Bee Girl

09/01/2026

Dolly was my hero, but Wendell was my friend and my north star.

I have no words, so here are some of his.

Rest in love, my friend, and give Fred a hug from me.

08/28/2026

August recap: Started with soaking my whole self in the Stillwater River in a record breaking 103° afternoon.

The bees were done with work, so - so was I.

Then came the wind and the smoke, of course. Living in your vehicle is not exactly the “inside” you’re supposed to seek at 200+ AQI, but my work ethic and our slim budget prevented me from seeking refuge in a motel room nowhere near where the bees are.

I oogled at beaver dams like a tourist, though I saw them five times a day.

I dipped my water-hating dog in rivers and stock tanks one too many times, for her own good.

A mimosa date turned into herding a whole entire flock of goats down a Montana highway behind one of the most magical, gentle, and kind humans walking the earth today.

I left my hair I cut myself as an exchange for the bees I took from the land in Montana and South Dakota.

I got to know a bee who lives in a river cliff at an area the ranchers call “Crow Camp” and these bees have probably been here since the Crow people camped here.

I sat down and watched thatch ants sip raindrops from flower petals, we rejoiced for the gift in unison.

The Ringling Church welcomed us for two days of inside time with a double rainbow and a lightning storm.

I learned new things about new bees, I ate summer fruits in every meal, and I watched my favorite buffalo from a distance as she sniffed my scent on the wind, welcoming me back - with precision.

I went to a museum and saw buffalo that are personal friends immortalized on a wall.

I sprang for a roadside motel in Cody, Wyoming, rooted for the bulls in the rodeo, and a cowboy at a bar looked at me like nobody looks at me anymore.

And now I’m just right here sharing sunsets with buffalo bulls and bees, right where I belong. Like there’s nowhere and nothing that matters more.

08/22/2026

Those mandibles, tho!

The western leafcutter bee (Megachile perihirta) is one of my favorites. This little guy was photographed and released on musk thistle at North Bridger Bison. Male western leafcutters have pale gray-green eyes, dense white hair on the face, and fuzzy little “arms.”

Leafcutter bees are solitary (which means they don’t live in a hive, and rock the single mom life). A female cuts neat discs from leaves and petals, carries them back one at a time, and lines a series of cells with them, each cell provisioned with pollen and nectar and holding a single egg.

Hence the name: leafcutter.

Here’s my favorite part — males of this subgenus have modified front legs, broadened and fringed with long pale hairs, which are held over the female’s eyes and antennae during mating.

(WHAT!?)

Unlike bumble bees and honey bees, leafcutters carry pollen dry on a brush of hairs under the abdomen rather than packed on the hind legs, and a female working a flower sheds pollen as she goes, making her an excellent pollinator.

Megachile perihirta collects pollen only from plants in the aster family (Fowler & Droege 2020). Every record of this bee at North Bridger Bison has been on musk thistle, a non-native, but highly attractive to bees of all kinds.

North Bridger Bison

08/12/2026

Pretty chic to not have time for social media trends because I’ve got 36 study areas on 150,000 acres of grazing land to cover this summer.

And four Bee Friendly Vineyard projects.

And eight hives of honey bees.

And cyanotype art to create.

And next year’s Beetreat and Roots and Wings Vineyard Confluence to plan.

And a whole entire nonprofit org to pilot.

Which is all pretty chic.

So I couldn’t muster the brain strungth for witty captions, but loving other folks’ 🫶🏼

08/12/2026

Alrighty ya’ll!! I did it… I ordered a new pair of Hyer Boots 🤎 as not only are these Justins falling apart at the seams, this whole worn down heel situation is really messing with my (formerly) broken ankle.

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions and advice!! 🙌🏼💫🌻

08/11/2026

I found these glasses that I lost two summers ago in a high country mountain meadow in the Centennials and other highlights. AKA, June & July Recap 🌿🥂🌻

J Bar L // Crazy D > Flying C > North Bridger Bison > Old Salt Fest > Butte, America (Shower & Laundry) AND MUSEUMS > J Bar L // Centennial > Missoula > Lazy R > Spovegas for the 4th (most epic of all time firework show) > Cabin in the Woods > Bee Girl Honey Harvest > Bee Friendly Vineyard Check-ins > Flying C

Whhat a whhirlwhhhind!!

June & July was clear, cool, wet, and pleasant.

In this current state of heat and smoke, I don’t remember what that feels like.

But I know it will be there for me again 🌿💫 along with the flowers and the bees, of which there are currently few.

But you know I’m working my hardest to change that.

Join me in this work by supporting our producer parters! All listed on our website // www (dot) beeregenerative (dot) org 🐝

08/04/2026

This morning you find me sitting in the van on the bank of the glittering Stillwater River. There has been a dramatic temperature swing from 103 degrees on Saturday afternoon to 40 degrees last night. My fingers are so cold, I’m having a hard time typing!

The wildfire smoke has been wafting in from not only the surrounding local fires, but the massive burns in Oregon and Washington. I’m at the bottom of an ancient glacial valley, surrounded by massive igneous rock towers formed 2.7 billion years ago. The smoke has blown in a few times, settled, given me a ripping headache, and then blown out again.

A field note from a crisp, smoky week on the Stillwater

07/18/2026

GOT YOUR INDIE WINE MIXER TIX?

Saturday August 15th 12-5

20+ Doin’-it-all-themselves independent winemakers all under one roof!

A virtual cornucopia of your new favorite doin’-it-all-themselves winemakers (20+ of ‘em!) from all over the state of Oregon, all under one roof. Food truck(s)! DJs!

This is your chance to chat with your new favorite winemakers and taste and buy wines directly from the callused hands that made them. For those that joined us last year - get ready to see a few new faces!

This year’s event will be held August 15th from 12-5 at the Phoenix Civic Center (220 N Main St. Phoenix OR). A portion of ticket sales will be donated to 🐝

If the event sells out - we’ll receive about $800 to support our local vineyard work!!

Get your tickets early (link in my bio). This event sold out quickly last year!

Oh! Are you a wine club member of one of the participating wineries? Ask them for your club discount code! Industry member? Hit Joe & Carmen up for an industry discount code!

Participating Wineries ::

3 Goats Vineyard
Burton Bittman Wines
Circadian Cellars
Corcilla Cellars
Cortell Collection
Finite Cellars
Flipturn Cellars
Grit Cellars
Jackalope Wine Cellars
Little Room Winery
Maison Jussiaume
Maypop Wine
Mijita Wine Co.
Ricochet Wine Company
Satyr Fire
Sound & Vision Wine Co.
Terrene Wine + Cider
The Punch House
Throughline Wine
Twelve 32
Ze Wines..and possibly a few late additions?!

Sarah will be in the actual middle of nowhere chasing bees, but our board president, Rhianna Simes, will be there repping for Bee Regenerative.

This might just be the wine event of the season - don't you dare miss it!

07/17/2026

Bee Regenerative is looking for a couple of new board members!! 🐝

We’re a little nonprofit that does big work – partnering with working ranches and vineyards across the West to advance bee conservation on agricultural landscapes. Honey bees and wild bees alike, and the flowers and land they all depend on.

We’re especially hoping to find folks with roots in ranching, vineyard management, ag, or conservation – and folks who know their way around nonprofit fundraising.

It’s a volunteer board seat, and I’m happy to fill in all the details when you reach out. The link “Join Our Board of Directors” in my bio is the place to start to learn more and apply. If you know someone who’d be a great fit, please pass this along!

06/27/2026

Badger Appreciation Poem

🖤

Holes hiding in grass

Van bottomed out completely

An opportunity to utilize my tools and resilience

Blood rush, eyes large, mind silently raging and forcefully calculating

Almost like being bit by a rattlesnake

But thanks to these dark earthen pits, I won’t know today

Thank you for your service, badger

You divine menace