She hummed her way around the yard in a seemingly haphazard pattern, while in truth, her flight was guided by knowledge and purpose. Some days she worked her traplines, visiting the same flowers in the morning and afternoon because she knew the nectar would be replenished. Other days she was led to new harvests by ultraviolet nectar guides on flowers that acted as miniature landing strips, or by changes in fragrance denoting peak nutrient value.

One day she might seek out specific herbs for their medicinal value to help boost the health of the hive. Through it all, she wove a delicate electric field that temporarily changed the charge of a flower when she landed. Her sisters could detect these changes, steering away from blooms she had recently visited.

Our Siberian pea shrubs are wrapping up their bloom season, while the autumn olives are around about halfway through theirs, and the blackberry buds are just starting to swell. Each year we make a little more progress on adding to the food sources for the bees - both our honeybees and the native pollinators.

I was happy to see an abundance of the larger bumblebees on the pea shrubs, as their numbers had been down in recent years. The honeybees were visiting them some, too, but they're a bumblebee favorite. It always amazes me how the bees know just when to visit the flowers, but then there is a lot more to their soothing wanderings than meets the eye. They are sensitive to things beyond our perception - which makes the ongoing issue of bee die-offs even more troubling.

So often we are told that this spray or that chemical or this new technology has no impact beyond its intended purpose. Unfortunately, as time passes, it usually becomes obvious that this is not the case. The good news is that (hopefully) as we learn better, we can do better.

This concept works the other direction, too. When something has been valued for hundreds of years (or even thousands) and it's suddenly vilified by mainstream media and "science", you may want to check who is funding the sudden smear campaign. One instance that comes to mind is the attacks on eggs.

We were told that eggs would raise your cholesterol levels when dietary cholesterol has minimal impact on blood cholesterol. During the years when people were told to avoid egg yolks because of cholesterol concerns, they were also avoiding the part of the egg that contains nearly all the choline (the yolk), along with many of the vitamins, minerals, and beneficial fats.

Eggs are one of the richest natural sources of choline. Choline is essential for brain function, liver health, and strong cellular membranes.

Eggs are a remarkable food: inexpensive, shelf-stable for a time without refrigeration when unwashed, easy to produce at home, and one of nature's most concentrated packages of nutrients. (Also, if you live in northeast Wisconsin and need eggs, let me know. Both the ducks and chickens are blessing us with a bounty of egg goodness.)

This Week’s Resilience & Abundance Boost

• Pay attention to the small signals. Bees find food, avoid danger, and support the hive by noticing details that most of us never see. Slow down and observe what your environment may be trying to tell you.
• Question assumptions. Whether it's a gardening tip, a health claim, or a news headline, take time to look beyond the surface and understand the reasoning behind it.
• Plant for the long term. Trees, pollinator plants, healthy soil, practical skills, and strong relationships all grow in value over time.
• Choose nourishment over novelty. Focus on foods, habits, and activities that genuinely support health and well-being rather than whatever happens to be trending.
• Learn from the natural world. Nature is constantly adapting, communicating, and solving problems. There's wisdom to be found simply by paying attention.

Resilience grows when we stay curious, observe carefully, and make thoughtful choices based on what we learn.

All our best to you and yours,

Laurie (and August IV, August V, and Duncan)

This week's featured articles...

Wound healer, companion plant, herbal bitter - yarrow is an herb of many uses. We share how to find it in the wild, cultivate it in your garden, and use it as an herbal remedy.

Last week I mentioned the garden wheel, and when a reader asked about it, I realized I hadn't fully explained in the past. As such, I've put together an article about 20 Years of Gardening in Circles, which has a slide show in it that covers snippets from the last 20 years here on the homestead. You can watch how the wheel changes, and how the rest of the homestead changes around it. You may even spot a few garden visitors, like ducks, deer, and pheasants.

With temperatures heating up, it's always important to stay hydrated. The old fashioned twist in switchel that helps you drink more without upsetting your stomach is one of the many common sense things that aren't so common anymore.

We're in the thick of asparagus season, and this easy roasted asparagus is one of our favorite ways to make it.

The Herbal Academy has extended the Early Bird Registration period on their Tick-Borne Disease Course - with $100 off course enrollment and two bonus gifts - through Tuesday, June 9.

Knock on wood, we haven't had too many tick issues here yet, probably because the ducks eat anything that moves, but I know some areas have seeing way too many of these eight legged creepy little buggers. The Herbal Academy offers alternatives to toxic bug sprays and napalming your guts with antibiotics after being bit. They're doing deep dives on 17 tick-borne diseases, including alpha-gal syndrome.