Tag Archives: Calgary
Winter’s coming – are you insulated?
When I kept bees in Florida, I didn’t wrap my hives for winter. In Pennsylvania, where I grew up, we sometimes wrapped hives with thin black building paper. That was supposed to keep wind out of the cracks and heat … Continue reading
It’s Canada Day
It’s Canada Day. I moved to Canada in the 70s to keep bees. It was a good move for me. Yesterday, I noticed that the conservative news magazine, US News and World Report, has placed Canada as number one (for … Continue reading
The reason we don’t raise April queens in Alberta
It snowed again. After weeks of sweet weather, balmy enough for T-shirts, the bees quit hauling pollen and focused on hibernation. This is the reason so few queens are bred in Canada. We can do it, but freaky weather gets … Continue reading
A Year of Backyard Beekeeping
Regular readers of this blog know that I once kept hundreds of hives in Florida and Saskatchewan. That was a long time ago. Now that I’m all grown up, I’ve got just two colonies in my Calgary backyard. Much more … Continue reading
Smoky Bees
Originally posted on Bad Beekeeping Blog:
Calgary – a smoker’s haven. My home town – Calgary – is under a smoke advisory. The sky is hazy with smelly gray smoke from the trees, grass, and homes that are on fire…
Our Hottest Day
My home town, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, just set a record for heat. In all the past decades of weather-watching here, we’ve never been as hot as it was today. Ever. (In recorded history.) Officially, it reached 37C, which is over … Continue reading
Bee Art Exhibit
Beginning Saturday, August 11, four Vancouver Island artists will exhibit Bee Art at the Leighton Art Centre just south of Calgary. I don’t know if I’ll make it out there for the opening reception (Saturday, 2-4pm) but the exhibit continues … Continue reading
Bears and Bees: Not the story you’re expecting
I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A few weeks ago, a family of pandas moved to our city. They are staying at the zoo. If you live anywhere within a thousand kilometres, drop by and meet the bears. If they … Continue reading
A Taste of Honey
I checked the bees this morning. They started as packages on foundation but are all grown up now and starting to fill honey supers. The main flow has been going well for a couple of weeks, though interrupted by a … Continue reading
Honey for the house
We had a late spring. Our main flow hasn’t quite started. In another week, the bees will be gathering ten pounds of clover and alfalfa honey each day here in Calgary. There’s a nice flight today but five days ago, … Continue reading