Holiday Gifts for Beekeepers and Friends of Bees

Continuing our (more or less) annual tradition of scouting out great gifts for beekeepers, we proudly present Global Swarming Honeybees' 2010 holiday gift list for the beeks, bee-lovers, gardeners, and ecosystem appreciators in your life.

1. First things first: Without a healthy planet, there are no healthy bees—or healthy anything. Honor your family members and friends with a donation in their name to an environmental organization. Two of my favorite earth-defenders are the Natural Resources Defense Council (which, among its many activities, has done great work to fight pesticides that harm bees) and The Center for Biological Diversity, which fearlessly fights for "a world where the wild is still alive." Other good groups include Friends of the Earth, The Xerces Society, and The Nature Conservancy.

2. Bookworm Beek Nirvana: Your book-loving beloveds will surely enjoy Honeybee Democracy, Thomas Seeley's book on "hive mind" and Rose-Lynn Fisher's Bee, a truly awesome visual feast of bee anatomy, rendered via scanning electron microscope. For those with an interest in homesteading, Philip Ackerman-Leist's Up Tunket Road looks like a refreshingly thoughtful and candid take on the subject.
3. Greening the Season of Sneezes: Two years ago, I converted from a lifelong Kleenex addict to a cotton handkerchief aficionado. My guilt over trashing a perfectly good tree every time I blow my nose is now a thing of the past, and my delicate schnoz greatly prefers a soft cottony dab when cold season arrives. Fun and beautiful retro hankies can be found in many thrift shops and antique markets—and believe me, once you make the change, you'll never go back. Consider making an eco-friendly stocking stuffing of this fabulous bee-inflected silkscreened handkerchief or of Muji's non-bee-related but profoundly stylish "historic city" handkerchief series featuring the cities of Tokyo, London, Paris, and NYC.4. Go Goth: For the hipster beek in your life, check out this stingingly cool vespid-inspired T-shirt, this scintillating bee girl silhouette magnet, or this alluring Acorn Queen.
5. iBeek Incidentals: Your iPhone-wielding beekeeper might enjoy the Bee Calm and Carry On iPhone Case or this possibly too cute bee-inspired slider case. iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users will get a kick out of the new game app, "Bee Patrol."
6. Stripey, Warming Fun: This handmade, yellow-and-black "buzzy bee" hat comes sized for children and (thankfully!) adults, so your entire social network can, should they so choose and should you be so generous, float around town with merry antennae aflutter and hive minds in perfect sync. Take the whole festive scene over the top with these Dickensian, bee-inspired fingerless gloves.
7. Pour It On: I'm wild about these fanciful pottery pieces from apualek. From the "Biking Bee in Flowers" bowl and "Biking Bee Chasing Rose" tumbler to the cheery yellow "Kayaking Bee" pitcher shown below, these marvelous pieces of usable art will thrill anyone with a good imagination, an appreciation of the handmade, and a love of pouring liquids in high style.
8. Share the Love: Native bees are in trouble throughout the U.S. and across the planet. Who better than beekeepers and bee allies to lend a helping hand by providing habitat in the form of an attractive bee box nest made of recycled wood for our native populations of leaf-cutter bees and mason bees?
9a. Kitchen-y Bee: I have a thing for tea towels, so it's no surprise I'm taken with this rustic Queen Bee burlap towel...and this retro-style embroidered gem.
9b. I also have a thing for tote bags, especially this honeybear tote from Kenspeckle Press, which provides "19th century solutions to 21st century quandaries." (Don't neglect to ogle the wonderful letterpress honeybear cards while you're ambling around this charming corner of cyberspace.)
10. Wrap It Up: To personalize your gift, try these handsome, vintage-style honeybee tags, these super-sweet, hybridized honeybee/French Bulldog greeting cards, and/or this funky wrapping paper.For additional ideas, check out my holiday gift lists for beekeepers from years gone by. I hope your holidays are sweet and rich in the non-material joys of living.

Beet the System

Cool stuff over here at Black Sheep Heap, T-shirt-wise, logo-wise, and slogan-wise.

Six Great Gifts for Beekeepers and Bug-Lovers

It's that time again—so, adding to the holiday roundup of gifts for beekeepers and insect enthusiasts from last year and the year before, here's this year's list. I know, it's a little late in coming, but that's just the kind of year it's been....

Happy holidays to all, whatever you celebrate (and there is ALWAYS something to celebrate)!

Great Gift #1. Handkerchiefs with a silk-screened bee motif:
I pretty much started boycotting tissues once it sunk in how wasteful and destructive they are (although things on the Kleenex front improved in August of this year thanks in good measure to a five-year-long Greenpeace campaign). These days, I use low-cost cotton hankies, which are soft, reusable, and way greener and cheaper than tissues.

That's why these cool bee hankies rank #1 on this year's gift list—they're practical, reusable gifts for the ecologically and aesthetically minded beekeeper.

Great Gift #2. Vinyl Wall Graphics for Bug Freaks:

If these images grab you, check out the entire WilsonGraphics collection of customizable vinyl decals and wall graphics, featuring butterflies, moths, beetles, and tons of other cool stuff, including: the lovely retro "Kindness to Animals" silhouette-style motif shown above, "Creepy Crawly Tarantula Spiders," and "5 Mushroom Decals."

Great Gift #3. Power Bee T:This is one hunky bee, and I love the assertive simplicity of this design. Cafe Press has zillions of other fun bee-themed thingamajigs, including mugs, aprons, bumper-stickers, clocks, and caps.

Great Gift #4. For the formal beek:
How about a silk-screened necktie?
Great Gift #5...For the Eco-Beek Who Neither Needs Nor Wants More Stuff:
By supporting a healthy environment, we're giving a gift to our beekeeper friends, our bees, and ourselves.

One way to do this is to donate to the environmental group of your choice in honor of your beekeeper friends. Some of my favorite groups are: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Friends of the Earth, Environmental Advocates of New York, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, and Just Food (which is working hard to help get beekeeping legalized in NYC).

Great Gift #6. For the Timely Beek....
Beekeeping is all about knowing the seasons and working within the realities of time. For that, a great calendar is called for. In that department, I recommend the work of Nikki McClure. While not bee-specific, her woodcuts are earthy, inspiring, and smart. Check out McClure's 2010 calendar here.


And on that forward-thinking note, I wish you, your bees, and all residents of earth a happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year!

Google Bee (Old Beekeeping Books for You & Me)

A recent issue of American Bee Journal made mention of the availability of two newly reprinted beekeeping books by Applewood Books, publisher of a nifty variety nature books, farming guides, "floral and gardening" books, and many other topics in keeping with its mission to "build a picture of America through its primary-source materials." The charmingly titled volume pictured above is one of Applewood Books' many reprints of interest.

The two bee-related books Applewood has recently reprinted are: Beekeeping: A Discussion of the Life of the Honeybee (originally published in 1918) and The Honey-Bee: Its Nature, Homes, and Products (first published in 1884). Both can be ordered directly from Applewood's website which, while containing marvelous products, is (alas!) unpleasant to navigate and not exactly plush with information.

I should also mention that one of these titles—Beekeeping: A Discussion of the Life of the Honeybee—is available for free download on Google Books. Some pics from the book:
Here are a couple of other out-of-copyright beekeeping and bee-related books you can find on Google Books:

The Honey-makers (1899)

The Honey Bee: Its Natural History, Physiology, and Management (1843)

The Bee-keeper's Manual (1860)

This is just the beginning; a search of Google Books will yield more treasures than can be assimilated in three lifetimes. Enjoy!

Bees We Met In Spain

Wren and I have just returned from a magnificent trip to Barcelona and environs. Along the way, I took photos of all things bee-related, as shown below.

First of all, we were excited to find that the taxis in Barcelona resemble bees. Here they are "swarming" in front of the train station.
In the Priorat region, we found some honeybees working these flowers—the only flowers we saw blooming in the mountaintop village we were visiting in this beautiful wine-making region. However, nearby, the almond trees were in abundant bloom, so the bees had plenty of forage available.

I was beside myself with happiness to find this Hello Kitty bee at the grocery store and brought her along on our travels.

We named her Chavela Abeja.

Here's Wren showing off another bee toy during a visit me made to a beekeeper in the Priorat. I'll do a separate post about that visit soon.

A window display.

Bee-related merch.

A chocolate honeybee.
Chocolate honeybee lollipops—three of the nicest words in the English language!

A package of honey that came with breakfast in our hotel during our three-day visit to the Costa Brava.

Another window display.

A candle shop window in Barcelona.

Jars of honey in a shop window.


Bonus shot: mosquito graffiti!

Gifts for Beekeepers

Great Depression notwithstanding, the holidays are coming and those who know and love bees and beekeepers will want to be on the lookout for beeky merch.

Possibilities to consider:Exceedingly handsome, retro-style, eco-friendly note cards.



A donation to the excellent Heifer International. Your gift can help Heifer provide a family with a package of bees, the box and hive, plus training in beekeeping.

Clan Apis—a fabulous graphic novel by scientist-artist Jay Hosler about the honeybee lifecycle, suitable for older kids and adults.



A lovely bee skep watering can...in solid copper!

Subscriptions to the leading beekeeping magazines in the U.S.: Bee Culture and American Bee Journal.

A mind-boggling array of bee-related shirts, messenger bags, thongs, and kids' stuff from Cafe Press.

Wood engravings and notecards from Kenspeckle Letterpress.




Beehive mixing bowls from Stonewall Kitchen.

And for the truly obsessed beekeeper, some excellent books:

Honey Plants of North America (A revelation! Highly recommended.)

Bee Pollination in Agricultural Ecosystems (I confess that I have not read this yet. It's pricey, but based on the recent review in Bee Culture magazine, I think it's worth a gander, though the writing may be a bit on the academic side.)

Eva Crane's beautifully illustrated classic, The World History of Beekeeping and Honey-Hunting, should bring a massive smile to the face of any book-wormish beeks in your life, especially those with an interest in the many ancient, cross-cultural expressions of beekeeping and honey-takin'. The book is expensive, but worth every penny.

And, last but most definitely not least, there are many wonderful possibilities offered by the non-material gift of donated labor. The reality is that most beekeepers have way too much to do and can use a helping hand with their beekeeping duties from time to time. Whether it's painting beehives, installing an electric fence, processing honey, constructing a solar wax melter, catching a swarm, or simply organizing the tool shed, your average beekeeper can always use some good-natured assistance. So why not gift your beekeeper friend or loved one with a "voucher" for a few hours of hard (or soft) labor around the bee yard when they need it most?


I hope this list helps you get a good start on finding just the right thing for the people in your life. Happy holidays, whatever you celebrate!