I have never won an athletic trophy in my life, but I have two special
trophies (bronzed statues of a horse's back end) that I prize. These awards
were made in honor of my storytelling by the South Carolina Beekeepers
Association.
 
    I have collected a lifetime of tales about my ancestors and cousins and
put them into a volume entitled "My Family Tree."  You will love this
collection of rollicking, sometimes earthy, accounts of the doings of my
family, who were NOT kings and dukes, generals and presidents. More often,
they were simple country folks, but some were horse thieves, carpetbagers, and
scoundrels.
 
    Do you have a child who won't do his or her chores at home?  Then join the
bees with the child to live with them for awhile in the story "A Shirker, Not
a Worker,"  about Jill, the worker bee who doesn't want to work.
 
    Did you ever wish you could experience life with the bees? Here is a
fantasy about the life and perspectives of the bees on hardship and plenty,
work, the family sisterhood, pollination and pesticide misuse, God and the
beekeeper, and the mythical coming "Time of Great Sweetness."
 
    The children's story was written for fourth through seventh graders, but
adults find it fascinating. The most common adult reaction: "I didn't know
that!" So it's a tool to educate while entertaining. There are questions at
the end, to clarify and instruct about the bees' experiences. It's illustrated
with photos I've taken over the years.
 
    Both works can be obtained from Pot o'Gold Honey Co. PO Box 1200,
Hemingway, SC 29554-1200.  The price includes shipping to US addresses (SC
addresses require 6% sales tax added), "A Shirker, Not a Worker"  $5, and "My
Family Tree" $10.
 
    They are also available at Jan's Sweetness and Light Store on the
Internet:
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm
 
    Here in South Carolina, we have experienced the coldest night of the year,
with temperatures down into the teens. Fall was so warm that I was becoming
concerned that we would not have any real winter. When winter is warm, the
plants stay tender, and  spring freezes are devastating. But this cold spell
is a relief. It will give the peaches their needed chill hours for good bloom,
and hopefully getting the cold when we should will mean that we won't get it
in the spring, when we shouldn't........
 
    I've been sick with bronchitis, since Christmas, so it was an ideal time
to catch up on these books, which have been in the works for years. Now I'm
anxious to get back into the bees. It warmed into the fifties with bright
sunshine a couple days ago, and the bees at the shop were carrying lots of
yellow pollen. I see blooming dandelions here and there, so spring is already
pushing.
 
 [log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
The Pollination Home Page:    http://www.pollinator.com
 
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm