Writing about sweet treats this month, I’ve had a blast visiting the sugar strongholds of Greensboro. And after sampling local cookies, cakes, chocolates and ice cream, I can hardly wait to tell you about another kind of sweet treat…local honey. Seeking an authority on that subject, I got in touch with my very talented beekeeper friend, Linda Walbridge. She and her work with bees will help me wrap up February with a call to action.

Linda breezed into my life two years ago, wearing her food-blogger hat and wanting to report on Triad Local First’s Community Table event for her blog, The Orange Bee. In typical Linda fashion, she did a fantastic job writing and photographing the event, and somehow we were able to talk her into co-chairing it the following year. But that’s another story. The gal doesn’t do anything half-heartedly.

Soon I learned that among Linda’s many talents and interests (blogging, travel, photography, and cooking), learning the art and science of beekeeping ranks at the top. She has a “mad passion” for honeybees, understanding the role they play in the cycle of life and the growing of the food that she loves. She has read countless books and articles about bees, and spent years being mentored by a “gentleman beekeeper” in Texas. That is how she began her fieldwork…in the apiaries working with the bees, capturing swarms and relocating unwanted hives.

When Linda and her husband Dan moved to Greensboro from Texas a few years ago, she brought her passion for bees with her. Before long, she became the volunteer beekeeper at the Greensboro Science Center, sharing her knowledge of bees and spreading the word about their importance and their perilous future as they try to survive in a world full of harmful pesticides.

Our Valentine’s Day gift (albeit a little late) to you is this blog post of Linda’s about honey that includes a few simple recipes. And we ask that when you taste honey and think of the bees that create it, please honor their hard work and use your voices to protect them in every way you can. Here are some suggestions of what we can do to save the bees in our community.