|
 |
|
|
| |
Life in the Fast Lane |
 I was living life in the fast lane, working hard and playing harder.
I tried a series of jobs. I was a hot shot.
In between jobs, I became a beach bum.
One April, my friend Eddie Boy Ochangco and I were stuck in the middle of Anilao Bay desperately trying to haul our wet and heavy sails up out of the water. It was near sunset and the “amihan” winds were blowing furiously from the direction in we were headed. After a day on the sea windsurfing, we could not even close our hands on the wishbones of our sails’ booms. Hunger, fatigue, cramps, wetness and cold had set in.
I asked him, “what can we do to increase our stamina?” He said, “take honey. I have a friend, Ian, who harvests honey and a little bit of royal jelly.”
This innocuous statement sent me on a quest that has spanned three decades, spinning my life around, for the better. |
|
Serendipity |
I was later to meet Ian Aranza, my first mentor, who turned out to be a long lost godson of my father. His mother had been the high school classmate and favourite dancing partner of my father. Ian, it turned out, lived not more than 2 kilometres away.
I quickly learned that there are no coincidences. Such has been my life for almost thirty years – following coincidences – to wherever or whatever they lead. Much of the “technology” we have developed was trial and error; each dead-ended step, only to be bailed out by another “coincidence”.
Our Lord was patiently leading the way; all the way.
|
|
Gentle Honey Bees |
| European honeybees are gentle. They have been studied by man for centuries and are the only insects that have found their way into human commerce. They are manageable and productive. They will only sting in self-defense. They allow us to harvest many nutritive and medicinal products from their beehives. |
|
Starting the Family |
I started keeping bees almost thirty years ago with two colonies. My wife Violaine has kept bees for about twenty years. When I met her, she had already started keeping one colony. I promptly volunteered to teach her and we have never parted since.
We got married seven months after we met. Ian was migrating to the USA, so he gave us his colonies as a wedding gift. We immediately moved our nine colonies in our old bee trailer. We harvested a LOT of honey. It was indeed a HONEYmoon!
|
|
|
|
| next |
|
|
