Tag Archives: Calgary
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
Posted in Beekeeping, Climate
Tagged Alberta, Calgary, Spring, urban beekeeping, wintering bees
1 Comment
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
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Honey
Tagged Calgary, extracting, package bees, packing honey, queenless hives, Queens, skunks, urban beekeeping, wasps
9 Comments
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…
Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey, Reblogs, Uncategorized
Tagged Alberta, bee smoker, Calgary, forest fires, pheromones, smoke
2 Comments
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
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Outreach
Tagged bee art, Calgary, Leighton Art Centre
Leave a comment
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
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Outreach, Pollination, Save the Bees
Tagged Calgary, Calgary Zoo, Native Bees, panda
2 Comments
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
Posted in Beekeeping, Honey, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Alberta, beeswax, bottling honey, Calgary
4 Comments
My Annual ALS Post
I have a type of motor neuron disease, similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which most people call ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease because that’s easier to say. Every year I do a post about the disease in order to thank, … Continue reading
Posted in Apitherapy, Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Outreach
Tagged ALS, bee stings, Betty's Run, Calgary, Pure Sweet Honey Farm
2 Comments
Package Hive Update
Three weeks ago, we installed two packages in our backyard. We started with mostly new equipment, though we had six drawn, white-comb, deep frames for the bees to nest in right away. I considered using 100% foundation and letting the … Continue reading
