Encourage bees to come to your yard.... Sounds easy enough, and it is REALLY easy. Creating your own little bee space in your garden, patio or deck will prove to be one of the most fulfilling accomplishments in your life. Just doing your part in saving and protecting the bees in your own environment will be important for our planet. Losing our pollinators will have devastating results for our food sources. Continue to sign petitions for a GMO free country, say no to pesticides, support your local farmer. Become a *Lovavore*... Plant your bee garden, provide the housing and watch them come, creating beauty where they flit from bloom to bloom.
The Native Mason Bee
The most peaceful bee in nature...I know it seems strange but, the Mason Bee doesn't sting. Since I was a small child, I held them in my hand. Wonderful little creatures of various colors. For the love of bees... Enjoy ! Be well and happy ~ Holly
Transitioning to new beginnings, again.... I have been reflecting on my life, my path has been rocky at times, but I have always been happy, even during the hard times. Many of us are finding a new way, a new beginning, whether it is a new career, a move to a new home, or a change in familial status, we remain happy, living simply in our lives. Living simply is the key to happiness, unburdening our lives, getting rid of all the stuff that weighs us down, like a dark cloud above us, our earthly possessions, and want for more, not only add a burden to our lives, they add more stuff to our beautiful planet. Be happy with the blessings you have, your space, your family and friends, nature with all of it's bounty and beauty. Be in love and at peace with the world. Shine your light on each person you see, walk in nature, lean against an ancient tree, love a pet and be loved. Giving love and peace will bring it all back around to you. What a wonderful life ~ A beautiful world ~ My gratitude for my beautiful Oregon, and the blessing of living in Lake Oswego. As I embark upon a new venture, I know that in the flow of happiness and love for nature, my Origins Oregon will be received with open arms and loving hearts. Encouraged by friends and family, I am hopeful that Origins Oregon finds success. I will follow my heart....with gratitude.
Most gardeners don't realize the vast number of bee species there are. I have provided housing for our Oregon Native*, the Mason Bee. I observe, with fascination the comings and goings of my little, stingless friends, as they flit among my flowers, creating a beautiful abundance of flowers and vegetables. Mason bees are solitary bees that typically use tubes, reeds, and holes in wood for their nesting sites. Each female is a queen and will lay her egg in gathered pollen. She’ll separate these pollen/egg chambers with bits of mud, leaf, resin, etc. depending on her species. Each region in the U.S. has it's own native bee, so do a little research to find out which bees live in your area, it will be worth the small effort it takes to create a home for these hardworking pollinators. My mother always told me that, "we should all have something to look forward to, this will keep us happy and alive". The Mason Bees, as they leave the warm comfort of the nest, each individual bee having it's own little space, is one of the things I have to look forward to each Spring, with glee. In the Winter months, these little blue beauties, after a busy spring, the females will die in early June, their eggs hatch into larva which eat the pollen in June/July, and these larva then spin cocoons in July to metamorphosis into adult bees (still in cocoons) by October. The vast number of bees in your yard are independent female bees showing up only at specific times of the year. Each female is a queen, and they live their short life placing pollen and eggs into holes in twigs and reeds or under rocks hoping their progeny will remain undisturbed. So, please leave those stumps in your yard, as the Mason Bee will naturally create it's own home in those old stumps.
The Bee Garden
Grow your organic bee garden, build a simple bee box, and they will come. Considering our planets decline in the bee population, it is our responsibility to protect our pollinators. Providing a home for bees is a feel good accomplishment, a great hobby, while doing your part in saving the bees. The loss of bees has serious consequences for plants, wildlife and yes, human survival.
The bee is my totem, my friend, my purpose.
Here's how to befriend the bees, butterflies and birds
It has been sometime since I last posted, so I apologize to all of you ~ Here is an update: I have found myself in a beautiful space in time. My new space is both peaceful and beautiful. The birds grace my yard daily, dancing around the plants and trees with glee. My world is full of life. Just down the walkway, there is a bee and butterfly garden, so busy with life that it gives me hope for nature's friends, the bees and the butterflies, the birds and trees. Did you realize, that in some places in the world, the children have never seen a bee or a butterfly. I cannot imagine ! I have loved and admired our fabulous pollinators at work, providing the necessary element that grows our food, and adding beauty to our yards and gardens. Grow gardens...Not Lawns ~ I am teaching my grandson to love nature...we go earthing, catching the wind and staring in amazement at the heritage trees, in all their giant glory, the tall pines and colorful maples, we observe the bees, not wanting him to be frightened of the bees, with their inherent sweet nature, legs full of golden pollen, as they flit from flower to flower. I live through the wonder in his eyes ~ My new space, a place to grow and try new experiences. I feel the freedom and I am happy in my peaceful space ~
Gen shares some great tips on reducing the impact of pesticides on honeybees. She shares which types of pesticides you should never use, which ones are only safe if you spray them at dawn or dusk (when bees are less active), and which ones won’t impact honeybees. You’ll definitely want to bookmark her post for future reference. Be well and Happy ~ Holly https://www.facebook.com/originsoregon
A simple native american poem about the legend of the butterfly. All my life, I have loved and protected butterflies and bees....my totem, I have been told, is the butterfly....my wings are delicate, as my heart is pure love, the dust from my wings may easily be rubbed and weakened, only then do I remember that my strenghth comes in flight and fancy.
An Indian Butterfly Legend
If anyone desires a wish to come true they must capture a butterfly and whisper that wish to it.
Since they make no sound, they can’t tell the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit.
So by making the wish and releasing the butterfly It will be taken to the heavens and granted <3
Be kind to our beautiful planet and do your part by reusing and recycling. Often confused with reusing, recycling is the act of reprocessing things like paper, glass, and aluminum into new products. Take action to start now. When you are preparing to throw something in the trash...stop...ask yourself what you could do to upcycle or reuse, then recycle what you can't reuse.
At Origins Oregon we continue to do our part to make our
planet for all of us. By being sustainable, buying local, organic, vegan
and natural products only in our beautiful Oregon. We are proud
stewards of the earth...we are *Locavores*.
Respect the
appearance of Mother Earth, please don't throw trash on the ground. If
there is not a trash can convenient, carry it in your pocket until you
find one. Litter is a huge problem for wildlife. Birds, fish and other
animals get caught in plastic bags and soda can rings, and can choke on
small pieces of trash. Plus, trash makes parks and beaches less
appealing. Do not let your carelessness destroy living creatures and
habitats.
Be creative, it is so much fun, and you can take
pride in your unique reuse ideas. Brag a little...show off those ideas
to others, inspiring them to follow your good stewardship.
Freeze the bounty of Summer into your ice cube trays. From blueberries,
to mint sprigs....these beautiful cubes will oh -ah the guests at your
next Summer gathering. Easy to make a splash with these little beauties
This reuse project using pallets to build simple, yet beautiful patio or deck furniture on a budget. Easy to customize to your own taste...
For the most part, these pallets are just attached to each other. They were then given legs and a coat of paint. As simple as that part may be, commenters raised a few concerns. A few people noted that many wooden pallets aren't safe because they're treated with chemicals. Before jumping into the project, you'll want to be sure you don't acquire any that were. This article on Green Upgrader explains how to tell.
Another concern was putting together cushions, but commenter deesel18 explained how it's done:
You can get big blocks of foam at craft and fabric stores and cut them to size. Then you can sew covers for them. I made an outdoor foam block to put under my dogs bed, I just used spray adhesive and pressed the fabric on since it was waterproof and I wouldn't need to put it in a washer.
Aside from those two concerns, it seems like this is a pretty simple furniture project you could manage yourself in a weekend or two and save a bunch of money.
As you may know, EB White was the author of the much-beloved books
“Charlotte’s Web,” “Stuart Little” and “The Elements of Style.” But did
you also know he was a dedicated beekeeper? With a dash of humor,
E.B. White addressed queen rearing in this poem, which was published in The New Yorker December 15, 1945:
“The breeding of the bee,” says a United States Department of Agriculture bulletin on artificial insemination, “has always been handicapped by the fact that the queen mates in the air with whatever drone she encounters.”
When the air is wine and the wind is free
and the morning sits on the lovely leaf,
and sunlight ripples on every tree
Then love-in-air is the thing for me
I’m a bee,
I’m a ravishing, rollicking, young queen bee,
That’s me.I wish to state that I think it’s great,
Oh, it’s simply rare in the upper air,
It’s the place to pair
With a bee.
Let old geneticists plot and plan,
They’re stuffy people, to a man;
Let gossips whisper behind their fan.
(Oh, she does?
Buzz, buzz, buzz!)
My nuptial flight is sheer delight;
I’m a giddy girl who likes to swirl,
To fly and soar
And fly some more,
I’m a bee.
And I wish to state that I’ll always mate
With whatever drone I encounter.
There’s a kind of a wild and glad elation
In the natural way of insemination;
Who thinks that love is a handicap
Is a fuddydud and a common sap,
For I am a queen and I am a bee,
I’m devil-may-care and I’m fancy-free,
The test tube doesn’t appeal to me,
Not me,
I’m a bee.
And I’m here to state that I’ll always mate
With whatever drone I encounter.
Mares and cows. by calculating,
Improve themselves with loveless mating,
Let groundlings breed in the modern fashion,
I’ll stick to the air and the grand old passion;
I may be small and I’m just a bee
But I won’t have science improving me,
Not me,
I’m a bee.
On a day that’s fair with a wind that’s free,
Any old drone is a lad for me.
I’ve no flair for love moderne,
It’s far too studied, far too stern,
I’m just a bee—I’m wild, I’m free,
That’s me.
I can’t afford to be too choosy;
In every queen there’s a touch of floozy,
And it’s simply rare
In the upper air
And I wish to state
That I’ll always mate
With whatever drone I encounter.
Man is a fool for the latest movement,
He broods and broods on race improvement;
What boots it to improve a bee
If it means the end of ecstasy?
(He ought to be there
On a day that’s fair,
Oh, it’s simply rare.
For a bee.)
Man’s so wise he is growing foolish,
Some of his schemes are downright ghoulish;
He owns a bomb that’ll end creation
And he wants to change the sex relation,
He thinks that love is a handicap,
He’s a fuddydud, he’s a simple sap;
Man is a meddler, man’s a boob,
He looks for love in the depths of a tube,
His restless mind is forever ranging,
He thinks he’s advancing as long as he’s changing,
Origins Oregon Local Artist Spotlight is all about local. Sourcing artists within our community, that we believe are not only talented artisans, they are the kind of people who share a philosophy of giving back to their community, as we do.
Each artist we collaborate with has different experiences andbackgrounds, as well as, a multitude of skills, which show in every unique piece they craft. This is why we are proud to have every one of them on our Origins Oregon Local Spotlight page.
It is our goal, to give these artists, a platform to show their talent to the world, so please take some time to check out their labor of love, from our Local Artist Spotlight section of our marketplace, I think you will be excited with the beautiful, high quality work that you’ll find there. I know we are.
Here are the links to the artists from our Local Artist Spotlight. We will be adding more in the near future.
Mothers Day is right around the corner. Let us help you with some great gift ideas, show your Mom, just how much you really do love her. http://www.originsoregon.com/
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