Santa Rosa Plantation Wildflower Honey: May 2016

Santa Rosa plantation dates to the 17th century, though the plantation house in its current form dates to only 1840. Santa Rosa has been home to bees and excellent honey since before the American Revolution. For example, the will of Captain James Gee (1694-1760) filed at Prince George County Courthouse on February 16, 1760 lists among the Captain’s possessions “7 bees and hives.” During the Civil War Santa Rosa plantation was very close to the siege line surrounding Petersburg but the house itself was not burnt down because the Federals used the house as a headquarters and a field hospital…the heart pine floorboards on the 3d floor are covered with many large blood stains from the wounded soldiers. In 1864 the Union headquarters and hospital at Santa Rosa were overrun by Confederate cavalry on their way to rustle 5,000 Federal cattle that were corralled at Coggins point, cattle that were meant to feed the Union Army but instead were driven back to Petersburg by the rebels and ended up feeding the Confederate Army, prolonging the siege of Petersburg until 1865.

“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”-Maurice Maeterlinck, The Life of the Bee

Santa Rosa Plantaion BeeFarm: Home to the OLDEST Living Pecan Tree in Virginai

The Ancient Pecan of Santa Rosa

Towering above Santa Rosa and visible for miles around, being twice the height of the surrounding trees and other vegetation, is the mighty Ancient Pecan. Pecan trees are native to Prince George County and were cultivated by the Indians long before the English settlers arrived, but are still rather rare, since the abundant squirrels love to eat not only the Pecan nuts, but also devour the Pecan seedlings greedily. The trunk of the Ancient Pecan of Santa Rosa measures 24 feet in circumference. The Ancient Pecan of Santa Rosa is at least 350 years old, arguably the oldest living Pecan tree in Virginia. The long vertical scar on the east facing side of the tree, a scar possibly caused by a past lightning strike, has been the home of a colony of wild honey bees…could Pooh get his paw in there to scoop out the honey?

“Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.” ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”-Maurice Maeterlinck, The Life of the Bee

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey THE HONEY YOU BUY IN A STORE HAS BEEN FOUND NOT TO BE HONEY

SANTA ROSA BEES MAKE REAL HONEY!

THE HONEY YOU BUY IN A STORE HAS BEEN FOUND NOT TO BE HONEY! Don't believe this is true?

Well, it is true, continue reading...

READ BELOW AN EXCERPT FROM FOOD SAFETY NETWORK REGARDING HONEY:

"More than three-fourths of the honey sold in U.S. grocery stores isn’t exactly what the bees produce, according to testing done exclusively for Food Safety News.

The results show that the pollen frequently has been filtered out of products labeled “honey.”

The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world’s food safety agencies.

The food safety divisions of the World Health Organization, the European Commission and dozens of others also have ruled that without pollen there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources".-FOOD SAFETY NETWORK

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN READING THE FULL ARTICLE CLICK ON HERE ON LINK

SANTA ROSA HONEY WILL BE AVAILABLE IN JUNE! THE BEES ARE BUSY AND SO ARE WE!

HERE IS WHAT SANTA ROSA BEES HAVE BEEN FEASTING ON!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

BEE EDUCATION: BEE BOOKS FOR PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTENERS!

Three great books to help children learn about BEES. We need to educate the young regarding the critical role that HONEY BEES play in the ecosystem.

Santa Rosa Wildflower Honey Farm will be doing just that when we visit St. Mark's Preschool on May 18. Students will learn to...

Identify bees, honey, and pollen

Learn about the honey bee’s anatomy and lifecycle
Identify the critical role that honey bees play in pollinating fruits and vegetables
Understand how honey bees communicate

And we will be sharing at least one of these books with the preschool students!

Thank you St. Marks for allowing Santa Rosa Honey Farm to give back to the community through education!

Monday, May 9, 2016

Food for the BEES: Wild Buttercups Fill the Fields

Here is what Santa Rosa Honey Bees have been feasting on! Lovely GOLDEN BUTTERCUPS! HONEY will be arriving soon!

Santa Rosa Plantation Wildflower Honey