about me

The Greek word "Melissa" meaning Bee, is taken from the word "Meli", meaning honey. In short my name is honey bee. I have many friends that call me Mel. In Portuguese, Mel is also the word for honey. These are just some interesting facts about my name that don’t tell you who I really am, but serendipitously give an inkling of what I am all about.

As a little girl in Maine, bees were just an obstacle to running barefoot in the summertime, and I do love to be barefoot. I have had many beestings that never made me feel afraid of bees, and certainly didn’t make me keep my shoes on. I wish I had always been able to overcome hurt when it came to living authentically and always doing "all the things" that made me happy and feel alive. Women and men alike are subject to changing themselves to blend in, to be safe, to survive. They do this gradually over the course of a long lifetime, until tragically they have caged that wildling that wants to run barefoot, even though they may get stung!

I began keeping bees with my friend Amanda a year ago. She took a class and learned a lot and really, she started the train. I just enthusiastically jumped on for the ride. Our first year was alot of work and a lot of worry. Truthfully, we probably worried too much, I mean we both raised five kids between us to adulthood. How hard could this be? It was more fun than anything, but I found that I felt alive in the hives. I looked forward to putting on the suit and smelling the smoke and hearing the rising and falling hum their wings made in unison in response to alarm and safety and sharing news of resources. It felt peaceful, and I hadn't felt that in a long time. Bees only sting when hurt or alarmed they don’t fight over petty things because when they sting, they die. Bees know that they have to work together to create, and they don’t criticize each other’s creations.

I live in Maine with my husband of 19 years, my youngest daughter, my Maltese Poodle named Falcor, and thousands of bees. There is never a dull moment in my hive.