|
Somehow I haven't
been keeping up with these pages. What have I been doing? Well,
think about pollen supplementation, computer troubleshooting, and more.
The long and the short of it? I've been occupied. I've spent
quite a bit of time on BeeSource.
http://www.beesource.com/forums/search.php?searchid=1431110
Tuesday, February
3rd, 2009
High 2°C Low -8°C
Normals: Max: -3°C
Min: -14°C
Sunrise 0810 Sunset 1723
Februarys past:
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http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225507
If you are
in an area with rain and melting snow running down the hives, water
wicks into the cracks under lids and between supers by capillary
action and runs down the inside walls even if the lids do not leak,
as most plank lids do.
If you have black plastic frame feeders against a hive wall, you
will see this. (Although with some of the newer feeders you might
not since the mfrs figured this out and put little spacer ribs on
them to keep them from touching the wall).
Anyhow, this water does not seem to bother strong hives in summer,
but in less than ideal conditions the moisture kills hives.
Telescoping lids are like eaves on a house and drop the water out
from the walls and reduce, but do not eliminate this wicking since
leaning hives or wind will still result in water running down the
outside of the hive and wicking in.
Knowing this, one of the reasons for even minimal wrapping becomes
clear.
Many beekeepers take the outer lids off when wrapping, since
wrapping a around a telescoping lid is not easy or neat. I solved
the problem another way, and that is shown on my website. It is the
third topic down at
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/menus/topics.htm
Telescoping lids also allow using a sheet of plastic on top of hives
when feeding patties, since the rims fold the oversized plastic
square down, providing a reasonable seal against drafts. Some also
use sacks or canvas.
|
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225607
The simple
facts are that a certain percentage of hives always die over winter.
If you have one hive, that could be the one, so it might not be
anything you could have prevented. That is one of the reasons most
recommend having at least two. It improves your odds and gives
something to compare to.
At any rate, unless you post pictures, and even if you do, there is
going to be a lot of guessing, but no sure answer because we are not
there to see, feel, and smell.
If you know of any beekeepers around where you live, give them a
call and see if they are interested in doing a post mortem. If there
is a local bee club, that is a good place to start. Otherwise look
in a store and see who is putting local honey on the shelves.
|
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225370
Re:
Number 45.
I have done pretty well all the same experiments, and run some
of these configurations on a lot of hives for a year or more.
|
A man's ethical
behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and
social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in
a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope
of reward after death. -- Albert Einstein (1879-1955) |
Imrie
shims, special rims, auger holes, inner cover slits, staggering
one super or all of them. I've also run two-queen hives, which
by nature require upper entrances. Moreover, we have had many
special boxes that provided upper entrances in almost any
imaginable place on the hive, the result of knots, rots,
dropping, woodpeckers, or bad construction.
As for conclusions? Well we were a commercial outfit with bees
scattered over 100 miles and hired help, and in a country where
it gets cold at night and sometimes for a week in summer, so
don't take my word as gospel. It is what we learned for our
situation.
We decided that upper entrances above the excluder neither
helped nor hindered measurably for honey production, but added
management problems. We also discovered that on cold nights
drafts could cause the bees to leave the supers. Bees do not
store well (for us at least) in areas of the hive they do not
occupy 24/7, and also soon take honey out of cooler regions to
brood chambers if they do and there is room below. We decided
that the advantages and disadvantages of upper entrances
cancelled out for us. That was particularly noticable in the
case of weaker hives. So we quit using them.
However, we do maintain a 1" auger hole in every brood box, just
below the handhole. That is very useful when splitting, since
the box can sit on any flat surface and still have flight. We
often just use a sheet of plastic on top of the parent hive as a
cheap, easy to transport, temporary floor.
Moreover, if all hive boxes are not the same colour, holes seem
to be attractive to bees and drifting is less than with bottom
entrances. Also, if the hives are uneven in a yard, weak hives
tend to lose bees to stronger hives, since the stronger hives
have entrance activity. With auger holes it is easier for weak
hives to have bees at the entrance since the entrance is closer
to the brood.
|
Wednesday, February
4th, 2009
High 2°C Low -8°C
Normals: Max: -3°C
Min: -14°C
Sunrise 0810 Sunset 1723
Februarys past:
2005,
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The days are much longer
now and the colour of the slanting light is much warmer. The sun is higher
in the sky at mid-day. Snow is melting quickly.
We watched "It
Happened One Night " last evening. It's an old movie, but pretty good.
The plot is the standard chick flick story, with a less stupid guy.
Thursday, February
5th, 2009
High 10°C Low -5°C
Normals: Max: -3°C
Min: -14°C
Sunrise 0805 Sunset 1729
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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|
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224773
I remember, back in the seventies, in Edmonton, Bill Wilson
explaining regression to the mean, using the example strains of bees
bred for AFB resistance as an example. We were all puzzled. It ran
counter to what seems intuitive, but trees cannot gow to the sky.
Regression is a problem, particularly in closed populations, and
all populations are closed to some extent. Some more than others.
That many are breeding, independently, from survivors (I know, it is
an expression. You cannot breed from non-survivers
 )
is encouraging.
We don't know what it is that makes evolution jump the tracks and go
off in a new direction every so often. We only know that it happens.
In this case, we have to make sure we are there to catch the ball,
that the new successes propagate.
(I also remember, years later, in Saskatoon in February, crossing
a cold windy street as Bill explained that we were going to have
coumophos as an additional bulwark against varroa when the future
looked very bleak. I had no clue what coumophos was at the time. He
said it would help us hang on until better ways were found. I don't
think either of us had any idea what an addiction it would become). |
Thought you'd like to know I saw an active hive today. Bees
flying around and everything! They were flying around bumping
into the rig and anything red like pipes and hoses. Anyway I'm
not a beekeeper or anything I just work outside but I've never
seen bees and snow at the same time. Thought you'd like to know.
Spotted Feb 4th. If you'd like an exact location I can get it
for you. Seen north of three hills alberta.
|
Friday, February
6th, 2009
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I spent some time in continued discussion of survivor stock on
Beesource:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224773
Saturday February 7th, 2009
Februarys past:
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2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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Ellen & I worked on a presentation for stained glass windows in
a Drumheller church.
Sunday February 8th, 2009
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2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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Ellen & I went to visit our daughter, Jean and her husband.
My niece was out from Ontario. We stayed the night.
Monday February 9th, 2009
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2003,
2002,
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1999
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| "I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the
past." -- Thomas Jefferson |
We took our time getting home, doing some shopping along the
way. Ellen dropped off a proposal for a major piece of art for a Red Deer
civic project. I bought a pair of Birkenstocks. They are expensive,
but the last pair lasted me two years in constant use.
I drove Ellen home, and turned right around and headed back to
Edmonton for the IPM meeting. There were only a few new arrivals, and we
wound up at Tony Romas at the Mall.
|
Tuesday February 10th, 2009
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1999
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|
Wednesday February
11th, 2009
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2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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|
The IPM meeting has grown over the years to be a
major event, with attendance from across the country. We had 120+ people
this year and need a bigger room soon.
This meeting is a chance to catch up on the latest
and to network with friends. Medhat always brings in provocative speakers.
This year, we had Mark Goodwin from new Zealand and
Randy Oliver from California.
The contrast between the two was useful, and each gave us lots to think about.
|
"Where wisdom is called for, force is of little use." Herodotus |
The weather in Edmonton was milder than many years
and there was less snow.
 One
of Randy's presentations showed a chart that reminded me of a similar chart I
made years ago. I had thought that I had posted it here, but I cannot find
it on the site, so here it is again and some useful links for those who might
want to do one for their locality.
Download the above
image as PDF
Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000 - Trochu
Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000
Treatments using formic or thymol are very
temperature dependant. There is no sure way to know what the weather will
be, but by using a chart like the above, the optimal timing becomes obvious.
Randy placed boxes representing the treatment limits
of time and temperature between the extreme lines to locate the dates where the
treatments have the highest probability of success. His page is at
http://www.scientificbeekeeping.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39
Thursday, February
12th, 2009
High -4°C Low -19°C
Normals: Max: -2°C
Min: -13°C
Sunrise 0753 Sunset 1742
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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| "I have ever deemed it more honorable and more profitable, too, to
set a good example than to follow a bad one." -- Thomas Jefferson |
I had intended to do something physical today, but
got trapped by the keyboard again, catching up after the days away.
Friday, February
13th, 2009
High -7°C Low -17°C
Normals: Max: -1°C
Min: -13°C
Sunrise 0751 Sunset 1743
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?p=393713&posted=1#post393713
All good suggestions. Personally, I never did nail bottoms on. I
bought hives that had them nailed on and soon took them off.
I used staples for a while, but all that hammering and prying got to
be a nuisance. I soon learned to use the rough lathe that is sold as
survey stales, lattice, etc. (3/8" x 1.5" x 3' approx) and comes in
bundles, and drywall screws driven by a reversable battery drill to
hold hives together when necessary. (The stack of supers making the
'hive' holding up my country mailbox is a good example, although the
lathe is inside for appearance since it has no frames). A few lathes
screwed on the outside of a hive can do a quick and decent job of
holding on floors and inner covers. The screws only make tiny holes.
|
Nutrition is also being carefully looked at by scientists. There’s
more evidence that feeding pollen patties is extremely beneficial,
especially to colonies going to almonds. And high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
feeding could be more problematic than previously thought. Of particular
concern is the quantity of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) found in some of the
food being used. Although generally produced by heat reacting on fructose,
there is evidence that the HMF content may rise to unacceptable levels
simply when water is added to HFCS. More at
http://home.ezezine.com/1636_2/1636_2-2009.02.13.13.26.archive.html
 People
ask about mead making. I have reduced the process over
the years to this.In a canning kettle or large soup pot add a
litre or two of clean water to approximately 12 lbs of the
best honey you can find.
Temp
(ºF):
|
Heating
time (minutes)
|
|
128 |
470
|
|
130 |
170
|
|
135 |
60
|
|
140 |
42
|
|
145 |
7.5
|
|
150 |
2.8
|
|
155 |
1.0
|
|
160 |
.4
|
Heat on a stove, stirring often until it is pasteurised (See
chart at left from
Beesource).
The idea is to have the water in contact with the hot bottom part of
the pot, not just thick honey, which would burn. I do not
boil, but just pasteurise.
Add this hot honey syrup to clean, sterile water (tap water is OK)
already filling a clean five gallon pail halfway up, stir and bring the
level to 2" below the rim with more water. Stir.
Add about 50 ml of dibasic ammonium phosphate (yeast nutrient)
and some yeast energiser if it is handy. Stir.
Sprinkle the yeast (Lalvin 1118 or another attenuating
high-alcohol yeast) on the surface. Place the lid on loosely.
(Air is good at this point).
Watch it ferment for a few days. When the action and foam
lessens, top the water up to 3/4" down from the rim.
When it is not bubbling much (one week?), then siphon into a
carboy and put on an airlock if you have one or loosely cover the
hole. You can use another pail and seal it except for a small
escape hole, but glass is better at this stage.
When bubbles no longer rise through the airlock, add the
kieselsol and stir. Wait an hour and add the chitosan and stir
again. I buy the one-batch kieselsol/chitosan packages at the
store when I buy the yeast. You need to buy yeast at a
wine-making supplier, and the type is important.
If your honey was clean, the solids should settle and the carboy
will be clear within a week at most. Siphon into gallon jugs
or whatever. I have used plastic, but now use only glass,
since the plastic can be affected by the various aromatic components
of mead over time.
I use screw caps and leave them a little loose. If you
stopper tightly and have not added chemicals (metabisuphate or
sorbate), and I do not use them, there is always the risk of 'glass
grenades' if fermentation restarts and gas builds up in the bottles.
That is not likely with the dry mead made following the instructions
above, but if there is much sugar left, it is possible. You're
on your own if you do cork or stopper tightly.
I always make the mead dry. It is easy to add a little
honey or fruit at drinking time for those who like it sweet.
See also
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/2000/diary031500.htm#mead
and
http://www.beesource.com/bee-l/bulletinboard/meadintro.htm |
Saturday,
February 14th, 2009
High -7°C Low -17°C
Normals: Max: -1°C Min:
-13°C
Sunrise 0751 Sunset 1743
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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| Diary Home
"If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win
without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure
and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to
fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival.
There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no
hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."
-- Thomas Jefferson
We watched
Forbidden Planet last
night. I'd seen it before, but could not remember the ending.
Monsters from the id. Add that to the concepts in
Open Your Eyes (Abre
los ojos) and the world gets to be surreal.
Sunday, February
15th, 2009
High -8°C Low -22°C
Normals: Max: -1°C Min: -12°C
Sunrise 0747 Sunset 1747
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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|
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?p=394303#post394303
Thanks for the comments. I really am not entirely up to speed on the
Mountain Camp Method as such, but have done a little research in
case I am missing something. I'm assuming that
http://www.indianahoney.com/drysugar.html sums the idea up well.
If I am missing something that makes this particular variation
magic, I apologise. My friend Dave Green
http://pollinator.com/ was a big fan of dry feeding using
newspaper, and I saw it in practice when I visited him in South
Carolina after the Virginia Beach ABF meeting, and, of course, I
have tried variations on it myself at times. I understand that some use it as a way of dealing with moisture, and
I can see that it is mostly of use in what I consider to be the
south. In the north, leaving a lot of empty space above the combs
can be problematic for one thing. For another, feeding anything besides stored food in combs
after the bees settle down results in sub-optimal performance later
unless they are starving in which case being alive, even if weak and
with run-down fat bodies, is better than dead. That caveat includes
candy boards, etc. I know people will argue, but usually people who have never tried
giving the right bees the right amount of space and ventilation and
making sure there is sufficient food, early in the fall so the bees
settle down rather than flying in search of food on every day when
it is even marginal. or people who like to tinker constantly with
their bees and test the bees endurance, rather than do the right
thing early in fall and go away. I have have seen many things, and nothing compares to that ideal --
the right strain of bees, the right size of hive, the right
ventilation, adequate stores, and, where indicated, some wrapping.
I see some friends who really should know better miss the target
over and over and they constantly have winter loss and poor spring
performance along with nosema, etc. Bees that are just subsisting result in beekeepers who are just
subsisting and that results in bees that are just subsisting that
result in beekeepers who are just ... It is a loop and the way to break out is to make sure the bees never
come close to starvation. Malnutrition has similar effects to
starvation. Bees need high quality food, and more than enough on
hand to keep them settled down and quiet. In this day of
monoculture pollen from agricultural crops is often inadequate in
composition. HFCS is suspect. Dry sugar is an uncertain supply. It
can be tough. Sorry if I am getting OT. I'm trying to keep from spending too much
time here, and this point cannot be emphasized enough. I really
worry about relying on dry sugar feeding becoming a habit for
unsuspecting beekeepers who get to thinking that the results are
normal. As an emergency measure, I am all for it. By the way, I am not addressing anyone in particular here. I've
sorta forgotten what got me going, so please, nobody take this
personally. It is just a rant. |
Monday, February
16th, 2009
High -3°C Low -19°C
Normals: Max: -1°C Min: -12°C
Sunrise 0745 Sunset 1749
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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> I was thinking of using a well known pollen supplement as
a cell rearing
> stimulant seeing as it had "all the 10 major type proteins
necessary for
> complete bee nutrition" I am not quite as eager to do so now.
Supplements are not recommended for use in queen rearing,, at least
according to Steve Tabor. Pure pollen is what is recommended,
although some
tell me they use supplements with apparent good results.
A caveat, though: I have purchased cells from queen producers
with good
reputations and found the cells came *nowhere* near our own
standards for
feed in the cell and size, so when it comes to queens be careful
what you
believe and who you trust. I'd trust Steve Tabor's advice on that
point
until I had a chance to do a limited test.
I don't know of any supplement that does not offer "all the 10
major type
proteins necessary for complete bee nutrition". Unfortunately that
is not
all there is to it. The picture is much more complex, and the
history of
the bees being fed as well as any other food sources contributing
while
feeding confound the issue.
> I think many of these protein supplements do what they are
supposed to in
> stimulating brood production and are great products,
Personally, I think the emphasis on brood production causes
people to miss
the point entirely. Brood production is a desirable end in itself,
but is a
*symptom* of bee health and the nutritional picture. To me the goal
of
feeding is to enhance bee health *overall*. Enhancing bee health on
a
continuous basis results in a better chance of achieving all the
other goals
we seek, and that should be the goal of supplemental feeding.
> but your comment about 2 brood cycles being the max you can
raise on
> pollen supplement alone makes it clear that we haven't arrived.
This has always been a problem with supplementation. Whenever it
has seemed
that that limit has been exceeded, it has been found that the bees
were
somehow enhancing the feed, either from their own bodies, from
stores, or
from the environment.
allen |
Beautiful, but cold.
The days are definitely getting longer. We have light in the morning and
at suppertime, now.
I posted to BEE-L
today. Things have been civilized there lately and I thought I'd take a
chance. The topic is one dear to my heart: feeding.
 Along
that vein, I wrote the Global Patties
Instruction sheet some time ago and it needed updating. Here is the latest.
Seems some people took the
mention that the patties could be stored at room temp for months and even years
literally and thought that they should use year-old patties. They were
surprised when the patties dried a bit. Who knows what 'room temperature'
means to some people. Anyhow the long and short of it is that patties
should not be stored. They should be fed.
The idea of feeding even one
patty seemed revolutionary a few years back, now many are feeding ten pounds per
hive!
All the evidence that I see
keeps showing that feeding protein heavily in spring results in healthier bees
and much reduced winter loss the following winter. This applies
everywhere, not just Alberta.
Tuesday, February
17th, 2009
High -1°C Low -17°C
Normals: Max: -1°C Min: -12°C
Sunrise 0743 Sunset 1751
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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Our sauna quit working the other day. I finally phoned
them up and guess what? They said they'd send me a new control box.
Nobody asked the serial number or anything..
Wednesday, February
18th, 2009
High -1°C Low -14°C
Normals: Max: -1°C Min: -12°C
Sunrise 0741 Sunset 1753
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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I decided it is time, and wrapped the last three of my ten hives. It
got up to thawing, so this is a perfect opportunity.
All are doing well so far. Some are bigger, some are smaller, and all
but one are clustered and quiet. Several are still away down in the second
of three boxes.
I also put on some reducers. I may have trapped a mouse or two inside,
but I doubt it. The fox hangs around there and I am sure she has
gotten most of them. In the summer the skunks were mousing there, too.
I'm going to have to do something about the skunk though, since there were
obvious signs that the skunk was eating bees from all hives all summer and into
the fall. Often skunks will ignore the bees and just go for the mice, but
some skunks get a taste for bees and they can eat a lot of bees. Maybe
I'll raise the hives up a bit more, or maybe put more boxes on sooner.
Chicken wire in front works, too. Some use carpet border strips, tack side
up. I'm hoping the old skunk dies over winter and the replacement does not
know the delights of bee eating.
 The
picture (right) is of the top bars of a styro hive, three boxes high with no
upper entrances. It had a pillow or two on top and a lid. I see some
ice, but the bees are down below and they sound and smell OK. I don't
worry about a little ice, since it is around the edges and actually provides
some water when they need it to liquefy the honey. Nonetheless, I pulled
the pillow back a crack and put a few more pillows on. I'll have to drill
some auger holes into these styro boxes sometime, I think. Maybe not.
I notice that I can feel considerable heat radiating from the black wraps in
the sun, and not the styro (white) hives. I also notice that some hives
are shaded a bit in the afternoon by a honeysuckle bush. Even without
leaves, it cuts the warmth detectibly.
The picture also reveals how I keep bees. I don't scrape much, and I
leave the propolis unless the burr comb and propolis get problematic.
Needless to say, I am not a huge fan of regular inspections. I can see
what I need to see from the top with a little smoke. Why look for trouble?
IMO, many of the current bee disasters come from over manipulation and under
feeding. I was not always like this. When I started, I had the
best-scraped hives in Alberta, and went through them regularly, removing wax and
propolis. I was also a bee inspector and went through may, many hives and
supers. I also had the worst wintering success. I eventually
learned...
In regard inspections, I have to say that I am concerned. It
seems Alberta is moving in the direction of increased inspections. I
suppose some inspection is useful, but IMO, education is far more
cost-effective and useful. This is the problem with forced collection
of fees from beekeepers. A pool of money collects and it must be
spent.
Because it is a common pool, and nobody owns it, it gets wasted.
If you were to ask individuals if they want that service, they say, "No!"
especially if they have to pay, but because it is not their money now, they
say, "Whatever". We desperately need research into optimal
feeding and access to disease and pest adapted stock, and we are not going to get it. Instead the money will go down
the sinkhole and an empire will be rebuilt.
When I started the truck and drove around the quonset, I spooked the fox
which had been sunning by the pond. I had no idea how fast a fox can run.
Now I do. Pretty darned fast!
The mead is coming along well. I started two batches a few days ago and
they are now half finished according to the hydrometer. It seems to take
about three weeks from start to finish, although longer is better.
I watched
The Dark Knight, or tried to. Ellen & I both sat down to watch it,
but she soon left. I turned it off before the end. I gave it one
star, then reconsidered and gave it a zero. What a disgusting movie.
Thursday, February
19th, 2009
High 0°C Low -18°C
Normals: Max: 0°C Min: -12°C
Sunrise 0739 Sunset 1754
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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 I worked on some websites. I am running a RC1
version of SMF on one site and the upgrade had choked. The site worked,
but Admin was crippled. Got some support and all is well. Also the
http://SoutherrnAlbertaBeekeepers.com site needed upgrading. I ran the
upgrade and it choked. I called in the gods and had the site nuked and
rolled back. All is well.
Ellen
& I worked cleaning up the gym. We have a gym downstairs and I am thinking
I'll put up my pool.
Of course we had to listen to Harper entertain Obama
in Ottawa. What will I think when I read this a few years hence?
Beesource rolls on. There is a time-waster if
I ever saw one. I spend at least an hour a day there now.
We watched
Walk the Line tonight. I've been a
Johnny Cash fan
since 1956 when I first heard I Walk the Line while riding in Uncle Bud's
new Ford with its amazing bass and rear speakers. It took me a while
longer to develop a taste for Elvis. Jerry Lee Lewis was OK, but he fell
out of sight.
The movie? It was OK, but the music was not
Cash himself singing, or real June Carter, but was covers, I assume by the
actors. The writers took liberties with the timeline and left out some
significant events, which is insulting in a way.
June Carter? Well it took me much longer to
get to enjoy the Carters. Oddly, as teens, we listened to WKBW, Buffalo,
which was right next to WWVA, The Grand Ol' Opry from Wheeling West Virginia, on
the radio dial. From Northern Ontario, WWVA was a nuisance because its
signal was stronger some days. We hopped up and fine tuned our radios to
listen o the US stations, and I frequented the local radio shop. John, of John's Radio was always tuned to CHNO, and Cash was a regular on that
station, as was Hank Williams.
Oddly, in recent years, I prefer Bluegrass to
repeats of the music we loved then'. I never did acquire a liking for
'gospel'.
Friday, February
20th, 2009
High 2°C Low -16°C
Normals: Max: 0°C Min: -11°C
Sunrise 0739 Sunset 1754
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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We did more cleanup today in the gym and I started the forklift to move some
junk around. I discovered that the propane (it is propane powered) leaks
down while sitting. I'll have to remember to turn it off when it is out of
use, or maybe the valve just stuck this once.
I see there is a new version of the
OpenOffice.org office suite and also
VirtualBox.
I watched another episode of Quantum Leap on DVD.
Saturday, February
21st, 2009
High -4°C Low -14°C
Normals: Max: 0°C Min: -11°C
Sunrise 0735 Sunset 1758
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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I cleared the ice this morning and Jean & family
came in time for lunch. We played a little hockey after. They stayed
for supper and headed back to Lacombe.
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?p=396868#post396868
Sunday, February
22nd, 2009
High 1°C Low -9°C
Normals: Max: 0°C Min: -11°C
Sunrise 0733 Sunset 1800
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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 It's
foggy this morning. Looks like fox mating season.
Almond bloom
Monday, February
23rd, 2009
High -6°C Low -11°C
Normals: Max: 0°C Min: -11°C
Sunrise 0731 Sunset 1803
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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Diary Home
Another day of slaving over a hot computer and gym
cleaning
Tuesday, February
24th, 2009
High -8°C Low -18°C
Normals: Max: 0°C Min: -11°C
Sunrise 0729 Sunset 1803
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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I drove to Calgary in the afternoon to attend the
monthly social of the Calgary Chapter
of the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons
They turned out to be a congenial group. Here is another
Wednesday, February
25th, 2009
High -13°C Low -22°C
Normals: Max: 0°C Min: -11°C
Sunrise 0727 Sunset 1805
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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Looks like cold weather right into March.
Thursday, February
26th, 2009
High -15°C Low -25°C
Normals: Max: 0°C Min: -11°C
Sunrise 0725 Sunset 1807
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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At the IPM meeting in February, Randy (his
website) was discussing sugar dusting and how it can be quite effective
when used correctly. There is
a discussion at BeeSource today on the matter.
Saturday, February
28th, 2009
High -15°C Low -20°C
Normals: Max: 0°C Min: -11°C
Sunrise 0720 Sunset 1810
Februarys past:
2005,
2004,
2003,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1999
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In recent years, I've been increasingly concerned that the emphasis at our
meetings is on emergency treatment of varroa, tracheal, AFB, etc., and not so
much on prevention. Of course, reasonable hygiene in handling
diseased equipment and sterilization of equipment are common sense, and chemical
treatments can rescue hives that are breaking down, but the real, long-term
solution is genetics, and we are not getting much promotion of that aspect of
control. We have breeders in Canada and the US now who have bees that can
resist the scourges, yet we hear little about them.
BC Bee Breeders'
Association Queen Testing Project Assessing Sustainable Honey Bee Stock in
British Columbia 2006 to 2008
We had a great party with all the usual suspects. It was wing night.
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