Cicada: An Abundant Food Source

Magicicada septendecim (Linnaeus) Alexander and Moore wrote in 1962, “The periodical cicadas make up a truly amazing group of animals; since their discovery 300 years ago, the origin and significance
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First Swarm of the Season…

on April Fools Day!  That’s quite early for our area.  It must be a joke.  Here is a short video for you about the Waggle Dance.  

Words Pale

Healing Herbal Seminar with Matthew Wood

I had never looked at the Martin’s bulletin board until recently when I found a flier for Matthew Wood‘s Healing Herbal Seminar at Wholistic Wisdom in Harrisonburg. I was thrilled to
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Bucket o’ Bees

It’s swarm season here at Pure & Simple, and anywhere you find bees, really. In a nutshell, a queen will leave with about half of the hive’s population as a
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Get Fresh!

As part of the Go Local Film Series, FRESH will be showing at the Court Square Theater on May 23. This is a free showing, however, donations are accepted at
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One Mighty Reason to Stop Topping

Here is a Red Oak (Quercus rubra) in our front yard. It would be a regal beauty today had it not been topped years ago, causing unnatural growth above the
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Friday Forage: Strawberry

Strawberry (this bed is mostly Fragaria × ananassa). This is one of many plants in bloom right now. I chose to feature strawberry because we grow a few varieties on our
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Calendula & Tea Tree Soap

Soap making is one of our activities here and a great outlet for creativity because there are many different ingredients that can be used. Plus, after all the fun, there
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Spring Cleaning

Spring is a fabulous time of year for us. Not only is the landscape greening, but this is when Stuart can really get into the hives to see which ones
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