Category Archives: Beekeeping
Some Mountain Beekeeping
A month ago, friends invited me to see some bees at a ranch up in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Beekeeper Stephen, a fellow geophysicist, guided us as we meandered the secondary roads west of Calgary. We gradually gained … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Friends
Tagged Alberta, Calgary, foothills beekeeping, package bees
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The Long Road to Saskatoon
I am heading off to Saskatoon today. It has been 20 years since I was last there. Rather shameful delay, actually, since I earned my geophysics badge in Saskatoon and was treated really well by all the professors at the … Continue reading
Solving the World’s Problems
Closing in on the Rockies, near Bragg Creek, Alberta For the past short while I’ve enjoyed meeting some beekeeping friends each month. We have a two-hour coffee and try to figure out how we can fix the world. Well, actually, … Continue reading
Beekeepers’ Problems Solved
A publisher sent a new beekeeping book to me. As usual, I promised to read and review it – but warned the publisher that I am an awfully slow reader, and even worse – I can be awkwardly honest. (As … Continue reading
“The bees are coming!” said the hotel.
If you have been a beekeeper for a long time, you will remember the days when you had to hide your nasty habits (and your nasty bees) from the public. Bees were once very uncool. The Africanized bees terrorized America. … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Butchart Gardens, Chateau Victoria, Victoria
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Knowing Nothing
When I wrote my book Bad Beekeeping, the title came to me as a response to meeting a pompous, self-absorbed beekeeper. You know the sort – the person with a year or two experience who has an undeservedly inflated ego. … Continue reading
Airport Honey
Looking for a noisy place to keep some bees? Urban beekeepers struggle to find spots to set landing boards for their hives. Most towns and cities have limits on the number of hives that can be kept in the backyard. … Continue reading
Cold Bees
It’s not the cold, it’s the humidity. We hear people say this a lot. That’s one reason 20º Fahrenheit (-7º C) in the eastern US can feel a lot colder than -20º in Montana. Generally, it’s the humidity that makes … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Climate, Hives and Combs, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged humidity, wintering
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No longer almost free
At a get together with a small group of beekeepers, we all started bugging one of the fellows about the price of his honey. At $10/kilo (less than $5/pound) one lady figured we could do well buying his entire crop … Continue reading
Bees as a Small Business
A lot of North American beekeepers operate huge operations. These days, 2,000 colonies is about average for a commercial operation. Help is usually imported seasonally and the beekeeper/owner is sometimes a bookkeeper/trucker who has more than a veil and gloves … Continue reading
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