Tag Archives: Calgary

Winter’s coming – are you insulated?

Posted on September 23, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hives and Combs, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged , , | 34 Comments

It’s Canada Day

Posted on July 1, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The reason we don’t raise April queens in Alberta

Posted on April 28, 2019 by

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 , , , , | 1 Comment

A Year of Backyard Beekeeping

Posted on December 28, 2018 by

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 , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Smoky Bees

Posted on August 16, 2018 by

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 , , , , , | 2 Comments

Our Hottest Day

Posted on August 10, 2018 by

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 →

Posted in Beekeeping, Climate | Tagged , | 35 Comments

Bee Art Exhibit

Posted on August 10, 2018 by

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 , , | Leave a comment

Bears and Bees: Not the story you’re expecting

Posted on August 5, 2018 by

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 , , , | 2 Comments

A Taste of Honey

Posted on July 17, 2018 by

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 →

Posted in Beekeeping, Honey | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Honey for the house

Posted on July 8, 2018 by

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 , , , | 4 Comments