The Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm, and Ranch Report

    The bees are increasing their forces with us out here.  Our bee team has been busy collecting the annual spring swarms out and about, as one after another call comes in.  With their population declining rapidly all over the world the true value and real cost of their golden elixir will become more apparent in the future.  The honeybee is the only insect that produces food for us (not including that many insects are eaten worldwide), traveling the distance of twice around the planet, and visiting 2 million flowers to produce a single pound of honey.
    It’s interesting, observing all the hype about the “killer” Africanized bees.  While it is true that in the 50’s some African honeybees intermingled with Brazilian bees, producing a more aggressive bee on the American continents, it isn’t true that every bee around here has flown up from down south with the intention to destroy anyone who gets near them.  Today we handled two hives without the need for suits or veils.  I was able to scoop bees out of a hole with bare hands.  They licked salt off my shoulder skin, and when I hummed with them in their winged tone, and went down a semi-tone they followed, and then we went down a half step, and then a whole tone together.  They are sensitive, complex, amazing creatures.
We need to do all that we can to preserve them.  Support natural bee-keepers and buy their products.  Without our little friends, some 70 fruit, nut, and vegetable crops that we eat here in the States would collapse.
    As for the goat herd, their forces have already been with us -we go way back, many generations.  In fact, our Swiss Toggenburg lineage goes back to a group that Carl Sandburg’s wife (a famous breeder of champion milk goats) had.  Their numbers have grown quite a bit this Spring, with all the new kids, and are happy (as a goat gets) and healthy from the daily grazing excursions, and all the good attention given them.  We all feel blessed to enjoy all the benefits of the raw milk, cheese, yogurt, and kefir (and even occasional ice-cream!) from our Toggenburgs and Nubians.  They do struggle though, with holding the stirring spoon (you know, hoofs) while making the yogurt.  
    For most of the planet, cow milk is either a luxury or not available.   Instead, people drink goat milk, water buffalo, sheep, camel, …many others, even moose in Russia, I read.  After hearing so many horror stories about the conditions of the cows in the dairy industry, including the hormones and antibiotics they’re injected with, it is reassuring to have our own source.  If every person knew of the conditions and sources of how their food was raised eating habits would change.  And, we even know our goats individually by name.  Imagine that, holding a cup of cool refreshing goat milk up for a toast to the source, our dear old, humble Denora.   I’m thankful to know where my sustenance comes from.

“And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of they household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.”

    We had a grand ol’ planting party in our North Garden this past weekend on Mother’s Day, celebrating our dear Mother Earth by getting our feet and hands in the soil.  Nearly fifty of us planted hundreds of tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers.  Felt great to participate in such an old, time-honored tradition: the village planting day, with all the kids, and even our dog Annie.   Last week we had watched the documentary “All Jacked Up”, which addresses the fallen food system, and the damage we’ve experienced from it.  Getting out in the field, participating so closely with our natural food source, was the appropriate action in response to the sad view presented there.  We all gotta get up and do something about the troubles in the world.  Eh?