Buzz

Posted on September 2, 2018 by vanbraman

Last month one of the books I read was Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees by Thor Hanson.

Buzz the nature and necessity of bees, thor hanson, beesI really enjoyed this book as it took a look at how indispensable bees are in our food chain.

So, tonight I will share a few images that illustrate how indispensable bees are.

Bees, Blossoms, Honey Bees, Pollination, OrchardsThe book was loaded with facts and stories about bees and how they help pollinate many different flowers and blossoms that turn into the food that we eat.

Orchard Sunset - Almond Orchard - Bee Hives - Sunset Orchard - White BlossomsI have also been thinking about bees today as the almond harvest is underway. I saw several orchards where they were sweeping and loading almonds on the way to services this morning. The picture above shows the beginning of the process when bees are the primary laborers as they pollinate the blossoms.

The book also talks about how bees are used in the almond orchards and how some orchards are trying to use native bees instead of bringing in bees in the spring.

Cherry Blossoms - Central California - Honey Bee - Pollination - Spring Time - OrchardsBees also pollinate cherry blossoms and the blossoms of many other fruit trees.

Down Under Bees, Pollination, Royal Botanic Gardens, Honey BeesThey also pollinate the beautiful flowers that are around us.

Lavender Bee - Lavender Plant - Honey Bee - Bees and Blossoms - PollinationAlso some of the herbs that we use like lavender.

Bee on Thistle - Pollen covered bee - thistle - beeHere you see a great example of how they carry pollen. I have nice memories of taking this picture while visiting an archeological site in Turkey. I was having a friendly competition with a friend to see who would get the best bee picture during the trip. I still think of him whenever I take pictures of bees 🙂

I hope you enjoyed the Buzz…

Steven

 

 

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A Colonial American Tea Story

Posted on September 1, 2018 by vanbraman

While doing some research a couple weeks ago on Northampton, Massachusetts I ran across an interesting story about tea.

Northampton, Massachusetts, Dwight Family, Pomeroy Family, TeaThe story even has a family connection, which I will cover later in the post.

Boston Tea Party, Used Books, Manteca, CaliforniaWe know that tea was important in Colonial America as we all know about the tax on tea and the Boston Tea Party. This story predates the Boston Tea Party, but also has a Boston connection.

Northampton was an important frontier town in Colonial America and was home to quite a few of my ancestors which is why I have been doing some research about it.

Descendants of John Dwight, Timothy Dwight, Bohea TeaI found the story about tea in a book on the History of Northampton and also in a genealogy of the descendants of John Dwight.

Timothy Dwight, Bohea Tea, Northampton, MassachusettsThe story is set in the household of Colonel Timothy Dwight of Northampton. A friend of his in Boston sent him some tea, which was the first tea to be seen in Northampton. Not knowing how to make the tea they steeped the entire quarter pound of tea at one time and it was so bitter that they had to throw it away. Definitely not the best way to treat tea.

They should have let about a teaspoon full of leaves steep for about five minutes to get a nice cup of tea. They would have also been able to use the leaves several times. That quarter pound of bohea would have made well over a hundred cups of tea.

Chinese Black Tea, Full leaf tea, infuserThe tea was a type commonly known as bohea. In this case it was most likely an oolong tea from the Wuyi region of China. The tea would have had a high oxidation level and the leaves would have been twisted instead of rolled into balls like oolongs with lower oxidation levels. The tea would also have had a bit of a smoky flavor like a Souchong tea.

Unfortunately the American colonies did not get the best tea from China at that time. Bohea and Souchong were considered inferior black teas.

Now to the family connections.

Colonel Timothy Dwight was married to Experience King. As his wife she was most likely the one making the decision on how to steep the tea.

Experience King was the cousin of my 7th Great Grandfather Noah Pomeroy. His great granddaughter Mercy Pomeroy married Orsamus Braman.

There is also a connection on my mother’s side of the family. My 7th Great Grandmother Mindwell Wright Belding was a second cousin of Experience King Dwight.

We have learned through Experience how not to make tea, and through experience how to make tea.

Steven

 

Posted in Culture, Family History, Food, Genealogy, Tea | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments