A Beekeeper's Diary

If the human mind was simple enough to understand, we'd be too simple to understand it.
-- Emerson Pugh

The newly resurrected Beemer

I spent the day at the desk, again, taking care of all the details of managing our affairs and getting ready for summer.  Cattle prices are in the sewer right now, and, unless the prices pick up, we'll be taking a bath.  Oh, well.  That's how it goes: win some, lose some.  Everyone does.   Can't let the losses throw your game.  If there is one lesson I've learned in life, it is not how often you lose, but quickly you get past that and back to winning.

Today : Sunny with cloudy periods. High 19. UV index 7 or high.  / Tonight : Clear. Wind southeast 20 km/h becoming light near midnight. Low / Normals for the period : Low 6. High 19.

This year, I did not feed either syrup or pollen patties, and I have noticed that the young bees are very much smaller than in other years.  Whether this will have a long term effect on the colonies, or not, I do not know.  What I do know is that in the years when we did feed well, we had good wintering, but before that, we sometimes had high losses.

In the afternoon, I went to Three Hills, saw the accountant and paid some more tax.  When I returned, Ben, Tom, and Jane from Irricana colony were waiting to load the empty frames we were offering to give away.  They loaded one truckload, then came back in the evening for another.  The Beemer worked perfectly, and that is good.  I am expecting to have to load two semis of supers in the next week or so, and a good forklift is an absolute necessity.

Wednesday : Sunny. High 21.

I went to Calgary today to get the transmission and brakes flushed and to do several other tasks.   I was impressed by the service.  They drove me uptown and also gave me transit tickets.  Very professional.

On the way in, I stopped to see Frank at Global.  he says he has some orders for Fall patties already and is getting ready to ship more into the US.  So far, he has plowed every cent he has made in patties back into improving the production.  He has received glowing reports from some very well respected beekeepers across Canada and I think that this, as much as anything is what makes him tick.  We're hoping to learn more, and continue to improve protein feeding.  Medhat is working on a study to try to measure results of existing mixes, but we need to see if there are any ingredients that can improve the already good, tried and true recipes we have.

At one time, I had five cell phones, and slowly have decreased the number to just one old bag phone.  Today I finally broke down and bought a new cellphone and also signed up for unlimited 1x Internet access by cellphone.  It's expensive, but it is a trial.  If it works out, I can eliminate on phone line and also get connection anywhere.  I have some concerns with how it will work when I am in the US and near the US border, but most of my use is in Canada.

I was hoping to get some queen cells from Joe, but he tells me that the ones they have do not look so great.  We've had a cool Spring.  Tonight was the first time this year we have gone to bed with the doors and windows open because of the heat.  Some years, we have this kind of heat in May.  The effects of the cool spring can be seen in slower hive build-up and later splitting.

Bored?  Not enough beekeeping content? Readers are reminded to visit the pages from past years (Today's events in 2003  2002  2001  2000) to see the daily beekeeping activities when we were running a commercial outfit and also 'Selected Topics'.  I am now a (rather negligent) hobbyist and am not nearly as motivated as I was then.  I must confess that I have not yet even tested for varroa in my overwintered hives and that they have now gone 14 months without treatment.  I must get a drop board on them soon.  Stay tuned...

Today : Clearing this morning. Wind becoming southeast 20 km/h this morning. High 24. UV index 7 or high. / Tonight : A few clouds. Wind southeast 20 km/h becoming light this evening. Low 11.  / Normals for the period : Low 6. High 19.

I set up the cellphone Internet connection and tried it out.  It is about 4 times as fast as our dialup, but seems to go in fits and starts at times, and I got dropped quite a few times.  Later, I had to do a system restore when I ran into some problems, but, after a software reinstall, the cell connection seems okay.  We'll see.  Interesting note: I'm glad I did not trim back the amount of space dedicated to System Restore, since I see I have restore points going back almost a month.  If I run short of hard drive, I'll cut back on the space dedicated to SR, but for now, it gives me comfort.

Today : Sunny with cloudy periods. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon with the risk of a thunderstorm. High 26. UV index 7 or high. / Tonight : Cloudy periods. 30 percent chance of showers this evening with the risk of a thunderstorm. Wind east 20 km/h becoming light near midnight. Low 11. / Normals for the period : Low 6. High 20.

Anther day at the desk and tidying.

We had some strong winds and a cloudburst, but not a lot of rain.  We are getting pretty dry, and Ellen is watering the garden every day.

Today : A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon with the risk of a thunderstorm. Wind becoming southeast 30 km/h near noon. High 28. UV index 8 or very high. / Tonight : Cloudy. 60 percent chance of showers with the risk of a thunderstorm. Wind west 30 km/h. Low 10. / Normals for the period : Low 7. High 20.

It is a dull day.  I'm doing bookwork.  Ellen is off to a garden centre with Shirley.

Did I say we need rain?  Okay.  We don't.  Not any more, for a while, at least.  This afternoon started with a few cloudbursts, then the torrents began.  We had a...

flash flood!
A river in our yard where there wasn't one an hour ago, and there is...	...water pooling against our house. Next picture is a window on this same wall, and...	...water is part way up the window.  Around the corner...
...water is running under a door and down the stairs, while,...	...at the other end of the building, water pools against another door, Inside the door,...	...water is coming up a floor drain, entering by a drain just outside.

Fortunately, however, we put in new drains recently, and although the concrete floor got wet and dirty, the water did not rise much.

The pond, however, appears close to overflowing.  Since, by the forecast, the bulk of the expected rain is expected tomorrow, not today, maybe it will go over.  That has only happened once in the past thirty years, and only from spring runoff.

Today : A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon. Wind west 30 km/h. High 16. UV index 7 or high. / Tonight : Cloudy. Periods of rain beginning this evening. Amount 5 mm. Wind northwest 40 km/h gusting to 60 diminishing to 30 this evening. Low 8. / Normals for the period : Low 7. High 20.

Well!  We had four inches of rain in a few hours, yesterday, and we're in flat country with clay soil.  The neighbours had a grain bin float down from another farm and go through a fence.  The railway main line was washed out just north of here and they worked all night to get it repaired.  Roads were awash many places, and some local crops were washed out.  lakes appeared and filled, and valleys became rivers for a few hours.  Our pond is brimming full.

The diversion moats I built along the field east of us a few years back, anticipating just such an eventuality, worked.  Seems all the water that got into our basement was from the roof and near the building.  This morning things are drying out and there are only a few pools of water on the floors.

This afternoon, I pressure washed some of the rugs.  Pressure washing works well to clean furniture and rugs, when done correctly, and when the items can dry quickly.  Today we had sunshine and a good wind to dry things up.

I predict that the change to the import rules will have very little effect on those who do not care to participate in importing, but be a huge help to those who depend on purchased stock and breeders.  These changes will also make importation of the Russian stock and other selected strains much simpler, and make a better selection of strains available much more quickly and economically. 

I also predict that, within a year or so, many of those who opposed the changes will be lined up to import just like everyone else, and benefiting from the measures they fought with every possible dishonest tactic.  That's what happened with the Hawaiian stock years ago.  Why should this time be different?  Whatever.  That is how it should be.  In a democracy, once the battles are over, the groups must get over their differences and make the best of their collective decision.

What's next?  Package bees?  I suppose so, and that would be a a huge boost for our industry, but I think that I will let others fight that battle.  We'll see.

Today : Cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers this morning. Wind north 40 km/h gusting to 60 diminishing to 30 near noon. High 13. UV index 5 or moderate.  / Tonight : Cloudy periods. 30 percent chance of showers this evening. Clearing overnight. Wind north 30 km/h becoming light this evening. Low 5.  / Normals for the period : Low 7. High 20.

Bill phoned last night and asked me to help them unload two semi-trailers of mill equipment this morning, so I am off to to just that.

Later in the day, I had occasion to compose the first resume I have ever written in my life.  As a sales manager, years ago, I threw lots of them into the wastepaper (many are just fiction and bad writing), but have never written one before. It was an interesting experience, and maybe I'll share it here sometime.

I also set up a website for Chateau Three Hills, copying their old site across, and making a few improvements.

Today : Sunny with cloudy periods. High 18. UV index 8 or very high.  / Tonight : A few clouds. Wind southeast 20 km/h becoming light near midnight. Low 4. / Normals for the period : Low 7. High 20.

El & I had our eyes checked this morning.  For the first time in many years, my prescription has changed a bit.  I still don't wear glasses (since I lose them), but there are situations where they can come in  handy.  The price is ridiculous, though.  I can buy a pair of sunglasses for $15.  Similar frames alone for corrective eyeglasses cost more like $150, and I cannot see much, if any quality difference.  Explain that.  Then there is the cost of the lenses.  I prices glasses in Mexico when I was there the other year, and in Tijuana, at least, they are not a whole lot cheaper.

Today : Sunny. Becoming cloudy this afternoon. Wind becoming south 30 km/h this morning. High 17. UV index 8 or very high. / Tonight : Cloudy. 60 percent chance of showers. Wind south 30 km/h. Low 8. / Normals for the period : Low 7. High 20.