We are Farmers

In the words of Wendell Berry, "to cherish what remains of the Earth and to foster its renewal,” is our calling.

We are farmers. We carefully follow the seasons and the changes in weather instead of the calendar. We are in an arranged marriage with the elements and the earth.

Keeping honeybees for honey at this point and time is not something you do to make money; it is an act of service.

We intentionally keep our bees. We do not ship them out to warmer climates in the winter to make more money because we believe that disrupts the natural cycle of creating Colorado-hearty honeybees.

We naturally treat our bees for mites. This is less effective, but we believe that this practice is better for them and for you, our local family, who consume it.

We keep our bees in areas that aren’t treated by chemicals and pesticides where there is a larger variety of flowers and native plants.

However, this year, the areas where we keep our bees have been devastated by the hail and heat. Where wildflowers once were as abundant as air, they have been sparse. Over a few weeks we lost 9 hives.

We want you to know: we don’t make a profit on our honey. We do it for you. You who live in this area and need a honey producer that you can count on who is committed to selling honey locally and sustainable practices.  We are firm in that we do our best to naturally breed resilient Colorado honeybees until larger shifts happen legally and politically to make our climate safer and more friendly to honeybees.

We are so proud of what we do. We are just as proud that Greeley is a community that unwaveringly supports us.

Thank you.

Some things are just brilliant...

Our honey pops are pretty good looking. You might think we made them just because they are so cute. And you would be a little right. We wanted to create an appealing snack that would be great for kids and adults, easy to tote around, and a minimal choking hazard to the littles.

Voila!  Our ginger honey pops were born. They are great for all ages, delicious and an easy way to sneak in robust health benefits.

When you combine honey and ginger you get a powerhouse of respiratory benefits! Together, honey and ginger are natural expectorants and bring instant relief to those suffering from a cough, cold, sore throat or runny nose. 

It is widely known that ginger reduces nausea and the addition of honey adds natural soothing effects. The discomfort of all forms of nausea benefit from ginger as it speeds up the emptying of the stomach.

Did you also know that honey and ginger helps with chemotherapy-induced nausea? We have a cancer treatment group that swear by our pops! Nausea from chemotherapy is often caused by cisplatin and ginger balances out its effects.

And if you weren’t amazed already: Honey and ginger have even been known to help your heart! They do this by easing blood vessel tension and reducing blood pressure which lead to lower chances of heart attacks and strokes.

You know our honey pops are good looking. Now you know that their ingredients and benefits are even better than their outside appearance. :) Enjoy!

The Farmer's Market- Its about Investing in your Home.

KJ Tencza of Illuman Apiary helping a customer at the Greeley Farmer's Market

This is our third season being a part of the offerings at the Greeley Farmer's Market, and as we anticipate this summer, we wanted to share five reasons investing in the Farmers Market is more than just getting locally grown stuff at a cheap price.

1. The Farmer's Market is not about "Eliminating the Middle Man"

Over the years, we hear very frequently that people come to the farmer's market to get produce cheaper than they can at the store because we eliminate the middle-man. We think its simple to think this way since stores get their produce from a broker who gets their produce from the farmer, so if you eliminate the broker, the prices must go down.

After rubbing shoulders with a lot of Weld County farmers, we have found that the truth is, for a lot of them, there is no middle man and there are no stores. A lot of the larger stores that most of us shop at get produce brokered from all over the country from HUGE farms which are run but corporate agencies.  These agencies own millions of acres, billions of dollars of equipment and hold contracts with these large superstore accounts.

In contrast, the farmers I know and work with at our local market, they have their family... they have their soil, they have their seeds, and they have their farmers market. This is a completely different market than entering the super store battle. These farmers don't wear suits and ties, they have dirt in their fingernails and they can tell you the story of that red pepper you just bought.

We would love to see people offering to pay more at the farmer's market rather than trying to bargain down and get a deal. The market is all about seeing the value in things. Show your local farmers that you value them and their families.

2. It values Family

When you come to the market, you rarely see someone working a booth alone. We are there will our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, moms, dads and best friends.  After spending every Saturday, in the summer, for two years with these families, we have been blessed to hear countless stories of family farms, family markets and how different members of each small business work to bring us the products that they offer.

We could talk all day long about how every waking hour and ounce of free time revolves around bees and how everything in our house seems to be sticky with honey, but there is also the baker whose name is Katie and her 3 kids and husband, there are the coffee people who are trying to change the world with fair trade coffee, there are the bread people who made it their family mission to make the best bread in the world, there are the farmers who work weld county soil, there is the flower girl who sells flowers that she personally grew, and the cheese people and the meat people, there are the potters who bring their pottery and the loose leaf tea entrepreneurs who are dreaming about their first brick and mortar business in downtown Greeley. They all have stories as brilliant, complex and challenging as ours.. and we are blessed to call them our friends, our community and co-marketers.

3. It connects you to Home

We love Greeley. We kind of want to marry it, and by living here and investing here, we feel like we are. We love the culture, we love the location, we love our history, we love our people, we love the challenges and we love that Greeley seems to be this place where big things are born. We are thankful that we get to be a part of Greeley story and your family.

We choose Greeley, and we want to be caretakers of its story and invest in its value. A lot of the valuable pieces of Greeley are not the things that are unexpected but the things that are actually highly expected. We are built on agriculture. We have a growing and thriving Indi-Arts community. Greeley's grasp on music and the performing arts is intense. Our level of diversity for a small Colorado community is unparalleled, and the Farmer's Market is the place where all these things and people mix.

When you invest in the farmer's market, you are investing in your home and in your family. Its saying, "There is value in this place, and in these people."

Our prayer is that the residents of Greeley begin to see Greeley as home, a place they have chosen and a place to sink their roots in, because Greeley is worth it.

4. It Roots you in Thankfulness

When you know the story of your lettuce, flowers, cheese, meat, coffee, honey, soap and all the other things you buy, you engage a journey of thankfulness.

Many of us have family practices of praying before meals alone or with our families. Its common to have prayer of being thankful for the food, however by being connected to the growers and producers, our prayers all of a sudden take shape.

Our prayers are no longer, "God thank you for this food and make it good for our bodies," but "God thank you for the Cockroft family who spent their summer growing this lettuce, tomatoes and peppers, thank you for Katy who baked this bread, thank you for the family at moo-cheese for this cheese and for the Tencza's who got stung a billion times over the summer so we could have honey on our desert =) "

5. It exposes the true value over the true savings

As many of you know we sell our honey for $10.00 per pound. This is about $2.50 more than what you would pay at a supermarket.

Last year, we had a gentleman come to our booth, pick up a 2lb bottle of honey and "How much?" We told him $20, and he was stunned, was offended and said, "Thats so expensive!" Now we know we are supposed to be good sales people and explain the cost and smile, but our response was simply, "Yes it is. Its very expensive."

I believe many of the other farmers will say the same thing. Its expensive.

Its expensive because when we bring our produce, we aren't just bringing tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and honey... we are bringing our lives (and we love it!).

In that 2 pound bottle of honey is my family building wooden hives all winter long, and panting all of them in the garage during the rainy early Spring. In that honey is us dropping everything when you call us and say there is a swarm of bees in your back yard, and we come, catch them and put them in one of the hives that we built over the winter. In that honey is my family in bee suits with the smoker, heat, stickiness to farm, cultivate and care for the bees. It is us pulling 24 hour days during the summer to extract the honey so we can have it ready in time for the market. Is us putting quilts over the hives when its cold or tarps when its rainy. When we sell our honey, soap, lotion, lip balm or whatever... we are offering you our heart, our time, our love and our craft and over the years the community of Greeley has wholeheartedly supported and loved us back.

We are thankful for the unbelievable love, support and encouragement that you have given to us over the years and desire nothing more than to have the other farmers in our community feel that same sense of pride, ownership and investment. Its time for us to have a prideful ownership of the city we call our home.

This summer, invest wildly at the Greeley Farmer's Market. Come get to know your farmers and neighbors. Experience the value that is in your food and local home products. Come and invest in the things that are valuable: your community, family and home.

We can't wait to see you!

Beekeeping teaches us to slow.... down...

Owner, operator and head-beekeeper KJ Tencza with a painted box turtle he found by the Illuman Apiary hives. 

When one thinks about bees and beekeeping, the descriptor, "Busy as a bee," seems to always pop up. While beekeeping is a busy practice with thousands of hours of work per beekeeping season, we have found that the best beekeepers practice patience and mindfulness. 

Beekeeping is like solving puzzles. Each hive has its own personality, pace and drive. Each time we enter a hive, we "read the comb." Reading the comb consists of slowly and masterfully, going through the hive and counting eggs, larva, brood. It includes looking at patters, consistency and trying to pick up on the vibe of the hive. At this point, we can tell what we have to do to best cultivate that hive... Then on to the next, then the next, then the next. Each hive is like its own city or even world. To blow through a hive would be to discredit its complexities and value. Yet many of us do this with our lives. 

Each of us carry a complex, diverse purpose and have a desire to be seen and celebrated. The pains we feel, we long for them to be recognized. Daily we encounter thousands of people that we hurry past, we visit places that we never see and we exhale before our inhale had any value. 

What would it be like for you to slow down? What would it be like for you to see the things that are commonly unseen? What would it look like for you to stop long enough to count the things that are valuable... 

Click the images to scroll through :)

This article isn't as much about the bees as what the bees inspire. In fact, this was inspired by a single trip to our beehives. During a two hour time period, we saw a painted box turtle crossing the road. We stopped, picked him up and helped him on his way. Then we saw a dead pheasant with led shot in its side. We comptemplated its story... probably chased by a bird dog, shot by a hunter, ran away and was never found. It died and was hidden until this point.. Then we saw a flock of chucker running between our hives. What?! Are you even kidding? The eyes of the chucker are bright orange with white stripes running backward... amazing! 

This is a pace of life, the bees inspire. A pace that allows us to stop, look and imagine. Its a pace where you can count the little things. Its a pace where you expect to be stung a time or two, and that is a part of the blessing of the life we live. 

May you find a pace of life you love. May you see the sacred in the simple. May you count things that are small. And may you find slow, smiling turtles crossing your busy roads. 

The Joy of Preparation

“During the wintertime, an ant was living off the grain that he had stored up for himself during the summer. The cricket came to the ant and asked him to share some of his grain. The ant said to the cricket, ‘And what were you doing all summer long, since you weren’t gathering grain to eat?’ The cricket replied, ‘Because I was busy singing I didn’t have time for the harvest.’ The ant laughed at the cricket’s reply, and hid his heaps of grain deeper in the ground. ‘Since you sang like a fool in the summer,’ said the ant, ‘you better be prepared to dance the winter away!’ ”

— Aesop's Fables

As I stand here painting bee-boxes I can't help but remember the old fable about the Ant and the Cricket. Diseny did a cartoon of it a long time ago, and I still remember vividly the Cricket standing out in the cold in the snow as the ants partied and feasted by the fire. 

In previous Springs, I felt much like the cricket, but this year we are practicing the worth ethic of the ant. We have spent most of January, February and now March preparing for, what we believe will be, an amazing Spring and Summer. 

When one thinks about beekeeping, people rarely think about the hundreds of hours of work in the workshop or study in preparation.  Much of beekeeping happens in the off-season... the building, the planning, the painting, the studying and the anticipation. 

As I stand here painting box after box of what will be filled with bees in the summer, right now I think about the promise each box holds as well as the responsibility.  These are the boxes of life, of sustenance, of the love of nature. These are the boxes that carry hope, determination and perseverance. These are the boxes that our children will inherit. 

May we be people of intention. May we see the value of preparation. May we see the hope that lies within empty boxes. 

"A Lesson in Bee-ing" by Courtney Cyr-Collier

Courtney Cyr at Illuman Apiary
 

It was seven years ago when I first learned about the declining bee population. I was sitting in an environmental studies class and one of the other students gave a speech on the repercussions of losing the Honey Bee. As she finished up her presentation, she pulled out bowls full of fruit: apples, mangos, strawberries, grapes, raspberries, watermelon, cherries, and pears. She handled the bowls around and told us to take and enjoy our favorites, because if something is not done to change the rapid rate of bee colony collapse, none of these fruits will be around. With a closing statement like that, my attention was captured.

 It is my understanding that the issue of Honey Bee colony collapse is common knowledge in our culture. However, when paired with issues like water contamination, deforestation, climate change, and ozone pollution, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless. When you begin looking into the problem of the Honey Bee becoming endangered, you discover a tirade of issues that researchers believe contributed to the problem. Many of them with ties to huge, government- backed organizations like Monsanto. So what do you do? As one single person, what can you change? 

 This is why my love story with Illuman Apiary began.

 Illuman Apiary is a small, family – run business of Beekeepers. They saw a need and figured out what they could do to help. When I first read about their small business, I thought it was a neat idea and didn’t think much more of it. However, the more time I spend with KJ and Yendra, the more I realize just how true they stay to their mission. Every decision made is based in what is good and helpful to their bees. They use their platforms to educate their community on ways to help the Bees. They create real, wholesome products and put the profits towards expanding their hives.

 I am even more excited to now be partnering with them in this initiative! I’ll have the opportunity to grown in my knowledge and understanding about Beekeeping, while helping them develop and expand their incredible brand.

Inspiration from New Jersey

She Came All the Way from New Jersey

From the right: KJ, Sheena and Yendra at Illuman Apiary, Greeley Colorado
 

Being a small business owner can be tough. It’s hard work, long hours and a lot of faith.

Sometimes, strangers find you and your business. And they see you. They get why you do what you do. And sometimes they will travel a distance to encourage you, talk bees with you, and get the t-shirt.

A few weeks ago we got an email from Sheena from New Jersey.  She found us on twitter, started following our business and became a big fan of our company. She flew out to Colorado for an interview and she drove over an hour out of her way to connect with us.

Sheena reminded us that we are making a difference and more than ever this country needs younger, innovative beekeepers. Thanks for going the extra 130 miles, Sheena!

You motivate us to go out of our way to encourage those who inspire us!

Earth Week! Simple Ways to Save Honeybees (and Humans)

We are passionate about the bees!  Did you know that bees pollinate around 80% of plants and about 60% of human food sources?

 There is no arguing that the honeybee is threatened in the United States and abroad. The numbers are in from 2015, and on average beekeepers in Colorado lost 1/3 of their hives last year.

Nationally, over the past five years, bee loss has stayed between 30% and 40%.

Why?

The two biggest reasons for these alarming bee losses are pesticides and habitat loss.

We know that the pesticides, neonicotinoid insecticides (also called neonics) are proven bee-killers. European countries have outlawed these insecticides. Unfortunately, the United States is lagging behind.  Currently, Maryland is the only state to outlaw neonicotinoids while cities in Washington, Oregon, Hawaii and Colorado have also banned them.

Habitat loss has occurred due to development, lack of diversity of food sources and the destruction of pollinator corridors.

What are some everyday things you can do to save the honeybee?

 1. Buy bee-friendly plants, seeds, mulch, soil and fertilizers. If it isn’t labeled, ask if it has neonicotinoids in it.

2.  Grow bee-friendly flowers that bloom from spring to fall to provide food for pollinators

3. Be a guerilla gardener! Actively help plant seeds in abandoned lots, open fields, and by the side of the road. You can do this with seed bombs!  Illuman Apiary’s seed bombs have a base of clay and moss.  Together, they give the seed bombs weight so that they can be launched a farther distance, protect the seeds until it rains and give them a safe environment to grow. Our bee-friendly seeds are made of a quality, pollinator blend that have an 85% germination rate.

Our seed bombs are loaded with Colorado Native, wildflower, pollinator seeds. We are so excited to offer them to you as a means of spreading beauty and impacting your world.
 

Food for thought: what if bombs only create life instead of death? What if all bombs made food and flowers?

Additional resources:

https://bouldercolorado.gov/ipm/protecting-pollinators

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/Pollinator%20Health%20Strategy%202015.pdf

http://www.denverpost.com/environment/ci_28399008/colorado-beekeepers-hope-turn-trend-die-offs-locally

The Magic of Bee Pollen (seriously, its magic)

We are confident that you need to hold onto your heads because your minds are about to be blown! The process, the diligence and the miracle make bee pollen enough for all of us to become life-long bee advocates.

Since bee pollen is so unbelievably good for you, we will explain what it is, how it is made, and what the oo-la-la health benefits are!

Notice the tiny pollen particles all over the body of the bee. How amazing is that?

The most well known function of the worker bee is pollination. Pollination could be considered the first stage of reproduction of the plant in whatever form the plant propagates itself- such as fruit (and then the seeds from the fruit) or nuts. The worker bees pollinate by moving the pollen from one flower to another with their little hairs all over their body that catch the pollen and carry it from plant to plant. Bees pollinate about 80% of green growing things.

So, what’s the deal with bee pollen?

Bee pollen happens when the female worker bee scrapes off the powdery loose pollen from the stamen of the flower with her jaws and front legs. Then, she moistens it with a dab of the honey she brought with her from the hive. On the back of her legs she has a set of bristles called pollen combs. She uses these combs to brush the gold powder from her coat and legs in mid-flight. As if that weren’t awesome enough, she then presses down the pollen with a part of her leg called  the auricle, which is used as a hammer. The pollen is pushed into her pollen baskets, located on the outside of her calves (tibias) and are surrounded by a fringe of long hairs. When the bee's pollen baskets are fully loaded, the microscopic pollen has been pushed down into a single colorful ball.

When the bees package pollen like this, we call them saddlebags because they look like the bags attached to a horse or motorcycle. So awesome!

Isn’t that amazing!!???

Scientists have tried to replicate bee pollen in the lab and so far it has not been possible. The bees add another enzyme, let’s call it miracle juice, that humans have not been able to create synthetically.

This bee pollen is then brought back to the hive for food and storage. Each cell in the comb is packed with a pollen ball.  Then, an egg is laid on top of the ball and the cell is sealed. Once born, the baby bee will first eat its way through the pollen ball.

This is a picture of our first pollen harvest! Notice the different colors of pollen which make up the diversity of different plants they come from...

Making bee pollen is no small task. It takes one bee working eight hours a day for one month to gather one teaspoon. Each bee pollen pellet contains over two million flower pollen grains and one teaspoonful contains over 2.5 billion grains of flower pollen!

What are the insane health benefits of bee pollen?

Bee pollen is considered a super food because it contains roughly 14 vitamins, 28 minerals, 11 enzymes and co-enzymes, and 14 fatty acids. Bee pollen is richer in proteins than any animal source. It contains more amino acids than beef, eggs, or cheese of equal weight.

Here are some proven positive health benefits of bee pollen:

* Increase in immune system. A considerable and simultaneous increase of both white and red blood cells is observed. When bee pollen is given to anemic patients, their levels of hemoglobin (oxygen-carrying red blood cells) increase considerably.

* Normalizing cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood. Of those who regularly consumed bee pollen, they saw a decrease of cholesterol and triglycerides. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) increased, while low-density lipoproteins (LDL) decreased. A normalization of blood serum cholesterol levels was also seen.

Stabilization of weight.

Delays of cancer and its effects. On cancer patients treated with bee pollen and chemo they found an increase in antibody production compared to the control group.

Help with infertility (stimulation of ovarian production).

Allergy remedy if taken 6 weeks before allergies occur and on a consistent basis.

Increase in strength and stamina.

Rejuvenation of skin and stimulation of cell renewal.

Too good to be true? Try it for yourself to see. Check out our supply of bee pollen by clicking here!

Also, see our all-natural products in our store!

Want more information?  Check this page out: https://behealthy.today/bee-pollen-top-10-benefits/ 

The Spring Cleaning of The Bee

“Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring.”

— William Alexander

Spring cleaning isn’t just a thing we do; it’s a practice of the natural world.

we always think bees are happiest in the Spring!
 

In Colorado, the spring winds clear the landscape and uproot the final tumbleweeds that clung to the earth through the winter.

Our honey bees also spring clean. An average bee lifespan is 3-4 weeks. This means that through the winter, multiple generations have come and gone.  Whenever the weather gets above 57 degrees, the bees are able to go outside the hive, forage for food and clean up! Bees keep an immaculate, purposeful and beautiful home.

They work to keep the hive free of humidity and bacteria thus preventing mold. One way they do this is by removing all dead bees when the weather is warm enough to ensure proper airflow within the hive. Additionally, if the dead bees stay in the comb too long, they will decompose and spoil the food for everyone else!

During the winter, the bees have their storage of honey and pollen within the hive. In the early spring, there is some food to be found from early blooming flowers, but still the colony relies heavily on the food storage within the hive.

In early spring, it’s all about preparation. The worker bees are out and about, gathering water to liquefy the honey for the upcoming brood (drones, worker bees and possibly a new queen) that are going to be laid inside each tiny hexagonal frame. The worker bees are also out collecting nectar from the flowers, and then bringing the nectar back and passing it to a younger worker bee who converts the nectar into honey.

The honey bee spring cleans and prepares to get ready for the big nectar flow that sustains the colony year-round.

We can’t help but wonder- is the itch to spring clean a primal need that connects us to the rest of the natural world? Isn’t it a part of the dance that prepares the way for the harvesting stage of summer of which we were meant to take part?

Greeley's Winter Market

We love Greeley! Wow the Greeley Winter Market, what a great time!
 

We worked the Greeley Winter Market this past Saturday. We always love going to the Greeley markets because the patrons believe in Greeley and are excited about what we are doing. We usually end the day feeling inspired, excited and encouraged to continue to work and create and be.

What we didn’t expect about the Winter Market was that the venue itself would inspire us.

The Greeley Winter Market is held at the Garage Co-op on 1100 8th Avenue. The space pulls you into the artistic process. There are over a dozen artist’s rented studio spaces. We watched a college student begin her painting. She shared with us the piece she was working on and (bonus!) she taught us about an unknown feature in software we already use.

About halfway through the market a group of sleepy-eyed individuals began stretching and dancing ballet right next to us.

Lastly, at the entrance there was a coffee bar called KeyNote Coffee. And it wasn’t ordinary coffee. It is, as KJ’s refined palate declared, “possibly the best coffee in Greeley.”

Two of our favorite in person connections happened this past week: meeting new supporters and old fans. It is so fun to meet new people each market that follow us online and have now decided to try out our products. We are so grateful that others see the incredible value in bees and want to support them and us.

We also love it when our online customers come to markets and we finally get to meet them! It is rewarding to know you and your feedback to help us serve you even better.

So much of what we love about the other vendors and our supporters at the market is that we get to see their passions, enjoy them and encourage them as they encourage us. This venue took the experience up another notch as our surroundings reminded us of the importance of working in community and inspired us by the joy of being in the presence of artists devoted to their craft.

Click the image below to scroll some of our favorite pictures of the Winter Market :)

The Birds and the Bees

Our chicken coop was originally built in 1918 with the building of our original home in Historic Greeley, Colorado. Since then it was turned into a storage shed, work barn, a wood room and just recently back into a chicken coop. We are all about restoration =)

    You know those routine chores that nag at you until they are done? That’s the way I feel about the chicken coop.  It needs to be cleaned at least every other week. Since I go in there almost everyday to collect the eggs and give them food and water I am always aware of its state. The task continually looms large as their poo piles up on their roosts. When the stars align every few weeks and I have available daylight time and no other “squeaky wheels” to attend to I clean the chicken coop. With the gloves on, the wheelbarrow and bucket ready and shovel in hand I fill with gratitude. I am serving my chickens. Who serve me. Whenever I open the door to the coop, my girls call out to me. We have this amazing relationship that my grandmother had with her chickens and I didn’t understand it while she was still alive. There is something holy about being in a true interdependent relationship with animals that gives me glimpses of the way things could be. They give my family eggs and we are very grateful. We give them food and keep them loved and clean. Very basic and very divine.

    And so I scoop out all their poo from the coop and fill up my bucket a few times, which fills up my wheelbarrow. Then I cover the coop again with a fresh layer of cedar mulch and haul the poo and old mulch in the wheelbarrow out to the vegetable garden plot.  And once again the chickens have taken care of my family by me taking care of them; the garden has great soil which allows us to grow nutrient- rich vegetables and fruit while the mulch covering reduces the weeds.

    These rhythms are a big part of how we also operate our business at Illuman Apiary. We view our work with our bees as inter-dependent partners. We have unspeakable gratitude for our complex, brilliant, hard-working bees. They give us so much! They provide better fruit and vegetable harvests and beautiful flowers.  We ensure that our property does not have harmful chemicals and that they have the food they need. We work carefully in their hives to set traps to keep wasps and mites out. We prevent bacteria and keep the hives warm in the winter. They in turn, give us that golden goodness of honey and wax that we use in all of our products. Thanks for supporting our business that allows us to serve our bees in meaningful and sustainable ways.