Category Archives: Bee Yards

Covid: Saturday at the Hive

Posted on July 18, 2020 by

Our local bee club (Calgary & District Beekeepers Association)  coordinates a nice summertime event, Saturday at the Hive. Experienced beekeepers offer to show their colonies to newer beekeepers. The guest list is limited and cleared through the bee club, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Yards, Friends, Outreach | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Bees and the Australian Fires

Posted on January 5, 2020 by

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 , , , | 12 Comments

Saturday at the Hive

Posted on July 7, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Friends | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Good Neighbour Beekeeping

Posted on April 8, 2019 by

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 , , | 2 Comments

Nuns of honey

Posted on February 7, 2019 by

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 , , , | Leave a comment

A Year of Backyard Beekeeping

Posted on December 28, 2018 by

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 , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Expecting the unexpected

Posted on August 3, 2018 by

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 , | 14 Comments

The Perfect Place for Bees

Posted on April 27, 2018 by

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 →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Humour | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Nuisance-free beekeeping

Posted on March 2, 2018 by

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 , , | 5 Comments

Keeping the Cougars out of your Bee Yard

Posted on June 24, 2017 by

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 , , | 4 Comments