Tag Archives: Alberta
How Can I Stop Wasp Attacks?
A few days ago, I wrote about the way new beekeepers are generally sure about the right way to keep bees while oldtimers are reticent when it comes to answering questions. Sometimes there are a dozen ways to solve a … Continue reading
What Do You Do with Open Honey?
Yesterday, I droned on and on about how beekeepers who are smart and mature don’t know anything. It’s the new beefolks who have all the answers. I’m not quite at the point where I know nothing, so I’m going to … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Honey, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Alberta, Canada, moisture in honey, refractometer
4 Comments
Bearspaw Honey Harvest
A friend sent these pictures of some of his honey harvest. It was part of his second pull, taken September 4th. He says there’s more to gather and he’ll collect it in a couple of weeks. Looks like great quality! … Continue reading
Should a “Bee City” Ban Honey Bees?
In February, Toronto became Canada’s first certified Bee City. This week, a bedroom community just outside Calgary became Canada’s second. I heard the news last night on a CBC radio interview of Dr. Preston Pouteaux, a hobby beekeeper who apparently … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Outreach, Save the Bees
Tagged Alberta, Bee City, Chestermere, Native Bees, pollinators, Ralph Cartar
8 Comments
Saturday at the Hive
I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It’s a remarkable city. Economist magazine ranks us as the world’s fifth-best city (they place Vancouver and Toronto as 3rd and 4th) while the international agency the Mercer Group says Calgary has the cleanest … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Friends
Tagged Alberta, extracting, honey house, Neil Bertram
1 Comment
Whither the Sunflower?
It can feel a little creepy, sitting on a bench on the edge of a sunflower forest with your back to the sun. In that position, all the sunflowers are looking at you. If it’s morning. The marvel of the … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Honey, Honey Plants, Science
Tagged Alberta, circadian rhythm, honey, sunflower
1 Comment
Bee Vandals
I’ll never understand vandalism. Theft I understand. I don’t like it, I don’t condone it, I’ve been victimized by it. But I can understand how it might sometimes happen. Vandalism, however, is strange. And stupid. Vandalism is nothing new. The … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests
Tagged Alberta, beehive vandalism
2 Comments
Dead bee, in the middle of the ‘shield…
A few days ago, I had a road trip that took me two hours from my home in Calgary. Flying low at 130 kph, I expected to whack a lot of bees on the forehead of my van, but I … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Humour, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Alberta, dead bees, dead skunk, windshield bees
2 Comments
Canola: Canada’s Yellow Carpet
Yesterday I wrote about honey that hurries towards granulation. Canola (the honey plant formerly known as rapeseed) is our local example of quick-setting honey. Canola honey is nice: white and mild with a slight minty flavour. I like it but … Continue reading
Posted in Honey Plants
Tagged Alberta, Canada, canola, glucose, granulation, map, rape seed
2 Comments
Friends Among the Bees
I spent a few hours in the bees today. This was part of our bee club’s beginner beekeeping course and I was one of the instructors, showing 50 new beekeepers the mysterious inner workings of our club president’s hives. The … Continue reading
Bad Beekeeping Blog 