Stonewall Apiary is a family-owned bee farm in eastern Connecticut, located in Hanover, near Baltic. (An apiary is a place where hives of honey bees are kept.)
At a recent open-air festival, crowds were intrigued by their display of bees in a glassed-in section of a working hive on honeycomb. (Especially trying to spot the queen amid her entourage.)
The bees loved the white hydrangeas that grow more than 12 feet tall to flank the outside porch and patio area at Long Hill, the Wadsworth mansion in Middletown.
Pat Sabourin, owner of A Stitch of Mine in Middlefield, displayed her colorful hand-crocheted bears and crafts at the booth right next to the bee displays - and she was at the festival next to the bees last year too. She knows the difference between honeybees and yellow jackets and wasps. (Many people do not, hence the ongoing efforts of beekeepers to spread the word about how beneficial and important honeybees are to food production and the living world, of which humans are a part.)
Members of the Connecticut Beekeepers Association work to spread awareness. For a beekeeper near you, see www.ctbees.com or ask at your local feed and hardware store.
Pat Sabourin of A Stitch of Mine. For more about her hand-crocheted goods or other festivals she attends, call (860) 349-3309.
