Bee There Or Bee Square..........Joyce Oroz

A couple days ago I found something wonderful. A magical cottage at the top of a mountain somewhere between Aptos, Watsonville and Snow White's house in the forest. This darling little place was full of jars of raw honey, bee's wax candles and beautiful gifts, toys and gadgets at reasonable prices.  Owner, Dana Mumm, showed us around and explained so much about raising bees. She obviously loves them, but there are too many to name. We watched Catherine make beautiful candles out of bees wax. Everyone at the cottage was so welcoming. Here is Dana Mumm holding a bee's wax angel candle. She writes a beautiful buzz news letter to her many followers. Thank you, Tomi Edmiston for the photographs and Dana for the letter. Now for the buzz: Pacific Crest Apiaries Gift Store Greetings and Happy October! I have exciting news for you! We have new and exciting gift items in stock and more to come! Our hand crafted pure beeswax candles and hand processed honey definitely help to round off our fabulous gift selections. NEW! ACORELLE 100% ORGANIC ESSENTIAL OILS ARE HERE I'm excited to introduce a new selection of 100% Organic Essential Oils from ACORELLE. No synthetic junk or toxic chemicals what so ever! These essential oils are to be used diluted for massages, in the bath and "pure" in a diffuser. Three essential oils to choose from: "Energizing" - which has a complex combination of essential oils of Eucalyptus, Green Mint and Lime. Fresh and invigorating, it brings back bounce and vitality! "Balancing" - a combination of essential oils of Benzoin, Lavandin, and Bergamot. This essential oil can be used diluted in the bath, for instance, to bring the emotions into harmony. Exotic and comforting, it provides serenity and balance. "Soothing" - combines essential oils of Sweet Orange, Lavandin and Red Tangerine. It will help to relieve tension and anxiety. Soothing and restful, it creates a relaxing atmosphere conducive to unwinding. Pair that with a nice hot cup of herbal Tea Forte tea and honey ... nice! Acorelle also offers a wonderful selection of body mists. We are considering on adding these to our body care line. The skin softening body mists are 95% organic and are for the whole body and contain just 2% fragrance (essential oils and extracts) No artificial colors, no synthetic fragrances, no denatured alcohol, no parabens, no phenoxyethanol, no PEG, and no phthalates! I love the fact that all Acorelle fragrances are made with alcohol and glycerin derived from organically grown wheat, corn, and soy. Mood enhancing aromatherapy blends are safe for the skin and the planet! There are more gift items I could mention but I believe seeing is better than reading about "what's in store"! Shop soon and see for yourself! STORE HOURS: Open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11-5:30 The Holidays are right around the corner: GET YOUR SPECIAL ORDERS IN NOW! If you are planning to ship gifts you purchase here and/or would like a certain type of poured or hand rolled honeycomb beeswax candle in quantities or certain colors, please let me know soon! Hand made candles take time. To add to that, our beeswax is in minimum quantities this year. Come by soon and allow me or Catherine to help you. MEET CATHERINE! Some of you may have met her already. It's high time we made a proper introduction! Welcome Catherine to our family! Catherine arrived at the right time! "Family" helping "family": what an awesome gift. Fortunately, during her busy schedule, she has some time during the week to help out. She's ready for any job at the farm and store. From labeling jars and bears full of honey, merchandising the gift store and maintaining it, helping with the bees, to assisting customers with their choice of gifts. In addition, she soon discovered that hand crafting candles from start to finish is one of the most labor intensive jobs she has ever done! We worked together to teach her the art of candle making. I found out soon that Catherine has the unique gift for making beautiful beeswax candles. This has been a marvelous help to me. Our beeswax candles have become very popular; it was very tough for me to keep up. We welcome Catherine to our family. Her bright and friendly smile and positive attitude helps to make your shopping experience even more special. Enjoy 15% off all Gift Items now through Oct. 31, 2014! (sorry, discount cannot apply to Pacific Crest's own candles or honey) And for those of you who want to know how the bees are doing: They are well fed, healthy, and pretty darn sassy these days. Not happy campers. But, that's how they are this time of year. Not much going on. Not enough flowers to frolic and play in. However, if rain comes in "sheets" (and we hope it does), we sure are looking forward to a great spring that will help bring much nectar and pollen to the hive. I look forward to seeing you soon. Best health to you and yours. Dana