I stepped outside this morning and felt it — that first real bite of fall in the air. The goldenrod is starting to fade, the mornings are cool, and the days are getting shorter fast. If you’re in upstate New York right now, you know exactly what I’m talking about. And out at my hives? Things are getting serious. I get asked a lot — what do the bees do in winter? Do they hibernate? Do they leave? Where do they go? The answer is actually one of the coolest things in nature, and

Walk down the honey aisle at any grocery store and you’ll find shelf after shelf of golden jars — some labeled “natural,” some “pure,” some “organic.” And then, tucked somewhere nearby, you’ll find one labeled “raw.” What does raw actually mean? And is it worth paying more for? As a beekeeper whose family has kept hives across four generations — from Moldova and Ukraine to our 33-acre farm here in Franklin, NY — I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this question. The short