Due to some irritating software issues, I’m behind in adding photos to the website. But here are a few highlights from the last couple of weeks. First, this unusual hive belongs to Dr. Michael Ishitani. He writes, “For my Italian and Carniolan hives, with a decorative skep, cedar shingle roof and copper peak, national flag, […] Read more
The first line in the Huffington Post story reads, “An amateur photographer has captured an amazingly rare sight in his own back garden—a bee urinating.” No doubt, the photo by Mark Parrott is awesome, but is the bumble bee actually urinating? In fact, the bee digestive system does not divide waste into solids and liquids—instead, […] Read more
Athough I’m not a hundred percent sure, I believe we are blaming the wrong shrew for damage wrought on bee hives in Canada and northern parts of the United States. Both Fletcher Colpitts, Chief Apiary Inspector of New Brunswick, Canada, and the Bee Informed Partnership website are blaming the European pygmy shrew, Sorex minutus, for […] Read more
To my readers in Australia and New Zealand: I send my heartfelt and sincere thanks to firefighters from your two nations who have come to join the thousands of North American firefighters in their quest to extinguish the wildfires raging across the western United States. Thank you a million times over. My prayers are with […] Read more
This is where we come to the rescue of urban beekeepers who want to keep their hives out of the public eye. A few years back I wrote a post called, “Out of sight, out of mind” where I explained why concealing your hives from passersby might be a good choice. Recently Frank, from I […] Read more
Guess who’s coming to dinner? It’s a Pacific tree frog looking for an easy snack. Yesterday I was in the garden, still trying to catch a leafcutter in the act of cutting, when I decided to look for petal pieces in the pollinator housing. The housing is nearly full already, but I came face to […] Read more
August 17, 2015. Nine p.m. EDT. It is dark, seasons are changing and we better be getting ready. Earlier today I went around the farm taking some pictures. Old folk lore says that when the goldenrod begins to bloom it is only six more weeks until the first frost. I really like this picture from […] Read more