July 23, 2024
On a morning earlier this summer, I pulled up to the Gentle Breeze Honey headquarters in Mount Horeb for a July issue photoshoot. The green foliage was twinkling with dew and the sun was just rising into a blue sky. Tim Woller, Gentle Breeze's second generation co-owner (with his wife, Cathy), had asked if I'd be game to put on a beekeeping suit and join him at the hives. I'm actually not afraid of bees, thankfully, even though my hand once swelled up to the size of a baseball after I was stung by a swarm of hornets (those cruel cousins of the honeybee). The suit, hooded veil and gloves made me feel like I was wearing invincible armor.
Woller, on the other hand, doesn't wear gloves when he's working with the bees. During our photoshoot, a honeybee sunk a stinger into his hand and he calmly picked up the critter between his pointer and his thumb and set it off to the side. I had asked Woller at one point if his honeybees eventually relaxed their security instincts, like stinging foreign predators, when they became familiar with his presence over time. "Maybe not so much," said Woller. "Partly because they're just so intent on doing what they do." But he did point out that it's often a matter of the honeybees reading his mood. If he's relaxed, they might be more likely to stay calm; if he's agitated, they might act up. At the end of the day, Woller can only be so prepared. For lack of a better phrase, bees will be bees, and that means they'll guard the little world they've created. As Woller pointed out the different substances the honeybees were filling each cell with — wax, brood, honey — baby workers emerged from cells, male drones flocked around their queen and full-grown female worker bees flitted onto and off of the frame. It did feel like I was holding a whole world, or one small honeybee microcosm, with the wooden frame between my hands. Getting up close with the hives at Gentle Breeze Honey was a good reminder to appreciate the many diverse eco-worlds that make our food possible. P.S. Speaking of food, It's Summer Restaurant Week through this Friday, July 26! There's still time to make reservations and enjoy three-course lunch and dinner menus at participating restaurants. Scroll down for a round-up of 26 exciting dishes to try on this summer's Restaurant Week menus.
–Emma Waldinger, associate editor |
