Tag Archives: Calgary

My Failure as a Beekeeper: Part III

Posted on September 5, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Over the past few days, I’ve been writing about the misadventures of a small queenless hive which we placed in our back yard this summer. It dutifully raised several nice queen cells. At the time, I worried about the greedy … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

My Failure as a Beekeeper: Part II

Posted on September 4, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Yesterday, I started to describe my rather lousy year as a beekeeper. It began with an intentionally weak queenless hive. I picked it up at my daughter’s farm and brought it into my back yard, here in the city of … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Friends | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

My Failure as a Beekeeper: Part I

Posted on September 3, 2017 by Ron Miksha

I’ve worked with bees for almost fifty years, raising queens, pollinating crops, making oodles of honey.  I grew up in a beekeeping family (so my 50 years started really early). Over that long time period, I worked for some really … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Friends | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

The Lazy Bees

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Ron Miksha

A friend wanted to name his honey farm The Lazy Bee Apiaries. He even made the proper brand (LBA) for marking his frames and rims. But other beekeepers (including me) told him that bees aren’t lazy. Sometimes beekeepers are a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Friends | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Bees with Beards

Posted on July 15, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Ah, the bearded hive. With our current heatwave, beards are in fashion among beehives here in Calgary. Last week, I was called to the home of some new beekeepers. The front of their two-story hive was completely masked by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Climate, Humour | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

One Week with a Queenless Hive

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Over a week ago, I brought a nuc into my back yard. Twelve days have passed, so there should be an emerged virgin queen inspecting the neighbourhood, looking for boys. My little nuc was intentionally built as a queenless hive. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Queens | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Nuking the Bees

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Ron Miksha

If you’re a beekeeper, you probably already know all about nucs, the little hives from which big things are supposed to grow. If you’ve made nucs for fun or profit, then you have your own system – maybe two frames … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hives and Combs | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Urban Beekeeping Mug

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Yesterday, Father’s Day, my family surprised me with this homemade mug. They had conspired to co-create this bit of art for the past few days. I heard the hushed tones and I saw people and things quickly disappear when I … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping | Tagged , | 9 Comments

The Annual ALS Fundraiser

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , | 3 Comments

Wildflowers and Bees

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Ron Miksha

My friend Liz Goldie was in the news again. This time it was a good thing.  She had dropped by a local greenhouse to set up delivery for July for some bee-friendly wildflower seeds to distribute at Calgary’s Stampede. Before … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Friends, Honey Plants, Outreach, Save the Bees | Tagged , | 1 Comment