Always Happy to Find Farmers – Even in NYC

An avid gardener, my neighbor Judy Joy found lots of blooming flowers and trees in New York City—just the thing a rooftop hive of bees needs to survive. We had a map to navigate, but bees use an internal honing device that works like a GPS to orientate themselves.

What are the chances that I’d randomly run into a fellow New Hampshire farmer during my recent five-day vacation in New York City? It’s all in knowing where to look.

In January, I visited the city to see farm friend Susan Kristoferson’s specialized paper artwork displayed at the Metropolitan Museum. Susan was invited back to conduct three workshops in March. That made a perfect opportunity for us to do the town, along with her friend Connie and my neighbor Judy – four women of a certain age.

We visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, were enchanted by the musical “Moulin Rouge,” toured the Natural History Museum, heard jazz at Dizzy’s, went to a comedy club, and more. We also shopped the Chelsea Flea Market on West 25th Street, where I found a stunning full-length leather coat for just $60. I added a pair of black $5 earrings, shed my New Hampshire jacket, and posed in my new outfit.

Dress to Impress

NYC’s only dress code is that your outfit must attract attention. After I left the market, a 30-something delivery guy sitting on his motorcycle at a stop light looked me in the eye and winked. My outfit was validated.

Later that day, when I returned to the market to buy a sheepskin fleece a vendor was holding for me, I saw a man wearing a sweatshirt from Gould Hill Farm in Contoocook, N.H. With farms and farming never far from my mind, I engaged him in conversation. The man, David Stress, works summers at Gould Hill. David helps with everything on the farm and told me Gould Hill is expanding its orchard by adding hundreds of new fruit trees. After our chat, he promised to stop by Miles Smith Farm.

Before leaving the market, I wanted to buy a beautiful ruby-crusted honey bee pin but decided that while $300 was OK for a sheepskin, $600 was too much for jewelry I’d probably lose anyway.

While Susan taught one of her workshops, which Connie attended, Judy and I walked through Times Square toward Greenwich Village and happened upon the Union Square Greenmarket. Lined up near a statue of George Washington on horseback, vendors in tents were selling locally raised grass-fed beef, sprouts, baked goods, honey, lavender, tulips, veggies, mushrooms, and more. There was even chicken raised in Queens (a city borough) for sale.

NYC City Bees

I was thrilled to see fellow beef farmers selling their wares in the big city. Of course, most farms (except the chicken vendor) were miles away, but that wasn’t the case with a beekeeper who’s been selling honey in Union Square for 31 years. David Graves, from Beckett, Massachusetts, told me, “In 1996, I was the first beekeeper to put hives on New York City rooftops.” Now his hives are in Greenwich Village atop a seven-story building. David showed me an article about his rooftop beekeeping in the British magazine Positive News. “I’ve been interviewed on T.V. here in New York and by visiting European journalists,” he said. Although the cityscape provides enough nectar, his problem is that the city’s cell phone signals “interfere with the bees’ ability to navigate and share information about nectar sources.”

Getting lost in the city is a thing. Even armed with a map, I took the wrong turn more than once. I can’t imagine how bees manage without a map or functioning guidance system. I’ll bet Gould Hill honey bees don’t get lost like their city cousins.

As I write this, I’m on the train heading back to my farm, where my husband has been caring for the animals. Does Bruce resent not getting to paint the town with my friends and me? He got over it when I told him he could stay home.

Beekeeper, David Graves, was the first to put hives on NYC rooftops. I ran into him at the Union Square Farmers Market.