Tag Archives: Calgary

Groundhog Day Again

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Ron Miksha

When I was a kid growing up in western Pennsylvania, Groundhog Day was a big deal. It didn’t hurt that it was also our elementary school principal’s birthday. We didn’t get the whole day off (unless Feb 2 was on … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Humour, Strange, Odd Stuff, Swarms | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Beekeeping Promo Flashback

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Ron Miksha

This video goes back about 15 years, but a friend asked me about the 6 minutes of local fame I experienced on the Dave Kelly morning show, so I looked up the film. The quality of the tape (and my … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Comb Honey, Culture, or lack thereof, Honey, Movies, Outreach | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Smoky Bees

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Ron Miksha

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 down in Washington state. Those fires are about 700 kilometres (500 … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Honey | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Some Mountain Beekeeping

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Ron Miksha

A month ago, friends invited me to see some bees at a ranch up in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Beekeeper Stephen, a fellow geophysicist, guided us as we meandered the secondary roads west of Calgary. We gradually gained … Continue reading →

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Dandy Season

Posted on May 25, 2015 by Ron Miksha

A few weeks ago, I wrote that spring had arrived and pollen (plus a little nectar) was coming into the hives – mostly from willow and crocus. I also wrote that the main spring flow here in western Canada (along … Continue reading →

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Searching for Flowers

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Ron Miksha

I had a road trip earlier this week and was struck by the paucity of natural bling-bling. It’s almost May. Where are the flowers? I ask this lachrymose question every spring, especially after we’ve had a pleasant string plus 20 … Continue reading →

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Same Planet?

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Living in cold Canada, it’s easy to forget some people have it hot. Especially right after we’ve had a big snowstorm – half a metre (over a foot) of white wet stuff in the past couple of days. So I … Continue reading →

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Cold, eh?

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Well this is a bit unfortunate. It was minus 31 in Calgary this morning, the wind picked up and it felt like minus 50. That’s about the same weather whether Fahrenheit or Celsius – the scales meet at -40. So, … Continue reading →

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Flooded

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Ron Miksha

My home town has been hit by a flood. We would call it the “once in a century flood” but we had that back in 2005. We are told, however, that this flood beat all records for high-water levels over … Continue reading →

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Backyard Fireweed

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Ron Miksha

We had some lovely fireweed growing beside the deck this month. And we didn’t even need to burn any grass to get it. I’m not sure why this lover of scorched earth decided to sprout gratuitously in our undisturbed backyard, … Continue reading →

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