Category Archives: Friends

Shake, Rattle, Roll: Our Little Earthquake

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Ron Miksha

I live in one of the less shaky parts of the world. I don’t think that Calgary has ever had a damaging earthquake. (Granted, the city isn’t much over a hundred years old, so it’s a short history.)  When the … Continue reading →

Posted in Friends, Honey, Queens, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Return to PolliNation

Posted on June 15, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Last month, I mentioned a great new podcast, PolliNation. It’s produced by Andony Melathopoulos, a university professor at Oregon State. The PolliNation podcast series is very nicely produced and Andony has a voice made for podcasting. As a bonus, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Outreach, Pollination, Queens | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Annual ALS Fundraiser

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Almost every year, I diverge from my usual beekeeping nonsense on this blog and write a bit about our annual ALS fundraiser, Betty’s Run for ALS. You probably know someone who had ALS, aka Lou Gehrig’s disease. Right now you … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Friends | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Swarm Season

Posted on May 31, 2017 by Ron Miksha

It’s swarm season here in the north. That will end soon enough, but right now it’s pushed by long days and a heavy dandelion flow. Hives just can’t help themselves. In the old days of skep and gum beekeeping, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Friends, History, Swarms | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Bee’s Eye View

Posted on May 27, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Looking down from a light aircraft gives insights you just can’t match on the ground. At 6,000 feet, you appreciate how close flowers are along a beeline from hive to field. Beeing in the air is useful for a beekeeper … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Friends, History, People, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

PolliNation Podcast

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Here’s a great new podcast. I’ve just listened to the first episode (twice!). If all the future episodes will be as good as Episode 1, PolliNation will be a great resource and a fun listen for beekeepers.  Since beekeepers spend … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Friends, Outreach, Pollination, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Field School at the Bees

Posted on May 14, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Last weekend, the Calgary bee club’s introductory beekeeping course wrapped up with our field school section. After 2 full days (15 hours!) of instruction, participants had a chance to observe, study, touch, and ask questions about the innards of live … Continue reading →

Posted in Friends, Outreach, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

International Workers’ Day

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Ron Miksha

My home city of Calgary celebrated May Day (International Workers’ Day) by welcoming 1,176,334 foreign workers into our community last night, doubling our population. 196 packages of worker bees had arrived. A swarm of Calgary beekeepers greeted the immigrants. (The … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Friends | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

March for Science (revisited)

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Ron Miksha

So, how’d the March for Science go?  I’ll admit that it went better than I expected. My fear (expressed in Friday’s blog) that the effort to support science would be hijacked by a political agenda was only about one-third true. … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Outreach, Save the Bees, Science | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Humungus Bee Meeting

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Ron Miksha

I thought that there can’t possibly be so many people curious about beekeeping.  But there are.  It’s great to see lots of folks interested in bees, ecology, the environment, and the sport of beekeeping. But the numbers amaze me. New … Continue reading →

Posted in Diseases and Pests, Friends, Outreach | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments