Return to the honey bees

On a cool autumn day I painted at a residence homestead in Lexington, MA which kept chickens and honey bees. Hmmm, just a thought...chicken fingers and honey dipping sauce...could be a good combo for lunch.

Thinking back and reminiscing, my husband and I maintained a five acre homestead a few miles from the Chesapeake Bay in southern rural Maryland. We began our intro husbandry with a small flock of chickens and three hives and our first vegetable garden. Keeping an apiary was a captivating as well as delicious hobby. Learning about the native trees and their bloom times was much needed practical knowledge for keeping the hives active and healthy.  Although I do not keep bees now, each spring I still search along the roadside for the blooming of locust trees...such delicious honey.

Here is a very early block print, 1981, the beginning of my block printing journey, entitled The Apiary.

Once again, 2015, while my husband was being treated for uveal cancer, I took an interest in producing linoleum block prints of bees and flowers.




Below is the en plein air painting of the bee hives in Lexington. and no I didn't have chicken fingers and honey for lunch but the home made veggie soup hit the spot.