Barbara’s apiary with worker bees in the hive generating heat for the winter.
Written by Barbara Glassman, Executive Director
Frequent readers of this column know that I usually write about my bees. As I draft this issue, snow is falling for the first time upstate on Katchkie Farm and we’re getting much-needed rain in the city. It’s been an unusually warm and dry fall, with unprecedented wildfires both upstate and in New York City. Yet it’ll soon officially be winter, a time when we look forward to cold weather and holiday traditions.
As a beekeeper, I’m often asked if honeybees hibernate during the cold season. Bees aren’t typically associated with winter activity, and we rarely see them in flight during the colder months.
While many varieties of bees, including bumblebees, do hibernate in winter, honeybees actually don’t. It’s another fascinating aspect of their social organization. Instead, the worker bees cluster deeply in the hive and vibrate their wings and bodies to generate heat, gathering around their queen to keep themselves and her warm. In the winter, the hive becomes an even closer, more tightly connected community.
While the warmer months are peak harvest season at the Learning Garden on Katchkie Farm, winter is the peak program season in Sylvia Center classrooms. Throughout New York City and upstate, our students are forming tight-knit groups, and working together to create delicious dishes using the bounty of winter in their classes. Then they eat together with their community, clustered together around the table in their classrooms or at home. As the days grow colder and darker, we know how important this joyful practice is for their health and well-being, as it is for all of us.
While I miss the leafy greens and sweet fruits of the summer harvests, I welcome the comfort of warm soups made from root vegetables, hot drinks and the opportunity to cluster together with my own family and friends. I share with you today one of my favorite winter soup recipes that will warm you right up.
Until next time, gather around, keep warm and be powerful in the kitchen!
Barbara
P.S. If you’d like to experience this joy firsthand and visit one of our programs, please reach out to me. I’d be happy to connect with you.
