About Bloomfield Bees

Kathy Cox and Geof and Jackie Whitford own Bloomfield Bees Honey. Kathy moved from the beautiful Pacific Northwest to Napa/Sonoma Wine Country eight years ago. As a gardener, Kathy always appreciated the years when the bees were plenty, and fruit, flowers and vegetables were bigger and more colorful as a result. Kathy bought her first 6 hives at a garage sale and never looked back!!! She met Geof and Jackie over 3 years ago. Geof is originally from North Carolina, but stopped along the way for a while in Waco, TX, where Jackie is from. They have been married for 20 years! They only wanted 2 hives. HA! Impossible, I say. Geof began helping Kathy with extractions and Jackie went out on swarm calls. Our numbers grew. We have bees in 20 locations in Sonoma and Marin counties and a waiting list of organic farms that wish to host our bees.

Bloomfield Bees Honey gives talks and bee demos. We have bee specimens and an observation hive. We have been members of Farm Trails and have operated a Farm Stand at 1295 Bloomfield RD in Sebastopol for 6 years.

Kathy Cox is member of the Sonoma County Beekeepers' Association holding the position of VP for two years and President for one. Jackie Whitford has been Historian for the last 3 years. Kathy teaches new beekeepers and Jackie and Geof Whitford raise nucs for them (nucs are half hives). We have never put chemicals in our hives and, therefore, the honey and candles and products from the hive are as sweet and pure as the bees make them.

Geof Whitford loves to take on apprentices and teaches all soft beekeeping techniques. No chemicals in the hives, no heating or filtering the honey. He loves to find queens and eggs as he watches over the health of the bees. He does a Friday night radio show during 5-7 pm on the Laura Goldman: Occidental Living Room-- Talk, Music, and Community.

For the last 4 years we have been breeding bees for gentleness and they do make the nicest backyard bees. Bloomfield Bees Honey has a farm stand in Sebastopol. It is open on the honor system during daylight hours. We have wax honeycomb for the kids to touch and educational material to read. Special groups go home with a honey straw and a packet of pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. This reinforces the information the children receive about pollination. Bees pollinate 80% of everything green that grows. Every third bite would not bee there without a bee! With the seed, they have a project, to plant the seed and see the plant grow and make a flower, and then see if the bees come!

Arthritis has bothered Kathy for years and so she stings herself, which is called Apitherapy. It creates a condition in the body that brings a healing fresh blood supply to the spot and creates an anti-inflammatory response. People who have MS, rheumatoid and osteoarthritis use Apitherapy. Geof uses Propolis for an inherited skin condition and swears by it. All of us use products from the hive, such as propolis tincture, pollen and raw propolis. Pollen is an immune booster and gives you energy. Propolis is good for tooth, gums, sore throat and stomach pains. Google "propolis" and bee amazed!

Bloomfield Bees Honey does local Farmer's Markets, too. Find us in Sebastopol, Occidental, Cotati and Petaluma. Come have a taste. You can also find us at the Gravenstein Apple Fair and the Sonoma County Fairgrounds for the Harvest Festival. We have earned the gold medal in 2006 and 2007. For the last 2 years we have won Gold for our Apple Blossom Honey. Our candles won Best of Show in 2007 in the commercial class. Our Sebastopol Pollen won the Gold in 2007 and 2008. Other winners are our Lavender, Spring Wildflower, Dark Fall Wildflower, Blackberry, Cut Comb, Creamed Apple Blossom and more. Come see us at the festivals and markets and have a taste of each. Mmmmm.

The bees and all the wonderful things they bring us, enable Bloomfield Bees Honey to bring these good things to you.

When you have bees, they are in your house, in your hair, in your car, in your clean laundry, in your kitchen (sipping on a honey bear!) All our friends collect "bee stuff" for us. Bees are a way of life.

BEE FACTS

HONEY
Honey is high in vitamin E. It helps the body replace tissue and promotes the growth of new skin. Honey has been used since ancient times to heal cuts, burns and skin ulcers. It reduces inflammation, swelling and pain. It contains hydrogen peroxide, which acts as an antibacterial. Nature's own antibiotic medicine. For the bees, it is a carbohydrate!

APITHERAPY
Apitherapy is medicinal use of the bee. Products of the hive are bee venom, honey, propolis (bee glue) and royal jelly. Bee venom causes a response in the body that works to bring a fresh supply of blood to heal the area and creates an anti-inflammatory condition.

PROPOLIS
Propolis is the sticky material from tree resins, that the bees use for sealing cracks in the hive and for sterilizing it. It is antibiotic, antiseptic, anti fungal and antioxidant. Isn't that fantastic that honeybees provide us with this special product. Propolis was used to stain and seal the Stradivarius' violins. In the Bible, the 3 wise men bring Frankincense and Myrrh, which are tree resins and a gift for a King!

ROYAL JELLY
Worker bees, who are all female, make royal jelly. They feed it to special larvae that are intended to become queen. (Note: Queens live for years, the other bees (drones and workers) live for 2 to 6 months!) This is a wonderful boost for the immune system, too. It can be used successfully for treating rashes like dermatitis and herpes.

POLLEN
Pollen is nature's best whole food. It contains essential amino acids we must eat everyday, because the human body doesn't produce them. Pollen is rich in vitamins. It contains variable quantities of an antibiotic shown potent against E. coli. In nutrition, the effect of bee pollen acts favorably in the intestines, on the hemoglobin level of the blood and in the renewal of strength and energy. It gives increased resistance to infection. For the bees this is a protein source, which they mix with nectar and feed to the baby bees (brood).