ABOUT US
(It is your beeswax after all...)
I (Kaki) grew up on a farm on Long Island in the 60’s, a sod farm that was a potato farm until the Golden Nematode wiped out potatoes on Long Island in the 40’s. It was in Woodbury, NY on 228 acres of Marion Blue Grass and it went on forever. It is now called Stillwell Woods (Nassau County bought the land and made it a park). Originally it was the Jones’ family homestead (Jones Beach) and Rosalie Jones lived in “my” Victorian farmhouse with her 37 goats.
Life was simple, money was scarce and everybody pitched in. I think in many ways I have spent my life trying to get back there, the place I tried so hard to get away from. I ended up on Wall Street for 41 years (still work remote). I sum things up this way: we spend our lives so often doing what we have to and if we are very lucky we get to do what we want to.
I have two terrific kids who never brought home an animal that we said no to. Truth be told, I loved these critters as much as they did. Bless my husband who never complained, well, mostly never complained.
My daughter Abigail inherited the farm gene and she jumped on the proverbial farm wagon with me. She also handles all the technology and social media and puts up with my Baby Boomer bungling with all this tech stuff without too many eye rolls. Abby is also the duck whisperer and manager of all things with lists. Might I also mention that she is always game for a new little baby or adoption story.
Marc my husband is the brawn and can usually be cajoled into playing with big machines, tearing stuff up and building structures. I owe the new apiary to Marc and pandemic lockdown.
Ryan, my son also loves to grow things and I am thinking that this spring he will be drafted into seed starting. He has a Masters degree in Environmental Engineering and can talk about clean water until the ducks come home.
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I started beekeeping in 2015 and boy was I bitten by the bug so to speak. I am fascinated, enthralled and bewitched by these little ladies. This year we expanded the apiary. We also added raised beds and planted lots of herbs and pollinator plants. The kitchen is humming with bug spray recipes, elderberry syrup, vanilla (coming Winter 2021) and gobs of other stuff.
This year we took the leap and began building a better tomorrow. Gradually Abigail and I are converting our little plot of land into a working homestead to supply our family and our community with organic foods and products. Although daunting at times there is nothing better than working the land, growing things and spending our days with creatures we love. We look forward to sharing with our neighbors near and far.
We hope you enjoy being part of our journey.