Category Archives: Beekeeping
Time to say goodbye – or maybe not
Bees have made the cover of Time. Missing bees, that is. The cover announces “A World without Bees” and promises to disclose “the price we’ll pay” if we can’t stop the bee losses. I’m not sure exactly what triggered this … Continue reading
Flooded
My home town has been hit by a flood. We would call it the “once in a century flood” but we had that back in 2005. We are told, however, that this flood beat all records for high-water levels over … Continue reading
Mount Everest’s Beekeeper
Today is the 60th Anniversary of The Conquest of Everest. It was 1953, Queen Elizabeth was just about to begin her first day on the job as queen of the world’s imperial empire. In 1953, a typical TV was a … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, History, People, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Mount Everest, New Zealand, Sir Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay
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Almonds Need Bees
Almonds need bees. And beekeepers need almonds – to pay their bills. In California – which produces about 80 percent of the world’s almonds – hundreds of thousands of acres stretch from Red Bluff to Bakersfield. Each acre ideally has … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Pollination
Tagged almond pollination, California, Eric Mussen
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Ireland’s Native Black Bees
Good news: the indigenous black honey bee is making a come-back. The native honey bee was deemed extinct in some parts of Ireland, but in 2012, researchers found it in various pockets in Ireland and throughout the British Isles – … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Genetics, Travels
Tagged Apis mellifera mellifera, black bees, Galtee Queen Breeding, Ireland, Senator Bill Graham, South Carolina
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Turning it over
This year’s blog didn’t describe my own beekeeping very much. I wrote a little about other beekeepers. And I wrote a lot on thoughts and ideas I’ve had with bees in mind. But not much on the wholesome good fun … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping
Tagged Alberta, Pennsylvania, Saskatchewan, Summit Gardens
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Melting
Are we melting? When I was a kid, I learned that the world was heading back to another ice age. The argument was reasonable enough. Evidence in charts, graphs, and photos showed that the 1970s were the tail-end of a … Continue reading
Jacques and the Bees
Our friend Jacques died today. I hadn’t seen him in a few months – I had been recovering from back surgery gone seriously wrong and Jacques was in poor very health himself. So our repeated plans to meet up, to … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Outreach, People
Tagged Jacques
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Package Bee Express
In my meagre effort to stay informed about bees, beekeeping, and beekeepers, I occasionally creep around the internet, stalking new ideas, and sometimes marveling at the bad beekeeping I find in cyberville. Here is an amazing statement from a hobby … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Mazda RX7, package bees, wastefulness
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February Bee Blues
Got the mid-winter missin’ messin’ with them bees blues? Me too. So, here’s a link to a great video, Beekeepers of Kenya, that should help you survive this dismal season. The film shows beekeepers using western-style hives, keeping bees in … Continue reading
Bad Beekeeping Blog 