5 year-versary
Yendra
We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us. -JC
This picture was taken 3 years ago. It was the last year we kept bees on our property. For us, our arrival at where we are now has come about in a progressive treasure map. We find one piece, and that leads to the next, and then a few pieces later we see a corner of the photo. And then, years later, we zoom out and see more of the picture.
Our beekeeping journey first began when we knew we needed to have some land and move from an urban neighborhood. We couldn’t breathe and we just knew we needed out. Through twists and turns, and a previous property purchase attempt, we eventually ended up at our beloved home.
A few years later, one of us had the conviction that bees were calling us. Or better put, that we were called to care for them. Then, someone appeared and told us he thought he was supposed to teach us. And so began the journey of the bees…
Our property was perfect for keeping the bees. And we got a truck because we thought we needed a truck… and the story goes on and on.
We are so blessed to keep our bees in two locations now.
One is on a private hunting reserve where they are miles away from pesticides and right by a variety of wildflowers in ungroomed fields.
The other is at a bison ranch where they are restoring the land through organic processes. And again, no pesticides usage for miles around.
What we can be sure of is that our responsibility is to be true to what we know in front of us; care for the bees with natural practices, ethically, fostering a heartier Colorado bee, until our collective story changes and we all are committed to care for the earth. It is as if we are holding open the metaphoric space until a lot of someones take the job from us. We hold the space not knowing if we will see our replacements.
We stand in the middle with hope that we are doing our part the best we know right now. When we took this picture, we loved the bees. We did not know how being their defender meant protecting and defending ourselves. We didn’t know how important it would be, nor how painful. In this day and age, in this country, there are a lot more losses and a lot more pain keeping bees than victories. It’s all worth it to us. They tie us to the land, and we feel the groaning of it as we wait together and hold open the space.
Thank you for supporting us and believing in us. We are all in this together.