Dear faithful readers,
This morning I awoke at 3am, anxiety ridden by a mind gone amuck with disaster remediation. I had seen the the official NBA size basket ball clump of bees hanging on the outside of my strongest hive before I went to bed. Our dinner guests, friends visiting from NYC, saw it. Their eyes agog, they gasped in awe at the breadth, width and length of those bees. But I was terrified.
They signaled to me that time was awasting. These girls were getting ready to swarm and take most of my honey and my queen.
So, you can imagine the way the mind spins it’s fear in the middle of the night. I awoke, rehearsing how I could quickly get in and out, splitting the topbars…one for me, one for the girls, one for me, one for the girls…until they were no longer crowded, hot and irritable.
You’d be crabby too if you lived in a house with 80,000 warm bodies. In 96 degree temps. In New Mexico. No central air conditioning.
But that wasn’t the only reason for my trepidation.
Today is my official launch for Think Like A Bee’s BURQUE BEE CITY Deposit a Gift crowdfunding experiment. http://thinklikeabee.mydagsite.com/home
It raises the same kind of stomach churning in me… But I figured out that if each of you who faithfully read my blog, contributed the minimum of $25 each, we’d be well on our way to our $7000 goal! And I wouldn’t have to do this again. Maybe never. I’ve applied for many grants, and we are looking to receive some of that funding later in the year.
Meanwhile, Think Like A Bee needs your help to get the word out about pollinators as we head towards Bee Awareness Day, June 15 and Pollinator Week, June 20-26, 2016.
Meanwhile, Albuquerque is on the verge of becoming the first BEE CITY USA in the Southwest—if the City Council so moves to put into place this resolution for pollinator protection in the Big Burque!
Meanwhile, the bees need your help. With 44% losses in 2015, again, it’s not just about saving cute fuzzy bees and attractive pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds, it’s about our own existence. Native bees and Honeybees, the workhorses of our food system, pollinate over 80% of what we eat. But they are in trouble. Because of our human habits.This is about a healthy food system for humans and all life on the planet…
Here’s what your tax exempt donations will continue to support:
- Funding Inner City youth interns and our summer beekeeping/organic farming course
- BURQUE BEE CITY RESOLUTION grass roots organizing and Education in the local schools, at farmers markets, neighborhood coalition meetings and local civic group
- Ongoing public advocacy for pollinator protection an Pollinator Collaboration with Wild Friends, Albuquerque Garden Council, New Mexico Acequia Association, Cornelio Candelaria Organics and more..
You might wonder what happened with the hive splitting activity…
Loss of life was minimal. I now have two hives where I had one before. It was as rugged as I imagined. All those bees were very angry at my uninvited presence. I am considered a predator, after all. They were well stocked with honey and I am a threat to their food stores. I have a few well placed welts inside my bee veil to keep a healthy respect in place.
I invite you to Deposit a Gift on behalf of bees today. http://thinklikeabee.mydagsite.com/home
Thank you!
thinklikeabee 