In September - on my birthday no less - I delivered a talk about bees, myths, babies, preconceptions, and swarm journalism to 1800 people at TEDxBoulder. Read more
Honey has always been a revelation to me--this magic elixir, made by bees!--but my travels with beekeeper John Miller have taken my affection for the stuff to a new level. On my first visit to Miller in California, he sent me home with four jars: one of California yellow star thistle, his favorite; one of black button sage, a California classic; a jar of manzanita honey and a jar of clover. Read more
I was working in my garden when I learned that my friend Joel had been killed in an avalanche. I had just dug a hole and was preparing to place a daylily inside of it; my children were playing with the compost next to me. My daughter was “helping” by tossing dirt into the hole as quickly as I could dig it out, my 18-month-old son was mixing the compost into a glass of orange juice and drinking it. It was a lovely morning. Read more
As a new iPhone owner, I completely understand the argument that cell phones distract honey bees. I have, in the month since I bought my phone, done lots of stupid things, like sending emails while driving and updating my facebook page while reading stories to my children ("Good night, uh, hold on, damn, wait, sorry. Moon."). A couple of weeks ago, I even got lost walking the baby in the stroller thanks to a particularly engrossing email (good thing there's a GPS app to help me find my way home). Read more
