Honeyflow Farm Home Page
The Vineyard      The Honey Farm      The Candle Shop

March in the CandleShop and Honeyfarm

 

 

In the Candleshop We are very busy in the Candleshop making candles this time of the year. We use the cool weather and the "off" season to catch up on the candle work. We have a few new projects in the fire (see below.) Hundreds of hand-dipped candles were made during January & February. During the process we took pictures after every dip and hope to have a larger candle dipping pictorial ready by next month.   *****************************************   CLEAN AND CLASSIC, “IN” ANY SEASON With Decorating Styles Constantly Changing, Take Comfort in Knowing That Less is More   National Candle Association (NCA) WASHINGTON, D.C., November 19, 2002 – Though trends may come and go, classic simple elegance is a constant in everyday decorating. Top home designer/decorator Lyn Peterson, a consultant to the National Candle Association (NCA) and author of “Real Life Decorating,” (Creative Homeowner Press, 2000), overflows with ideas on how to accentuate what you already have. “For simplicity in decorating, one single rule holds true: less is more,” says Peterson. “Regardless of budget or season, decorating your home simply is and of itself a statement.” A single oversized column candle in a hurricane lamp, Peterson explains, is eloquent and makes the subtle yet strong statement that is simplicity. “Eliminating clutter and thus, chaos, in the home, will result in a tranquil and easy atmosphere,” says Peterson. “This is what we all want after a long day – to be able to come home and relax, in a home that is clutter and stress free.” Simplicity doesn’t always mean the “bare essentials,” she adds. “It is possible to pare down accessories while still keeping the things you love. If one candle doesn’t make a big enough statement, then line up three, neatly in a row. Be careful not to overdo it and you are still in sync with the simple style.” If, while attempting to eliminate clutter, you find that the many odds and ends, do, in fact, have a place in your home, breathe easy, this too is okay. “Simplicity doesn’t necessarily have to mean starkness,” Peterson reaffirms, “just organized placement of the things we love.”   Lyn Peterson offers these suggestions for simplifying your home: -- Try clustering multiple candles of the same color but in different sizes, styles and shapes on a tray. Choose the tray carefully and make sure that it will serve as a showpiece while also safely catching wax drippings. -- Instead of only lighting a fire in your fireplace, create a two-tiered lighting effect with your fireplace and mantle. Place a candelabra or two or three interesting candlesticks on your mantel for a simple yet powerful lighting effect. -- Don’t clutter your sofa with countless throw pillows. Keep it clean and simple -- go for a slightly larger pillow. Rather than four 12-inch pillows, try two 18-inch pillows, which will give off an elegant, refined look. Be sure to make the pillow covers a bit loose for that confident look . -- One tall, eloquent taper is always an appropriate mood setter or centerpiece for a side or accessory table, especially when offset on the other side by flowers. Even partnering a flowering plant and a single candlestick can make for a clean, classic look that will dress up any occasion, minus the clutter. -- Since the size of a rug defines the size of a room, stick to one larger area rug as opposed to two or three smaller ones that tend to make a room look and feel chopped up and small. -- Wall mounted candle sconces are another way to utilize space without suffocating the home or cluttering up tabletops. Candles mounted simply on a pristine, empty uncluttered wall or on each side of a classic painting or antique mirror adds a touch of style while keeping with the simple, clean theme. The National Candle Association recommends the following safety tips when decorating with candles: -- Always keep a burning candle within sight. -- Keep burning candles out of the reach of children and pets. -- Never burn a candle on or near anything that can catch fire. -- Pillars should never be placed directly on a surface without an intervening fire resistant plate. For more information and safety guidelines, visit www.candles.org

Candle Dipping at Honeyflow Farm Wicks for 6 pairs of candles are on a frame and dipped into hot wax.   6 pairs of candles half finished. The frame is split in half & only 3 pairs are now dipped.   The candles are hanging in a rack to cool between dipps.   The finished product.

 

 

 

***************************************************

 

New Candle Products Available

Pint Size Container Candle And old style container candle in a 4 inch tall, pint size tapered jar. Burn time is about 30 hrs. Comes complete with a metal lid for storage.	Tea Lites - 6 Pack Brand new this year is our 6 pack of tea lite candles. Burn time is about 3 - 4 hrs. Also available in our bulk pack of 24 for $21.50.	Frog Prince Pillar There are many people that are very serious frog collectors. This is the perfect addition to their collection!   (4 1/2 inches wide x 5 1/2 inches tall)
$9.95	$6.75	$12.95

 

 

***************************************************

 

 

Who are some of the World's Famous Beekeepers?

With about 100,000 beekeepers in the USA and Canada today, and several million beekeepers throughout the world, one would hope that at least a tiny percentage of these folks have distinguished themselves in other fields as well!

In addition to the famous beekeepers, we include a few who have had interesting things to say about bees and beekeepers, as well as some of the great innovators in the world of bee culture. Here is the short list with mini-bios on a few of the illustrious...

Alexander the Great - Conquered the world, then died thousands of miles from home - his men carried his preserved body home for burial in a golden coffin filled with honey.

Aristotle - This Greek beekeeper and scientist used simple hives with wooden strip top-bars. Some of his observations about bees were pretty clever, others were dead wrong.

Butler - This naturalist and beekeeper realized the "King Bee" is a "Queen Bee" - he wrote Feminine Monarchie in 1609.

Cave Folks - These early impressionist artists created the first images of bee culture in history with their cave paintings in Spain, 6000 B.C.

Charles Mraz - Mraz was a pioneer in bee sting therapy. As a beekeeper and apitherapist for more than 60 years, he also used bee venom to treat patients with arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and a host of other disorders.

Dobbs - This beekeeper and botanist discovered that bees pollinate flowers while gathering nectar and pollen.

Dyce - In the 1930's, this Canadian developed the creamed honey formulas for soft, 'spun', semi-granulated honey.

Henry Fonda - The star of 96 films, this hobby beekeeper gave away honey in jars that he labeled Henry's Honey. When he was a youngster, he'd earned the Eagle Scout badge for beekeeping.

Hippocrates - The father of medicine frequently recommended honey as a remedy for whatever ails you. He wrote, 'Honey and pollen cause warmth, clean sores and ulcers, soften hard ulcers of lips, heal carbuncles and running sores.' (Does anyone know what a car bunkle is?)

Icarus - This ancient Greek astronaut flew too close to the sun and the beeswax holding the feathers to his arms melted - the feathers came loose and he is still falling.

Leo Tolstoy - This Russian author was a beekeeper. His wife, Sonja, talked about him "crouching in front of his hives, net over his head." Tolstoy mentions beekeeping twice in War and Peace (it's a long book, you'd expect beekeeping to come up, wouldn't you?) Tolstoy describes the evacuation of Moscow: "Moscow was empty. It was deserted as a dying, queenless hive is deserted."

Maria von Trapp - Yes, after the family escaped Austria, the little nun and governess from the Sound of Music kept bees on her Vermont farm.

Mohammed Ali - Former heavy-weight champ ate lots of pollen and honey and attributed this as part of the reason he could sting like a bee.

Peter Fonda - actor, activist, was named Beekeeper of the Year by the Florida State Beekeeping Association for deftly portraying Ulee in Ulee's Gold, and for his contributions to beekeeping.

Presidents of the United States -Although they have distinguished themselves as successful revolutionaries, both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson poked their hands into bees nests more than a few times in their careers. One visitor to this web site tells me that the first president, agricultural experimenter and beekeeper honest George Washington, who never told a lie nor exaggerated about the size of his honey crop, probably kept bees in progressive wooden boxes (instead of gums or skeps) according to records in the storehouse at Mount Vernon.

The Romans - The ancient Romans shot beehives as catapult projectiles. They found this ammunition so effective that they depleted most of central Italy of bees.

Sherlock Holmes - This great detective retired to a simple life of puttering around with bees. As a beekeeper, he continued to demonstrate his problem-solving expertise.

Sir Edmund Hillary - A commercial beekeeper (he and his brother owned 1200 hives) from New Zealand, along with Tenzing Norgay, first scaled Mount Everest, in May, 1953.

Ulee - This fictional Florida beekeeper, played by Peter Fonda, became famous with the release of the dramatic, acclaimed feature film Ulee's Gold, starring Peter Fonda and Patricia Richardson - released June 13, 1997.

Warwick Kerr - Kerr is the great-grandson of a Confederate army colonel from the southern states who settled in Brazil after the American Civil War. Dr. Kerr has been an outstanding spokesman for Brazil's poor and politically oppressed, and this has led to a brief internment in prison a few years ago. As an apicultural researcher, social activist, and beekeeper, he brought African bee stock to Brazil in an attempt to improve honey production and the standard of living for poor and indigenous beekeepers in the South American tropics. An assistant accidentally released 26 mated African queen bees into the wild in 1957.

****************************************************