Friday March 9th, 2001, 2000

There is a skiff of fresh snow and it's around freezing and overcast.  Our truck painting will have to wait until next week now, but there is a lot of preparation to do.  We ran out of paint yesterday, so I ordered another 20 gallons of black.

We had quite a few beekeeper visitors interested in our sale and the last did not leave until midnight.  We did manage, however, to slip away to Three Hills for the Feast of the Arts at supper time.  Ellen had donated a painting to the fund raiser and we had tickets, so we went.  The food was excellent, but the auction was a disappointment. 

Ellen and her work were well featured in the program, since she is one of only three people contributing who is a nationally known artist, but was up second in the auction.  The auctioneer glanced at the painting and said something to the effect of, "For anyone who likes this kind of stuff", and "There's something for everyone...".  He started the $500 painting at $200 and wound up getting $170 largely due to his own ignorance.  Anyhow...

Saturday March 10th, 2001, 2000

Looks like another dull day.  Jean and Chris are coming down this afternoon and the Meijers and Purves-Smiths are coming for supper.  I have some cleanup to do and a trip to town for water.

I didn't make it to town.  Jean and Chris came at one, and by the time I got a few things done, Joe and Oene showed up promptly at four. 

We did a little business, then we went out to look at bees.  It was cool, but we opened a few and they looked pretty good.  There are some weak and dead as may be expected, but there are many strong ones too.

When we got back, the others had shown up and we had a good meal, then watched "The Summer of June", a movie that we helped make by providing bees, hives and consulting.  It has been shown widely on TV, but is is in limited distribution otherwise.  Great North Productions sent us a complimentary copy and it arrived recently.

Normals for the period: Low minus 9. High 2.

Sunday March 11th, 2001, 2000

It was dull but mild again this morning too. 

Normals for the period: Low minus 9. High 3
Sunrise:6:57 AM / Sunset:6:34 PM--  The Moon is Waning Gibbous (99% of Full)

The normals are creeping up quickly now and we have been running above average temperatures again for a few weeks now.  The days aer much longer.  That's a good thing for the bees, since it lets them get out for a flight and also rearrange their food in the hive.

Monday March 12th, 2001, 2000

Andy came by for some formic and we had a pail of pads on hand, so he took it.  Of his two yards, one was 95% alive and the other was 95% dead.  He had not treated for tracheal, so I suspected that would be the problem.  He is using the Kona Hawaiian carniolans and they have recently proven quite susceptible to TM.

El & went to the lawyers to complete the papers for Ibex ventures Inc, our new company. 

The wind picked up this afternoon. Matt continued to work on the trucks, but it was too windy to paint much.

	Today: Mainly sunny. Wind west 30 km/h gusting 50. High 11.
	Tonight: Increasing cloud overnight. Wind west 30 gusting 50 diminishing. Low minus 1.

Tuesday March 13th, 2001, 2000

We are now waiting for the spring.  It is surprising how many beekeepers are opening their hives and working on them.  Over the years, we have proven that it does not pay for us to start too early.  There are some years like '98 that pay off, but in other years, the amount of good done is balanced quite precisely by the amount of harm.  The intervention is costly, so we choose the easier path.  We fed extremely well in the fall, and expect that few will starve. We are concerned about getting Apistan and OTC into them before too many brood cycles pass if they are not sold by May.

	Today: Increasing cloud with 40 percent chance of showers in the afternoon. Wind west 20 km/h with gusts to 40 by late afternoon. High 9.
	Tonight: Mainly cloudy with occasional showers changing to snow in the evening. Wind becoming north 30 km/h gusting 50. Low minus 3.

Wednesday March 14th, 2001, 2000

Sold two trailers today, and lent out a truck to take one of them home.

	Today: Mainly cloudy with occasional wet flurries. Wind north 30 km/h diminishing. High 3.
	Tonight: Clearing. Low minus 6.

Thursday March 15th, 2001, 2000

I went for a blood test this morning -- the kind where one fasts overnight, then has blood drawn, then eats a big breakfast, then goes back 2 hours later.  I had time to kill, so I wandered around town and happened to meet some computer club pals. we had coffee, just like the retired farmers do.

Today is the deadline for ABA's magazine, BeeNews.  We are putting an insert in again, and I am rushing to get the copy ready.... Made it!

Sandblasting and painting continues.

	Today: Mainly sunny. Wind becoming southwest 20 km/h. High 8.
	Tonight: Mainly clear. Low minus 5.

Friday March 16th, 2001, 2000

I have to remind myself it is only March.  The snow is gone and the weather is warm, but it is still 6 weeks until May. The days are getting much longer and I find this change most pleasant.

Here are my BEE-L posts since Feb 1, 2001:

	Today: Mainly sunny. High 8.
	Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low minus 4.

Saturday March 17th, 2001, 2000

I took the day off from desk work and went to Calgary to the zoo, the flea market and a few hobby shops The purpose behind the trip was to try to find a pin striping tool to use on the trucks and trailers we are painting.  It has proven very hard to find one.  A few years back, they were common, but now everyone is using vinyl stripes.

	Today: A mix of sun and cloud. Wind increasing to west 30 km/h. High plus 9.
	Tonight: Clearing. Wind northwest 20. Low minus 4.

Sunday March 18th, 2001, 2000

El & I took the day off and stayed home, except for a bike ride over to Grant and Shirley's for coffee.  Ellen and Shirley have gotten very interested in stained glass work and have made a few pieces.  Their work is quite good.  It will be interesting to see how far they carry it.

	Today: Mainly sunny. Increasing late day cloud. Wind south 20 km/h gusting to 40 km/h in the afternoon. High 12.
	Tonight: 30 percent chance of showers then clearing overnight. Wind southwest 20 gusting 40 increasing to 30 gusting 50 overnight. Low plus 2.

Monday March 19th, 2001, 2000

We started off with sun, but by 7:50 we had winds gusting to over 60MPH and now at 9:30 AM we have 1/4" of snow and more coming.

We went to Meijer's tonight for supper and dropped off the soy and sugar we had on hand.  Blue Sky will be making patties tomorrow and they need everything ready.  We went by their building and Ellen saw it for the first time.  It is coming along nicely and is almost useable as it is, although they still have concrete to pour in the unheated storage and loading area which is 120' x 70'.

We picked up the menthol and Apistan we had ordered from the co-op.  We plan to put blue shop towels on all the hives and Apistan when we inspect them -- if we inspect them before we sell them.  The blue towel method has been recommended highly by several beekeepers I respect who say that they virtually wipe out the tracheal mites for a year or more.  A single strip of Apistan at this time of year is the most economical and effective varroa control in this country.  We test as well, and last fall and put strips in the four yards that showed significant mite numbers.

	Today: 40 percent chance of morning showers then becoming mainly sunny. Wind southerly 20 km/h shifting to west 40 gusting 60 this morning. High 12.
	Tonight: Partly cloudy. Wind westerly 30 gusting at times to 50. Low plus 1.

 << Previous Page              Next Page >>