Like Bees To Honey

In her third novel, acclaimed author of ‘In Search of Adam’ and ‘Black Boxes’ Caroline Smailes draws upon her own family history for a remarkable and unforgettable story of loss and redemption.

I like bees . . . but I don't like honey!I like my imaginary friend . . . but I don't like it when people say he's not real. A beautifully illustrated, funny and thought-provoking book for building confidence and encouraging children to express their feelings - about anything and everything. This book will help enable a much broader conversation about individuality, fear and hopes.All author royalties are being donated to the NSPCC.

A love built to last is the sweetest love of all. Camellia Hill is a nurturer. She's a loving confidante to her sister and doting aunt to her nieces, the Bee Girls of Honey Hill Farms. Making other people happy is Camellia’s bread and butter. And at fifty-two, she’s perfectly fine not being the center of attention. She’s had her heart broken before and she’s quite content not to go down that road again—until fate brings not one but two suitors into her life. Camellia has both a history and an undeniable chemistry with her handsome ex Harald Knudson, but sweet local butcher Van Kettner has her wondering what if… Pursuing either man could mean disrupting the comfortable life she’s built with the girls on the farm. Is it ever too late for another shot at happily-ever-after?

Honeybees make decisions collectively--and democratically. Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honeybees stake everything on a process that includes collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building. In fact, as world-renowned animal behaviorist Thomas Seeley reveals, these incredible insects have much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective decision making. A remarkable and richly illustrated account of scientific discovery, Honeybee Democracy brings together, for the first time, decades of Seeley's pioneering research to tell the amazing story of house hunting and democratic debate among the honeybees. In the late spring and early summer, as a bee colony becomes overcrowded, a third of the hive stays behind and rears a new queen, while a swarm of thousands departs with the old queen to produce a daughter colony. Seeley describes how these bees evaluate potential nest sites, advertise their discoveries to one another, engage in open deliberation, choose a final site, and navigate together--as a swirling cloud of bees--to their new home. Seeley investigates how evolution has honed the decision-making methods of honeybees over millions of years, and he considers similarities between the ways that bee swarms and primate brains process information. He concludes that what works well for bees can also work well for people: any decision-making group should consist of individuals with shared interests and mutual respect, a leader's influence should be minimized, debate should be relied upon, diverse solutions should be sought, and the majority should be counted on for a dependable resolution. An impressive exploration of animal behavior, Honeybee Democracy shows that decision-making groups, whether honeybee or human, can be smarter than even the smartest individuals in them.

A Wisconsin Amish farming family looks on with delight as their shy daughter blossoms into a woman in love in this heartwarming romance. Shy, skittish Rose Christner is more comfortable tending to the beehives on the family farm than attending social gatherings with the rest of the die youngie. A childhood trauma and secret shame keep her heart under lock and key. And Rose just can’t accept the sweet attention she’s receiving from her handsome neighbor, Josiah Yoder. But the more she shies away from Josiah, the more their families sneakily plot to bring them together. As Josiah begins to win Rose’s trust with his kindness and patience, she begins to reveal the charming and caring personality she’s kept hidden for too long. And when a vandal who’s been plaguing the Honeybee Farm starts targeting Rose, Josiah’s steadfast protection just may lead her into his waiting arms . . .

The Bee Book shows you step-by-step how to create a bee-friendly garden, get started in beekeeping, and harness the power of honey for well-being. Fully illustrated with full-color photographs throughout, this beautiful guide covers everything you need to know to start your own backyard hive, from setup to harvest. Practical beekeeping techniques are explained with clear step-by-step sequences, photos, and diagrams so you'll be prepared to establish your own colony, deal with diseases, collect a swarm, and much more. A comprehensive gardening chapter features planting plans to fill container and border gardens, bee "hotel" and habitat projects, and an at-a-glance flower gallery of bees' favorite plants. The Bee Book also shows you how to harvest honey, beeswax, and propolis from the hive and use these ingredients in 38 recipes for home remedies, beauty treatments, and candle-making. Discover the wonder of bees in nature, in your garden, and in the hive with The Bee Book.

As seen on PBS's American Spring LIVE, the award-winning author of The Triumph of Seeds and Feathers presents a natural and cultural history of bees: the buzzing wee beasties that make the world go round. Bees are like oxygen: ubiquitous, essential, and, for the most part, unseen. While we might overlook them, they lie at the heart of relationships that bind the human and natural worlds. In Buzz, the beloved Thor Hanson takes us on a journey that begins 125 million years ago, when a wasp first dared to feed pollen to its young. From honeybees and bumbles to lesser-known diggers, miners, leafcutters, and masons, bees have long been central to our harvests, our mythologies, and our very existence. They've given us sweetness and light, the beauty of flowers, and as much as a third of the foodstuffs we eat. And, alarmingly, they are at risk of disappearing. As informative and enchanting as the waggle dance of a honeybee, Buzz shows us why all bees are wonders to celebrate and protect. Read this book and you'll never overlook them again.

Seeley, a world authority on honey bees, sheds light on why wild honey bees are still thriving while those living in managed colonies are in crisis. Drawing on the latest science as well as insights from his own pioneering fieldwork, he describes in extraordinary detail how honey bees live in nature and shows how this differs significantly from their lives under the management of beekeepers. Seeley presents an entirely new approach to beekeeping--Darwinian Beekeeping--which enables honey bees to use the toolkit of survival skills their species has acquired over the past thirty million years, and to evolve solutions to the new challenges they face today. He shows beekeepers how to use the principles of natural selection to guide their practices, and he offers a new vision of how beekeeping can better align with the natural habits of honey bees.