Bee Yard Photo-Bombed! (photo used by permission of L. Goldie)

We live close to the Rocky Mountains. One of our friends, Liz Goldie of Calgary, keeps some of her bees in an apiary in the foothills. As you can see in these pictures, our area is flush with interesting large animals. All the photos in this blog entry are Liz’s pictures, used by permission. If you would like to re-post any of these, send a note to me first so we can see if permissions can be extended to your use. These pictures were taken with a Primos Truth Cam 46, a motion-sensitive camera with a flash.

This is one active beeyard! Part of the attraction is a salt lick, placed near the beeyard – it is set out for cattle, the wildlife are uninvited usurpers. Not surprisingly, the salt has the attention of the moose, but unexpectedly, grizzly bears are also tasting it. The bears have not noticed the bees, which are guarded by an electric fence, or they would certainly be rummaging through the hives. The photos are from this year, 2013, the oldest picture is the wolf in the snow, photographed in late April, and the most recent are the lions, from October 15, 2013. Mountain lions are rare here, so this image of a mother teaching her almost-mature cubs how to keep bees is priceless.

Wolf, April, 2013 (photo by permission L. Goldie, Calgary)

Mountain Lions, October, 2013 (photo by permission L. Goldie, Calgary)

Grizzly Bears, September, 2013 (photo by permission L. Goldie, Calgary)

Grizzly Bear, September, 2013 (photo by permission L. Goldie, Calgary)

Deer, June 2013 (photo by permission L. Goldie, Calgary)

Moose, October, 2013 (photo by permission L. Goldie, Calgary)