Category Archives: Culture, or lack thereof
May 20: World Bee Day
There’s a small country in Central Europe, a very beautiful alpine country, called Slovenia. Slovenia has only about two million people, but this tiny country is very big in beekeeping. Tucked between Italy and Austria, it has both mountains and … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, History, Outreach, Save the Bees
Tagged Anton Jansa, honey bees, Slovenia, World Bee Day
13 Comments
Drawing the Bee
Not long ago, Scientific American had a piece about drawing. The story, written by a biology professor, encourages us to look at nature and draw it. The case is made that drawing helps you understand what you are observing. But … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Science
Tagged efficiency, honey bees, Jennifer Landin, scientific drawing, The Little Prince
7 Comments
The Queen, or Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second
Queen Elizabeth commands tens of thousands and lays up to 2,000 eggs a day? That might be an editing error. Dan Graur, a biologist in Houston, discovered that Reuters News Service once required that all stories about “the queen” should … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Humour, People, Queens, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Queen Elizabeth
3 Comments
De-stressing during the Oscars
In our continuing series on Oscar-winning beekeepers… Leo says keeping bees reduces stress during the annual awards cycle. Funny, I find it helps me the exact same way. Similarly, beekeeping seems to be a preferred pasttime for Scarlett Johansson, Morgan … Continue reading
Dr Seuss’ B-Day
Today is Dr Seuss Day, according to my 9-year old, who was once a big fan of fables like Oh The Places You’ll Go. She has (temporarily) outgrown the good doctor, but like many of us may rediscover him in … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Culture, or lack thereof, Humour, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged bee-watcher, Dr Seuss, parable
1 Comment
Groundhog Day Again
When I was a kid growing up in western Pennsylvania, Groundhog Day was a big deal. It didn’t hurt that it was also our elementary school principal’s birthday. We didn’t get the whole day off (unless Feb 2 was on … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Humour, Strange, Odd Stuff, Swarms
Tagged bee legends, Calgary, groundhog day, winter
Leave a comment
Putin Likes Organic Food
Russia’s Vladimir Putin has suggested that anyone who sells or grows genetically modified foods on his turf should face a few years farming in Siberia. He has proclaimed Russia will be GMO-free and he’d like to see his farmers raise … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Genetics, History, Pesticides, Save the Bees, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Charles Darwin, epigenetics, GMOs, Putin, Russia
2 Comments
Sherlock Holmes’ Birthday
Today, January 6, is the fictional characters’ birthday. He would 162 years old, had he bothered to live so lived. In celebration of the great fictional detective’s fictional birthday, here’s a repeat of the piece I wrote to honour Sherlock … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Movies, People
Tagged Ian McKellen, Mr Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, Ulee's Gold
Leave a comment
A Look Back at 2015
It’s been quite a year. A lot happened to beekeeping in 2015. Early in the year, honey prices soared to unprecedented levels, making beekeepers exceedingly wealthy. (Or maybe not.) Since mid-summer, however, the wholesale price of honey has fallen dramatically, … Continue reading
Bad Beekeeping Blog 