Category Archives: Friends
Return to PolliNation
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 Andony Melathopoulos, Meghan Milbrath, podcast, Pollination, queen breeding
4 Comments
The Annual ALS Fundraiser
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 ALS, Betty's Run, Calgary, Pure Sweet Honey Farm
3 Comments
Swarm Season
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 beekeeping, California, Pennsylvania, Swarms
3 Comments
PolliNation Podcast
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 Andony Melathopoulos, Oregon State University, podcast, Pollination, Ratnieks, urban beekeeping
10 Comments
Field School at the Bees
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 bee smoker, Calgary Bee Club, Chinook Honey Farm, Queens, teaching beekeeping
5 Comments
International Workers’ Day
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
March for Science (revisited)
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 beekeeping, March for Science
5 Comments
Humungus Bee Meeting
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 American Foulbrood, bee medications, Calgary Bee Club, Medhat Nasr, New Zealand, varroa mites
7 Comments
Judgement Day for Aggie Days
Calgary (Alberta, Canada) has an annual “Aggie Days” with goat-milking, sheep-shearing, rope-making, corn-mazing, and bee-keeping on display. As our city becomes larger (about 1.2 million now) and less connected with its farming and ranching roots, it becomes almost a novelty … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Honey, Outreach
Tagged Aggie Days, Calgary Bee Club, honey judging
6 Comments
