Passing this along from John and Susan Townley:
A New Moon Blessing (of honey!)
For many years after Peter Schiffer (of Schiffer Books) took over the famous “Planets In” series, of which my book Planets In Love is one, he used to send all his authors a jar of Pennsylvania wildflower honey every Christmas, from a friend’s family farm down the road. It was the best in the world, and we always looked forward to it. One year, probably for budgeting reasons, it didn’t arrive, so we located the farm and its owners, Gary Stockin and his family, and we’ve been ordering their wonderful honey several times a year ever since.
Our last shipment of eight one-pound jars arrived last month, and while ordering it on the phone we had a fascinating conversation about the current mysterious bee disappearances, which have hit bee farmers hard all over. Half of all the bees in the country flew off from their hives one day and never returned, including many of the Stockin family’s.
Perhaps it was that conversation, but for some reason Gary had the name Townley stuck in his mind and this month accidently shipped us another whole crate of honey which we hadn’t ordered, which arrived exactly on this fertile spring new Moon. We called him up to arrange for a return, but he’d have none of it. “You’ve got some neighbors or children who like honey, don’t you?” he asked. Just keep it and pass it along as a gift from his household, he insisted.
Well, when a mitzvah like that is literally placed on your doorstep, you don’t ask twice regarding Who truly sent it or in what mysterious way. We’re passing it along, with our blessings and thanks.
And, we’re also passing along to you where to get some of this magical honey, from this wonderful family in Lancaster County, PA. Go see them at:
Stockin's Apiaries
4 Reservoir Rd.
Strasburg, PA 17579
(717) 687-7816
email: stockinsapiaries.com
(don't count on that e-mail, but the site, address, and phone work fine!)
It’s better honey (and a better deal, BTW) than anything you’ll find in the supermarket, and it makes the greatest gift ever! Invest in a few jars and help rebuild the bee population, which pollinates all the vegetables we eat, and upon which we all depend for our very lives. If you want to do something concrete to help save the world, start with a little honey in your tea, and then pass it along!
Fair winds, starry skies,
John and Susan
John and Susan Townley’s AstroCocktail
2 comments:
Hey Jude,
We love your blog and thanks so much for passing on our honey tale. When such generous philosopher types as Gary Stockin are struggling to keep our food chain intact, it should be reason for us all to buy some of their honey, to keep the bees in business! We hope more folks pass on the message -- it's truly a tasty reward for good deeds, political action at its best! Thanks so much...
Glad to post it, thank you, John and Susan--hope the orders come flying in!
I've been wondering lately if can't-find-their-way-home honeybees, beached or too-far-inland whales and other direction scrambled creatures are responding to an Earth pole shift...?
It's just a thought that keeps plaguing me--and it could help explain why melting ice caps are disappearing faster than computer models had predicted...
Of course, I don't think there's much that results from only one cause--but a combination of factors.
Jude
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