I’m almost through my second container of Rae’s Honey I bought just before I moved down here in March. I guess I can order some more to be delivered via the Facebook page, but it won’t be the same. I bought these containers from the local grocery store, but Tim and I used to stop in right at their store in Holland Centre on our way back from some appointment at the hospital in Owen Sound. Tim LOVED their creamed honey and refused to buy any other kind. In those last few months of his life many spoonfuls of honey were melted into many an herbal tea.

This morning as I was making my toast I decided to have some of the last of the honey, rather than my normal peanut butter. As I dug my knife down into that creamy deliciousness, I realized how low it was. I’ve been saving it, for what I don’t know. I guess I just want it to last as long as it can. I cherish every sticky bite. I grew many flowers in our garden for those little critters who so diligently create this “nectar of the gods”.

Honey couldn’t save Tim, but it gave him some peace. Regular sugar is hard on your pancreas, as are all forms of sugar. Yet honey is sweeter and therefore you don’t have to use as much. It also has the added caveat of taking the bitter edge off some of the more beneficial herbal teas…and it’s soothing to your bowels, and being a type of antioxidant doesn’t hurt either. Healthcare is also sometimes about quality of life, not necessarily the saving of one.

HEALTH EFFECTS OF HONEY [from Wikipedia]

The health effects of honey have long been noted by humans. The nutritional and medicinal qualities of honey have been documented in Vedic, Greek, Roman, Christian, Islamic and other texts. Physicians of ancient times, such as Aristotle (384–322 BC), Aristoxenus (320 BC) Hippocrates, Porphyry, Cornelius Celsus (early first century AD) and Dioscorides (c. 50 AD), and Arab physicians have referred to the healing qualities of honey.

Though scientific arguments have been made for use of honey in modern times, its use is still considered part of alternative medicine.[1][2] Honey contains powerful antioxidants with antiseptic and antibacterial properties.

It is very disturbing to realize how so much of our modern agricultural practices are destroying the very creatures that those self-same farmers rely on. That we rely on. Not just for honey, but for probably almost all the food we consume on a daily basis. It seems counter-productive to use methods to rid the land of pestilence, that harm the very creatures that do your most important work – the pollinators.

Did you know that “The hot new grocer is the old one – farmers” [from THE TORONTO STAR].

Farmers’ markets are popping up almost as quickly in parks and parking lots across the city. While they’re touted as a new way to foster community and healthy eating, this increasingly popular way of getting local and organic food is also a return to our roots.

“It’s more than just selling your produce; it’s building community,” said farmer Chandrika Joshi. “It becomes a place where you talk to people.”

From its ability to give death to bacteria, and life to us all, honey is still just very delicious on toast. I guess this means I’m either going to have to order some and have it delivered, or find myself another local Apiarist.