Thursday, February 10, 2011

Bee Mine



We can't believe it's almost the middle of February, 2011 is already zooming by. Yet, Spring still seems a million miles away, especially with last weeks blizzard and this weeks below freezing temperatures. The good news is that the farm crew is already gearing up to order this years seeds and working out plans to get them in the ground soon, which is always a sure sign that Spring is indeed on its way.  We are also working on getting G.A.P. certified, which stands for good agricultural practices. These practices are a collection of principles to apply for on-farm production and post-production processes, resulting in safe and healthy food and non-food agricultural products, while taking into account economical, social and environmental sustainability.






Although it is still Winter, the farm is alive and busy preparing for this weekend's Valentines Celebration Farm Dinner.  The dinner is taking place in one of our greenhouses on our property, which I am very excited about.  Can you imagine anything more romantic than enjoying a gourmet, five course meal with your special honey all set in a gorgeous greenhouse in the dead of Winter? I love it! I walked down to the greenhouse this morning to get a sneak peek at how its all coming together and it already looks great. The dinner is sold out, but you can still click below to check out the delicious menu Chef Jeremy created for the event.
http://www.hpmfarm.com/farmdinner.html

Don't worry, if you weren't able to buy tickets, we have lots of other great farm dinners in the works.  




Our first beekeeping class for the season began last night as well. Hannah O'Malley, our production manager/Bronwyn's right hand bee assistant, said the class was a hit.  Students will be learning about the history of beekeeping, bee anatomy, starting up a colony, equipment basics, managing a colony throughout the year, honey bee pests/diseases, harvesting honey, and other hive products, as well as performing hive inspections.  We are hoping to offer a second round of workshops later this Spring.






And if you're looking for any great gifts this month, be it for Valentine's Day or just to treat yourself, we have a lot of lovely new items in our farm store.  Local potter, Melissa Monroe, recently dropped off more of her drop dead gorgeous pottery to sell in our store.  Melissa is a potter, painter, mother, and avid gardener among other things, she works out of her studio in Mokena, IL.  Her work includes vintage inspired patterns and shapes, as well as her love for nature. You can view more of her work here www.melissazmonroe.com  




We also have other great gifts like Bron's Bee Mine raw honey bears, Jenni Nenni sugar heart cookies, Fox Valley Winery Amore chocolate raspberry wine, and chocolate covered bottles of Heritage cherry wine.  We will actually be doing a free tasting of the Amore wine this Saturday and Sunday (February 12th and 13th) from noon til 5pm. Yum. All of our freshly harvested microgreens will also be on sale 20% off for the rest of February. Its this time of the year that I'm craving and dearly missing some fresh, delicious greens.  The moment you eat it, your body just says 'yes, this is what I need.'  So stock up while supplies last! 




Click here to learn more about Fox Valley Winery's wine collections www.foxvalleywinery.com