we notice the greenhouse is in need of a dire watering. When one is trying to be as sustainable as possible the chores can be overwhelming. It is not unusual for an hour or more to pass before we are back in the studio again trying to catch up.

So for an example just now as I write this, two persistent chickens have just found a new way to access our newly planted squash, beans and corn which necessitated my son and business partner to run outside and try to catch them up (good luck on that one).

We now have three online venues, 1000 markets, etsy, and artfire to market, on top of finding time to clean, make meals, vehicle maintenance and the myriad other things. We have always had too many irons in the fire and the secret is to find a way to get them hot enough to strike!