Let's Go Far Far Away from here Honey Bee

It is officially 23 days until we leave on our adventure for Paris, and then Oregon, and we have packed approximately 4 boxes. Packing is hard! Especially during this time of year when it is staying light later and all of the good after work and weekend activities have started coming back.

For example; we could have packed some more last night, but instead we went to a Kitchen Table Talk about Honey Bees. We went with some apprehension as the last lecture we attended, while interesting, was far too much like school with its power points, and we ended up leaving early. However we could tell that this one was different as soon as we walked into Viracocha. Viracocha is on the corner of 21st and Valencia and it is somewhere between Paxton Gate, Mrs. Havashom’s house, and a thrift store. It is one of those giant warehouse type spaces with lots of wood on the floors, on the walls, and on the ceilings. There were succulents in the windows which continued inside, old clothes, books, pianos, and bathtubs among other things, all on display in unexpected ways. There was also what turned out to be a real cat, and a real person playing the piano. The actual lecture was held downstairs where there was a nice spread of snacks, local honey, and wine. One thing that made it feel less like a lecture was the way the various seats were arranged for optimal crowd watching (what up Michael Pollen! We saw you hiding in the back!).

The talk started out with the movie Pollen Nation. Following the screening Michael Thiele, Dr. Michelle Flenniken, and Cameo Wood talked about their work and personal experiences with honey bees. I appreciated German native, Michael Thiele’s passion, but was obviously most interested in Dr. Michelle Flenniken’s presentation as it included things like slides of DNA. Cameo Wood, who owns Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper shop in the Mission, also gave a surprisingly informative talk.

Obviously packing was impossible after such a mind stimulating evening…

Picture borrowed from
Moral Behavior
Sean McCann, UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory
6CB@NIST