Category Archives: Bee Yards
Bees and the Australian Fires
Australia is on fire. When I heard about the thousands of people who were fleeing – some being rescued from beaches by the navy – and then saw photos of black smoke, red skies, and stampeding kangaroos, I worried about … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Climate, Commercial Beekeeping, Ecology
Tagged Australia, climate change, forest fires, smoke
11 Comments
Saturday at the Hive
A new beekeeper learns best by clinging to the leg of an experienced beekeeper. That’s how I learned, but I was four years old at the time. For you older folks, you need a mentor, someone who’s actually a better … Continue reading
Good Neighbour Beekeeping
It’s worth repeating. Especially at this time of the year. Be a good neighbour beekeeper. I wrote the following post last March. If you missed it, here’s your chance to miss it again…. 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Books, Outreach
Tagged Andony Melathopoulos, bee safety, urban beekeeping
2 Comments
Nuns of honey
I bumped into this photo a few days ago when I was writing an article for Deutches Bienen Journal, Germany’s beekeeping magazine. I was trying to picture sisters at a convent in Quebec, tending their hives in the 1920s. This … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, History, People
Tagged Hungary, monks, nuns, Quebec
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A Year of Backyard Beekeeping
Regular readers of this blog know that I once kept hundreds of hives in Florida and Saskatchewan. That was a long time ago. Now that I’m all grown up, I’ve got just two colonies in my Calgary backyard. Much more … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Honey
Tagged Calgary, extracting, package bees, packing honey, queenless hives, Queens, skunks, urban beekeeping, wasps
9 Comments
Expecting the unexpected
For the past two days, I described how we might predict a future honey flow. I mentioned how difficult soothsaying can be yet I went on to say that experience and a tool like a scale hive can help us … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Climate, Commercial Beekeeping
Tagged Bee Yards, extreme weather
14 Comments
The Perfect Place for Bees
An easy way to intimidate a new beekeeper is to read the list of requirements for a perfect apiary. Here’s my list. It’s not comprehensive. But even as a starter, it’s menacing: Your bees should be: In partial shade: avoid … Continue reading
Nuisance-free beekeeping
Tired of irritating your neighbours with your pesky bees? Help is on the way. A very bright professor at Oregon State, Andony Melathopoulos, has co-authored a guide which you should read: Residential Beekeeping: Best-practice guidelines for nuisance-free beekeeping in Oregon. … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Books, Outreach
Tagged Andony Melathopoulos, bee safety, urban beekeeping
5 Comments
Keeping the Cougars out of your Bee Yard
Ever been chased by a mountain lion? How about a cougar, panther, or puma? Me neither, but I’ve probably passed within metres of all four. (I’m told that they’re all the same species – Puma concolor.) A new study from … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged bears, grizzly bears, puma
4 Comments
Urban Beekeeping Mug
Yesterday, Father’s Day, my family surprised me with this homemade mug. They had conspired to co-create this bit of art for the past few days. I heard the hushed tones and I saw people and things quickly disappear when I … Continue reading
