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Posts tagged ‘bees’

Bee Comforted

Just as the bees in a hive look out for one another, our WordPress community reaches out and cares for one another. Thank you all for your words of support and comfort during this time of pain and loss. Your words are sweet as honey!

Your comforting words remind me of this scripture:

Philippians 4:6-7

6 Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Not only did I present my request to God, but I told you, my friends, about our troubles: my fall and subsequent dislocated & broken finger, and our granddaughter’s miscarriage. From the goodness of your hearts, you reached out with words of encouragement. Thank you so much!

My hand is bruised and wrinkly – and the fingers are braced to keep the broken pinky immobile, but this will heal… and the good news is that it was my finger and not my head that took the brunt of the fall. I have an appointment next week with an orthopedic hand specialist. Hopefully no further intervention will be needed.

In the case of Hope and Drew (my granddaughter and her hubby), prayers are appreciated for their family as they move forward. Finding that she had lost the fetus, Hope’s comment was, “Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.” It was early in her pregnancy – and that’s a blessing. I think it is much harder when the baby is more developed, the sex is determined, and the parents are preparing their home and hearts for the new addition. In this case, they had not quite adjusted to the idea of a third child yet. So, we are just thanking God for the blessing of the two they already have… and praying for their well being.

I pray for more time to be with them, too… Children are such a blessing! God is good – especially when He allows us to live long enough to see our children’s children have children. Don’t you agree?

During this week following Holy Week, we still are in awe of the Easter miracle… and our minds are comforted by the resurrection message. We remember that this is the week when Jesus showed Himself to the disciples in the Upper Room. He returned to let Thomas touch His nail scarred hands and his pierced side. (I bet Jesus’ hands hurt more than mine does right now!)

He talked with His followers who were on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), and was seen by hundreds before His ascension. Jesus’ words are a comfort to us all! Listen to them in song:

Bee Comforted!
Let not your heart be troubled.


In yesterday’s Mornings with Jesus
Dianne Neal Matthews wrote,
“Remember how Christ felt concern
for His disciples’ well-being
and sought to comfort them…
He paid a high price
so I can know supernatural peace
in all circumstances…
His soul was troubled
so mine doesn’t have to be,
regardless of what I face.”

I am thankful it was:

  • my left hand, not my dominant one
  • my finger, not my head that broke
  • early on in Hope’s pregnancy not the last trimester – and she’s OK
  • God’s concern for mankind that sent His Son to earth
  • His sacrifice that assures me of eternal life
  • your words of encouragement that comforted me

Thank you!!

Oh, and this is the day that my youngest granddaughter, Faith, who lives in CA with her husband and a new little girl, Mable, is celebrating her 26th birthday! Happy Birthday, Faith!! That’s another reason to be thankful, right?

Happy Birthday, Faith!!

Have a blessed weekend,
my friends. I send my love.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Thanks for visiting JanBeek

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, children, Faith, Family, God, Gratitude, health, Jesus, Life's Challenges, Living in Christ's Family, Love, mental health, music, peace, relationships

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Choose a Tree

If you could “Bee a Tree” what would you bee?

Check out my answer on the Bloganuary site at
https://bloganuary.wordpress.com/2022/01/30/bee-a-tree/

If you have known me a while, this answer will bee a no-brainer!

Thanks for buzzing in to visit JanBeek today.
I will post my sermon notes later today.
I hope you had a lovely Sunday morning.
We did!

It was so good to bee back with our Ennis church family!

What tree would you bee??

Here’s a darling children’s picture book about trees.
Do you have a child nearby
(like maybe inside you)
who would enjoy learning some basics
about trees?

Category:

blogging, flowers, Love, trees, writing

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Embrace Swiss Beekeeping

In 2018 we were in Switzerland and our daughter, DeAna, arranged for our grandson, Michael Solioz, to visit a Swiss beekeeper with his Grampy Bob. Bob wrote up some questions ahead of time, and Mike translated them for the man who is the president of the Sion Beekeepers’ Club.

This video is so professionally done by Mike. I guarantee you will enjoy it. The beekeeper is such a delightful man – a retired physician!

So, what did you think of that?

If you have followed my blog for awhile, you know that Bob is a retired beekeeper… He did that for over 20 years after he retired from teaching/coaching.

Photo by FRANK MERIu00d1O on Pexels.com

No, that’s not Bob up there. He rarely dressed up like that! No suit, no gloves, just the hat and veil sometimes. He is the “bee whisperer” according to beekeeper hobbyists here who enlist his help with their hives occasionally.

Notice Bob’s short pants, bare hands, and hat without veil. Experienced beekeepers seem to know how to approach the bees with peaceful intentions that the bees can sense… unless they’re Africanized bees (that’s a whole other blog topic someday).

Anyway, it was fun to uncover that 2018 Swiss beekeeper interview. I hope you enjoyed it.

Bob & I wish you a Happy Monday
and a fun-filled, productive week.

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
See ya tomorrow (God willing)

Category:

Animals, food, health, Love, Memories, nature, work

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The Reason

The Reason for the season
Is not always clear.
Today as I was decorating,
This message caught my ear.

Time to decorate
For the coming of Jesus.
It’s Holiday Time.

Time to decorate
The foyer and entryway;
Put up Christmas wreaths.

This fresh wreath is in the cool foyer
This one’s in the entry
(on the other side of the foyer).
See the stairs to my sanctuary there?

Time to decorate
Dining room and kitchen, too.
Poinsettia in place.


Time to decorate
Living room and outside, too.
Hang lighted snowflake.

Time to decorate
For the coming of Christmas
Where is the manger?

Is Jesus in your decor?

I can decorate.
The reason for the season
Must be apparent.

Bring out the hand-made stockings
and all the memories
those stockings bring to mind!
When I hang this little guy
on the tree, I remember
Bob’s years as a beekeeper.
Bob’s Aunt Nora made this one.
She lives on in our hearts.
Before we had TazE,
we had two other Boston Terriers:
Angelo and Angela.
Their memories remain alive with these ornaments.
Remembering our Bostons
is part of the Christmas joy.

Look carefully at that picture.
Santa is back there…
But in front of him is a clay manger scene.
It looks pretty primitive.
That’s because it is!
Out son made this as an art project
in Sunday School when he was about 6 years old.
He’s now 55.

Do you keep such works of art
and take them out each year
to treasure the memories?

Can you guess
what this is?

It is a case from a friend who visited from Africa –
and in the case are these darling manger scene figures
made from grasses:

They remind me of our dear
friend from Zimbabwe, Lamiel,
who lives in my heart.
Grandma Beekman’s Christmas egg

When the Christmas decoration boxes come up from the basement, with them come so many memories.
This is a real egg with a window cut out by my dear mother-in-law, Laura Belle Beekman.
She painted it red, decorated it, and added a musical angel to the center of it.
It was my Christmas gift from her in the early 60’s, shortly after Bob & I were married.
With her Faberge’ style eggs, she comes alive again – and lives in our Christmas decor.

See the date on this?
1971!!

When I hang this ornament on our tree each year,
my Hillsborough, California kindergarten class comes alive.
This one with our kitty,
was the sample I made as my students were creating theirs –
with a picture of themselves on their ornaments.
One of those students, Heidi, still has hers.
She posted it on FaceBook last week.
What a treasure!
Heidi is now 55!!

The boxes of ornaments are filled with memories.
Not all can go on the tree…
But it’s such fun to decorate.

How are you doing with your holiday decorations?
Have you put up a tree?
Or do you have a Menorah?
Or an Advent Wreath?
Tell me about your decorating fun this time of the year.

And meantime, click on the link below
and enjoy two of my favorite singers
singing one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Merry Christmas is coming…
Enjoy your decorating!
And don’t forget the
REASON for the SEASON!!
See ya tomorrow.
Love, JanBeek

Category:

Animals, art, children, Christmas, Family, flowers, Haiku, holidays, Jesus, Love, Memories, music, pets, Poetry

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Can You Bee an Artist?

Can you bee an artist?
Maybe you already are!
How about beeing a bee artist?

We may not all be endowed with the skill to play the piano like this, or … (hang in there and keep listening)… another guy plays the Flight of the BumbleBee on several different sized trombones. It just gets more and more unbelievable. WOW!!! It’ll leave you smiling. How does he do that?

Maybe your artistic talent doesn’t lean toward music, but you’re good at painting and drawing. You can bee a bee artist like Luisa Fernanda Otero Prada. Isn’t this colorful art enchanting?

Here is another bee by artist Luisa Fernanda Otero Prada

Sometimes it’s not music or painting or drawing that makes us artists, but the ability to write – to put words together creatively for entertainment or education, inspiration or just to vent. I recently found a new blogger named Amy who wrote about bees on her post:

The secret of natural honey and good health

I wrote her and told her she was “spot on” about the health benefits of honey, but honey doesn’t make good candles! They’re ineffective and sticky and they don’t burn. Nope! It’s the bees wax, not the honey. She was kind and wrote back to say she believed me :o)

I have written on the subject of bees many times, too, because (as many of you know), my husband Bob is a retired beekeeper. With a name like Beekman (Bee-keeper-man), how could he bee otherwise?

Bob grew up on a “Honey Farm” and learned the relationship between natural honey and good health at a very young age. “Bee”ing a good beekeeper is an art of its own!!

I found some pictures from the family farm on this search: https://www.yelp.com/biz/beekman-and-beekman-hughson But discovered that internet site name is “unclaimed.” Hmmm… I know they have a website that has been claimed. I’ll have to keep looking.

This is definitely the honey that was produced by the bees of Bob & his brother, Bruce, (and now his nephew, Matt) and it is bottled and sold at the ranch in Hughson, California in their tasting room. Bruce’s wife, Ann, is the brains and creativity behind the Tasting Room/Honey House and the Beekman&Beekman label.

Matt’s wife, Sarah, is actively involved with him as a beekeeper. She raises queens (that’s a topic for a future blog) and she travels with him to North Dakota where Matt & Sarah take some of their bees for the summer. She’s a wonderful example of a mom who cooks with honey!

It’s an art to create an attractive label and an inviting “Honey House” and it is an art to be a good salesperson! It’s an art to take beautiful photos of people, products and places.

California sage – by Beekman and Beekman
Beekman & Beekman Honey farm also has lavender products
and a beautiful field of lavender just south of the house.

Bee Honey Wise

I kept searching and I did find the actual Beekman family website at http://www.beekmanandbeekman.com … It’s been 15 years since Bob retired as a partner in this bee business, but honey runs through our veins after a lifetime with bees and beekeeping!

On the Beekman website I found a link to another way to Bee an Artist… Culinary Arts! There is a link to “Cooking with Honey” that gives you tips on how to do so successfully.

Go to the website and learn more!

Bob reminded me that Bruce & Matt are not the only Beekman beekeepers and that I should not forget to mention his nephew, Bryan, who is one of California’s largest beekeepers. He has over 10,000 hives that he places all over California’s central valley, mid-coast, and southern CA. Bryan and his wife, Michele, also have a honey sales room. In the area outside Fresno, CA, the Honey Hut is a unique place in Sanger, CA. You should consider visiting it if you are ever in that area. You can learn more about Bryan at http://www.fcfb.org/About-Us/BoardMembers/Beekman.php

Bryan and his cousin, Matt, are members of co-op, Sioux Bee Honey.

You can Bee an Artist in so many ways – with:

  1. Music
  2. Visual Arts
  3. The Written Word
  4. Culinary Arts
  5. Photography
  6. What can you add?
Bee Clever!!!

Have a BEEutiful Sunday.
Go to church and worship God!
Thank Him for all the artists who enhance our lives!

See ya later.
Love, JanBEEkman

Category:

art, Family, food, God, health, learning, Love, music, photography, writing

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Positive Mindsets

Today I read a wonderful post on this blog,

A Star on the Forehead, Blessed with a Star on the Forehead

Be a honeybee and not a fly

Today’s message included a You Tube video that caught my eye. It is worth watching. You can see her total post – and learn why this video spoke so loudly and meaningfully to her by clicking on the link above. And you can see the video posted below on this blog.

Learning from Bees & Flies

I was attracted to this video because (as many of you know) my husband is a retired beekeeper. Honeybees have been an important part of our livelihood – and Bob’s family’s income – for three generations. What can we learn about the importance of positive mindsets from honeybees and flies? Here’s the video:

The Choice is Ours

I think all of us would rather gather nectar and pollen to produce sweetness rather than choose to focus on the negative, gathering/spreading garbage and filth. The choice is ours!

Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com
Live with positive purpose –
Gather nectar while you may!
Sweet thoughts
Sweet actions,
Sweet focus,
Good for your soul!
Good for others, too.
Photo by Leonidas Takao Ishikawa on Pexels.com
Garbage in –
Garbage out!
Photo by Nixon Johnson on Pexels.com
Pest, nuisance, scavenger …
Not for me!!

Proverbs 24:13

“My son, eat honey, for it is good,
Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste…”

KEEP A POSITIVE MINDSET!

BEE a honeybee, not a fly!

What will you do today to gather
the nectar of love
and spread it to your
friends and community today?

I send you lots of love…
Virtual hugs,
And Honey for your soul today.

Bee well!!
See ya later.

Category:

Bible Lessons, blessings, Faith, food, Giving, happiness, Life's Challenges, Living in Harmony, Love, mental health, nature, relationships, truth

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Honey and Wisdom

“Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to the taste.
Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul;
if you find it,
there is future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.”

Proverbs 24: 13-14

Storing Honey

That honey jar on the right with the bees and hearts was given to us 8 years ago for our 50th wedding anniversary from Bob’s beekeeper nephew and his wife. Bryan Beekman is a California beekeeper with about 10,000 beehives. His wife, Michelle, has the “Honey Hut” on their property in Clovis.

No, I have not kept that honey for 8 years!! (But, I could have if I wanted to… honey never spoils unless you add water to it! They found good, edible honey in King Tut’s tomb!)

A jar like that only last a few weeks in our house before it has to be refilled. We pour from it into the honey bear. It’s easier to pour out of the bear. I keep both of those containers in the cabinet to the right of the stove. A warm spot is best for storing honey. Never refrigerate it!! When the jar is empty, we refill it from a 5 gallon jug that we keep in the warm room downstairs.

Look carefully at the jar. The letters almost are all washed off. It used to say, “Happy 50th, Bob & Jan.” I need to take it back to Michelle to have it repainted one of these trip to California! But would that be like restoring an antique? Would it lose some of its value?

Honey as a Gift

Because Bob’s a retired beekeeper, folks often give us honey as a gift when they return from their travels. This jar was a gift from a friend in Maryland. Notice the label says, “100% Pure Raw Varietal Honey.” That’s important! You want to know from which flowers the bees gathered their nectar. Honey has flavors as distinct as wines or berries or the smell of various flowers. Pure orange honey has the taste of the smell of the orange blossoms. I love it!

Describing Honey Flavors

However, some honey label writers get carried away, just as some folks who describe the flavors of wine do on their labels. I don’t often taste the earth or the tobacco in a glass of wine. And I can’t taste “vanilla-marshmallowy goodness” in this Pacific Northwest honey. However, I believe them when they say it’s pure and raw.

Preserving Honey’s Attributes

Pure means it hasn’t been mixed with other stuff… and raw means it hasn’t been heated above a certain temperature. Heating honey too much (like boiling it on the stove or in the microwave) kills many, if not all, of its healthy qualities.

If you love honey as we do, remember to bee wise in the way you select and buy it, and remember to bee wise in the way you store and preserve it. And remember to use it as a substitute for sugar as often as you can. It’s better for you – and it takes less honey to taste the sweetness than sugar. Also, honey is the browning agent in waffles or bread.

And it’s all about wisdom.
Bee Wise.
Eat Honey!!

See ya later.

Category:

Bible Lessons, Family, food, Giving, health, learning, Love

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Tuesday’s Bee Poetry

It’s Tuesday Haiku:
Tuesday’s Bee accompanies
My Morning Coffee

And here is Tuesday’s Acrostic:

And I love you, too!

Join me this morning
For an autumn cup of love
From me just for you

Photo by Valeriia Miller on Pexels.com

Have a Terrific Tuesday.

See ya tomorrow.

Category:

food, friendship, Giving, God, Gratitude, Haiku, Love, Poetry, Spiritual Gifts

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Bees and Honey

Bees and Honey

You all know I love honey,
And bees are dear to my heart.
How can we protect these pollinators?
Where do we even start?

Honey Jars - Michelle.jpg


.

Bee Thanks.jpg

We begin with our children
As we teach them the value of bees.
We show them how to protect
The insects around us – such as these.
.

We show them up close pictures
And let our fascination spread
To the next generation
As we substitute awe for dread.

Bee - carrying pollen.jpg

There’s so much we can learn from these
Social insects who do so much good.
Let’s open our minds and our wonder
To help others do what they should.
.
Enjoy God’s nectar, the honey,
And thank the producers, the bees.
Let’s do all we can to protect them…
There are no more important life form than these!

bee-die-all-die

It’s a message worth teaching
It’s a message worth preaching.
Do your part!

Thanks for visiting…
Have a great first week of Autumn.

68629167_2749014145121367_2409575475958513664_n

Love, JanBeek

See ya tomorrow.

Category:

Animals, food, health, learning, life, Life's Challenges, Love, nature, Poetry, truth

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Gotta Love Bees!

Gotta Love Honeybees

My husband, Bob, is a retired beekeeper. During the 25+ years that he worked with honeybees, he had as many as 2000 hives. I have a passion about saving these insects. It’s about saving our world!

Have you hugged a honeybee today?

Gotta love those little insects –
The fuzzy little gals who sting.
They are essential to us, you know.
Important all year, not just in spring.

No, I don’t recommend you hug ’em.
They wouldn’t like it any more than you.
But, I do recommend you protect them.
Just think of all that they do.

Producing honey is not all they do!

While the honeybee is out working
To gather nectar and return to her hive,
She is pollinating the flowers
To produce the food that keeps us alive.

Just look at those pollen packs!!

One out of every three bites of our food
Is related to the work of the bees.
As they move from flower to flower,
They pollinate ground crops and trees.

Entomophily is the scientific name
Of the pollination activity.
It is crucial to the production
Of many crops and their proclivity.

Celery, strawberries, beets and mustard,
Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and such
All rely on the honeybee for pollination.
Without their work, we wouldn’t have much.

Turnips and peppers, papaya and watermelon,
Oranges, coriander, cantaloupe, apples for you.
Squash and pumpkins, zucchini and quince,
Lemons, limes, and most fruit you love, too.

Alfalfa needs bees, and avocados do, too.
Lima beans, string beans and green beans,
Almonds and most of the nuts we eat…
I could go on, but you get what it means
To have honeybees in our world.
You can see why protection’s a must.
So, get the word out to love those bees!
They are essential to life; of that you can trust!

Get the word out!

Honeybees don’t want to sting you.
They have barbs on their stingers, you know;
So when they sting to protect themselves or their hive,
Their stinger stays in you – and they die. Oh no!

Don’t pinch the stinger out of your skin;
Just scrape it with your fingernail.
Get it out quickly so less poison goes in you,
And put ice on the spot. Don’t whimper and wail!

Bees create honey for their food

Bees are social insects who gather together
To divide up the work in hive and in field.
They create the honey for their own food,
And use the pollen like bread. Quite a yield!

A beehive is sterile – more clean than a hospital.
The bees line their entrance with propolis.
It sterilizes their feet when they cross the threshold.
They have a lot of tricks that would be good for us!

What flower would you want to bee?

You gotta love those honeybees!
They are essential to our life on earth.
If we don’t protect them and do the research,
Our lives here won’t have much worth!

The End!

Thank you, Roth Poetry,
for writing about our bees on your post!
It would be great if all my readers
would share this post with your friends.
Get the word out!
Gotta Love Those Honeybees!

See ya later, Honey!

Category:

Animals, flowers, food, learning, Life and Death, Life's Challenges, Love, nature, Poetry, Sharing

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