taste of nature

The Jacksons’ backyard bee house has people buzzing. The Hillcrest Forest couple built the small, 2-by-2-foot hive last spring, and within a week, it produced several sheets of edible honeycomb. Neighbors became curious, especially the kids who got a taste of nature. “It was so exciting for them. Some of them kept it and took it to school,” says Josephie Jackson, who grew up on 12,000 acres of farmland in Australia where her grandfather kept bees. She and her husband, David, have hives on their East Texas farm, and decided to try raising them in the city. It all starts with a kit to build the wooden house, which includes wax foundation boards around which the bees build the honeycomb. And the bees? The Jacksons order three pounds through the mail, and pick them up at the post office. The man-made hive starts with about 6,000 bees and could eventually hold up to 80,000. The Jacksons often handle them without protective gear, saying that widespread fear of bees is overrated. “It’s very relaxing,” Josephie Jackson says. ”I sing to them when I put them in. They particularly like ‘Beethoven’s Fifth’. We were thinking about bringing some café chairs and a table out here just to watch them.”

—EMILY TOMAN

WHAT GIVES?

Small ways that you can make a big difference for neighborhood nonprofits

EAT A CUPCAKE and help feed Dallas school children in need. Between Aug. 23-28 at Sprinkles Cupcakes in Preston Center, pick out a chocolate cupcake with a gold star, and the store will donate 100 percent of proceeds to Hunger Busters Feed the Need-After School Program, which provides dinner for students on subsidized meal plans at school. For more details, visit hungerbusters.com.

DINE IN on Aug. 3 at Fish City Grill at Preston and Royal, and 15 percent of the proceeds will benefit the Texas Voice Project for Parkinson’s Disease. The organization helps the 89 percent of patients in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area who are losing their voices because of the disease. For more details, visit texasvoiceproject.org.

KNOW OF WAYS that neighbors can spend time, attend an event, or purchase or donate something to benefit a neighborhood nonprofit? Email your suggestion to launch@ advocatemag.com.