The Bee Charmer

There is a scene in the movie 'Fried Green Tomatoes' where Idgie brings Ruth out on a picnic; she tries to impress Ruth by going to a beehive in a tree stump, swarming with bees, and pulling out a fresh piece of honeycomb which she drops into a glass jar and brings over to Ruth, who is fascinated. Ruth says, "You're a bee charmer, Idgie Threadgood. That's what you are. A bee charmer." That scene has stayed with me, and everytime I hear lots of bees humming, I think of it. 
This morning I was walking with Kiki through the clover field. There was a lovely scent in the air, coming in waves whenever the wind was still. But try as I may, I couldn't find the source anywhere. Then, while heading back in the direction of home, I decided to take a quick look on the other side of the line of trees which flanks each side of the creek running along the clover field. And there, white and frothy and swimming in bees, was a low blossoming tree. This was where that glorious scent was coming from. 
There were bumble bees, honey bees, and butterflies swarming all over it. I managed to capture these three pictures:

It was a magical, almost adventurous feeling standing there in the warm sun, surrounded by buzzing and gossamer wings, silent witness to this spring harvest. I'm going back to the tree this evening, before the sun sets, to clip a branch or two for the vase. You know me...I'm just a lil' bee charmer...

This past week, even the tiniest chore felt like an enormous struggle for me. I felt completely and utterly emotionally exhausted. But luckily, I also spent beautiful hours out in the woods and fields with my friends...and of course Kiki... 

 ...who loves her friend Gömbi. That's her, standing up to give him a kiss. No joke.

Gömbi belongs to my friend Gerit, who shows me new herbs and wild edibles nearly every time we go on a walk. We explored a new field the other day; it's dryer than the fields we normally walk on, so we found a few plants which like dry soil.

Clockwise from top right: woodruff, chives and mint.

The woodruff grows on forest floors, and the chives and mint grow on fields where the soil is relatively dry. All of these are edible and delicious. I put the chives and mint into shallow water to keep fresh, and dried the woodruff on the windowsil, which makes it most aromatic. To me, woodruff smells and tastes like the most interesting mix of vanilla, lemon sorbet, and ground pepper corns. Delicious!

When my friend Maria and I made plans to take a hike, I put the mint and woodruff into a mason jar with water and lemon juice. I let it sit and steep for a while; it was a really refreshing drink on our walk.

I used the wild chives in an omelette with fresh duck eggs from Gerit's ducks...but more about that in another post.

Thank you all for being such a wonderful group of friends. I can't believe my good fortune!

Ok, I'm going out to that flowering tree now....

xoxo country girl