The drama of the Honeybees book

This month I've been working on the fourth book in the Homemade Living series for Lark Books that is about raising honeybees.  I could imagine that this involved photographing the hives, the extracting process and of course photos of the food for the yummy recipes that author Ashley English would include, but I had been in a bit of denial when it came to getting up close and personal with the bees. I was told by the editor, Nicole, that I would have a bee suit ordered just for me. Ashley claimed that her bees were "chill" - but that kind of reminded me of  a pet owner claiming that their pet was always well behaved just after they peed on your rug. " I do not have a phobia of bees, or anything like that" I explained to Nicole as the day of the close ups arrived, "but I am not Kumbaya with them either". I decided to just not think about it when the visions of hundreds of bees dive bombing me invaded my imagination, and just show up for the shoot wearing all white as directed.

I arrived at Ashley's house with the appointed attire, looking like I was ready for a hazmat situation. I wore big snow boots (despite the summer heat) and duck taped them around the top, as well as around my wrists. No one made fun of me nor acted like I was the least bit ridiculous. It was when Nicole mentioned that I could use my macro lens to get close up, not realizing that that meant getting right on top of the bees to get these close ups that my anxiety was hard to miss. Anyway, the end of the story is that it was fine, and Ashley's bees were chilled out and paid very little attention to me, despite our size difference and my invasion of their space. After a few minutes of being close to the hive the fear was dissipating as I got a few inches from some of the bees on the screens of honeycomb and started seeing actual personalities in these insects, almost like I could imagine that they were talking about me.

So, with a wave of relief flooding over me, I said "That wasn't bad at all!" - I felt victorious as though I really hadn't been afraid to begin with. Chris and Ashley looked at each other, then down at their feet, and Chris said "Lynne, you were bug eyed when you first put on that bee mask".

So much for my bravado.

Rancho La Puerta - Three Words That Spell Paradise

I must have the best teaching "gig" in North America - teaching photography classes at the heavenly Rancho La Puerta in Mexico. "The ranch" is like no other place I know - providing dessert beauty, perfect temperature, the aromas of herbs and flowers that wave past you constantly as you walk the grounds, freshly picked and prepared organic food served in a beautiful setting by friendly local people, beauty around every curve - where to begin? How about waking up at 5:30 am to meet a group of people for a 7 mile hike up Mt. Kuchumaa, stopping along an awe inspiring view of the valley below to eat breakfast, all to make it back to the ranch in time for a yoga class? Okay, to some of you that may not sound like paradise, but you'd be welcome to sleep in and just go straight to your delicious breakfast which includes homemade breads, cereals, jams and fresh fruits. Then you can lounge away the whole day with a book if you like, get a massage if you must! This year I brought my dear friend Karen Deans, artist and owner of woodentile.com - she not only offered great companionship but helped me present "Self Expression Through Photography". Even the room where we did the presentation was beautiful - the Oak Tree Pavilion (below).

On top of all that relaxing and eating, I met some really interesting people at the ranch, as always. Among them was the guest chef for that week, Kathleen Flinn, author of "The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry". Kat taught a wonderful hands-on cooking class that I was lucky to be able to get into, and we had quite a few post-dinner fun times together back at her "casita". Deborah Madison, chef and cookbook author, as well as environmental activist, was also at the ranch with her sister Jamie, and I was fortunate to sit between these ladies at dinner and hear some great stories!

While it was a great week, it was a difficult re-immersion back into the real world, as happy as I am in my world for the most part. I am already looking forward to going back June 11th, 2011! I'll be teaching digital photography classes again and would love to see some familiar faces. I even have a $250 gift certificate for a first time ranch goer.