Hannah Nordhaus Quotes & Sayings

In Spain, hilly terrain and antiquated planting and harvest practices keep farmers from retrieving more than about 100 pounds [of almonds] per acre. Growers in the Central Valley, by contrast can expect up to 3000 pounds an acre. But for all their sophisticated strategies to increase yield and profitability, almond growers still have one major problem - pollination. Unless a bird or insect brings the pollen from flower to flower, even the most state-of-the-art orchard won't grow enough nuts. An almond grower who depends on wind and a few volunteer pollinators in this desert of cultivation can expect only 40 pounds of almonds per acre. If he imports honey bees, the average yield is 2,400 pounds per acre, as much as 3,000 in more densely planted orchards. To build an almond, it takes a bee. — Hannah Nordhaus

Because of the varroa mite, wild honey bees are now, for all practical purposes, extinct in the United States. — Hannah Nordhaus

If you've traveled independently through Tibet, Brandon Wilson's Yak Butter Blues will bring back memories ... this lively memoir is sure to provide a yak-scented whiff of nostalgia. — Hannah Nordhaus

Motherhood rarely allows for solitude, yet it begets its own kind of isolation: from one's past, from one's youth, from the women we once thought we were and would become. — Hannah Nordhaus