Why, oh why do I let several days go by in between blog posts?
Real life happens, I guess, and I hate to stop it to sit down and type.
This evening I have a stomach ache, so I helped Nora and Rose with hair and makeup, and Thomas went out with them to trick or treat. What a treat it is for me that we live in town and Thomas, our 18 yr old on the autism spectrum, is not ashamed to put on a mask and walk around with his little sisters. Getting candy might have something to do with it. But I think he would be happy to go out, even if he weren't hoping for the loot.
Earlier today I made a drive to Ozona to meet Mom and Daddy for lunch and for honey. Being particular about my ingredients not only costs me a lot of money, but a lot of time and effort, too. Much of the honey one buys from the store comes from multiple sources from different countries, from bees fed sugar, corn syrup and who knows what else.
A few miles from my parents is a family-owned company, Fains. It was started by Mr. Fains back in 1926. The story is a fascinating one. Mr. Fains was farming, and had 10 hives on the side. One year, the honey made almost double the money compared to the farm. This entrepeneur realized that beekeeping could be a business much more lucrative than any other option, so he set to collecting swarms, increase his business exponentially, and began a business that is still thriving, now owned by a grandson. The Fains Honey company started out in Central Texas, not far from my hometown, then moved down to the Rio Grande Valley. Use of pesticides and herbicides destroyed the honey bee environment, so after due diligence and plenty of research, Mr. Fain moved his business up to Llano area, where they are now located. Even though the region is arid, there are plenty of native plants that bloom with any little rain, especially something called Bee Bush. It has a teeny white blossom and you can smell the fragrance from far away. Sweet, like candy. Makes for wonderful honey bee food, along with many other varieties of wildflowers.
They sell their honey raw, and I am very thankful to get an amazing ingredient to be used in our milk and honey bread and granola. It gives me joy to support a family-run business. And it was a pretty nice excuse to share lunch with my parents and get to see some of my mom's new paintings she was delivering to the Fredericksburg Art Gallery in Fredericksburg, Texas for a big art show coming up next week.
I'm so proud of you, Mom! And thanks, to both you and Daddy for the fun lunch and for supporting MY business by helping with a speedy delivery so I can bake bread tomorrow!
PS If you like beautiful art work, check out www.fbgartgallery.com and look up Fran Rowe. She has some AMAZING pieces and there are some other wonderful artists there as well. xoxo
8 comments:
Wow, your mom is very talented. I really liked the ones with the mesas (I guess that is what they are called, the rock peaks).
Honey is an odd thing for me. I tried to eat local honey and had an allergic reaction to it, but I can eat the processed stuff from Kroger. ::shrug::
Ozona is a different kind of town. The last time I was there, we ran into a flock of turkeys the day after Thanksgiving (there had to of been at least 100 of them!).
Melaka
Hi Anita! Thanks for checking out Mom's great paintings. Wish I could paint or draw half as nicely! I think I know what your honey issue COULD be...Raw local honey is full of pollen of all the flowers and bushes that you are probably allergic to. The processed honey is often made without the flowers, and the highly processed nature cooks some of the stuff out. So, we all have to eat what we can tolerate, right?
Hi Melaka! You are right about Ozona. Wow. Lots of turkeys, celebrating the fact that they made it past their doomsday! I wish I had a wild turkey in my fridge (butchered, that is!). Yum.
Your mom's paintings are beautiful!
After watching The Vanishing of the Bees, I thought I might start a bee hive in the spring. Gunther Hauk, who is a beekeeper from Floyd (and was interviewed in the movie) is speaking at Greenfield next Monday on sustainable beekeeping.
I would like to have the bees for the gardens, etc. and if we get a bit of honey out of it, well that would be nice too : )
Wow, your mother's paintings are gorgeous Ginger. Kind of a vintage, cowboy look. I like it!
Your mother's painting are beautiful, such wonderful depth of field, so three dimensional and the light is wonderful. She must be delighted to have you and her grandchildren close by.
I'll check out the web site!
your mom's paintings are striking. very inspiring that someone older is still creating incredible things. much love to you and the kids.
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