Read Past Issues

What's left of the grain bin next door, after our Friday storm. What's new on the farm: A belated Canada Day and Independence Day to everyone! I hope you all had some time to kick back, enjoy a refreshing drink,...

Our crew putting out formic acid pads on the brood boxes to help kill Varroa mites in the hives. What's new on the farm: Last week, I mentioned that we put some honey supers onto the hives, but it would...

The first honey boxes going out on the yard. Each vertical stack is one colony. The bottom boxes are for brood, and the third box is for honey. What's new on the farm: With the official start of summer, the...

Cruising the yard after all the hives were unloaded off the truck. What's new on the farm: We've settled into a steady rhythm here in Saskatoon. The main honey harvest is now only about 1.5–2 months away. June is usually...

The sky is full of bees as we're unloading the hives in Saskatoon. What's new on the farm: The bees have all arrived back home in Saskatoon! It has been a much calmer, drama-free week since they got back. In...

The truck all loaded up as the sun sets! What's new on the farm: Well, one of the hardest weeks of the year is finally over. When all is said and done, our driver will cover 5000 km (3100 miles)...

I'm pretty happy here because this hive is looking good! What's new on the farm: We are approaching the end of May... What that means for us is it's time to bring the bees home to Saskatoon! This week has...

A very organized frame of brood laid by a Buckfast queen. What's new on the farm: Last week, I wrote about our new queens that arrived from California. This week, we installed them into the new splits we made for...

A big, strong hive ready to be split into two! What's new on the farm: I can hear the hum of 150 queen bees and their attendants sitting a few feet away from me in the living room. That means...

Our hives start as single boxes, but as they grow larger we stack a second box on top to give them more space! Each vertical stack of boxes is a unique colony. What's new on the farm: It's been an...

A frame of queen cells made from our own bees! Larvae are gently transferred into the grey cups, which are then placed with the open end upside-down in the hive. The bees feed the larvae with royal jelly for several...

A very healthy frame of brood! The brown circles are baby bees (in the pupa stage) covered with wax cappings for protection until they hatch. A consistent and widespread pattern (without too many holes) means the queen is an organized...

These cells in the middle contain freshly packed yellow and orange pollen. What's new on the farm: It's been an up and down week here on Vancouver Island, but we are ending it on a high note. Andrew has gone...

A first peek into our hives this spring. What's new on the farm: It's the first week of April now and some of you might be wondering what's going on with the bees already?? Trust me, we felt the same....

Can you put a metal spoon in your honey? What's new on the farm: Honey is an ancient food; everybody knows about it. That means there is a lot of information (and misinformation) about it. Today I wanted to write...

A new creamer getting wheeled into our production space! What's new on the farm: Happy Spring! We have been writing about what we've been doing to get ready for the spring season, but there's a lot of work that the...

A group of strong hives bursting with bees (front), right after we removed the honey boxes (back row) in late summer 2025. What's new on the farm: It's a moving target when we start the bee season, because, like all...

A frame of worker bees taking care of their bee brood (under the brown wax hexagons) from spring 2025. What's new on the farm: We are in between bee seasons. Farming hasn't started up yet but there is a lot...

Sunshine hitting our hives at one of our Vancouver Island winter yards. What's new on the farm: It's hard to believe, but we are only a couple of weeks away from starting the 2026 bee season. If it seems early,...

A freshly packed bottle of our white honey, before it has fully set in the jar! What's new on the farm: When you think of winter in Canada, Saskatoon pretty much fits the stereotypical image. Freezing cold, blue skies, and...

When it's wintertime, we like to look at summer photos of our beehives, especially strong ones like these! What's new on the farm: In mid-January, things are quiet on the bee farm. There isn't a lot to do outside, so...

The hives covered with tarp at one of our Vancouver Island yards. What's new on the farm: Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and had time to enjoy good food with good company. This year,...

The hives on the truck as we unload in Vancouver Island. What's new on the farm: We finally made it. The bees are now settled in on Vancouver Island. I can't believe I'm writing this only a few more days...

Andrew getting our hives out of the snow, and stacking them up for the trip out west. What's new on the farm: Happy December! I can't believe I'm saying that and we are just about ready to move the bees...

Some of your packages waiting to be picked up! What's new on the farm: We were all set to load the semi-trailer this Thursday when I received a call at 9 pm last night. A call at 9 pm for...

Our weekly Costco run = fresh Canadian heavy cream for the caramels. What's new on the farm: It's been a nice, mild November so far here in Saskatoon. The weather is cool enough for the bees to stay in their...

Our purple Model K caramel wrapper in action What's new on the farm: Happy November! The weather has been cool and biting, which has been great for our bees. They are still sitting in our home yard waiting to go...

Our creamed honey getting stirred in the creaming machine. What's new on the farm: Well, today's the day that the bees should be heading out to Vancouver Island! But, we found out on Friday that our driver's truck motor is...

A throwback photo from fall 2020 when we loaded up the semi-trailer for the move to Vancouver Island! What's new on the farm: Things are winding down here in Saskatoon, and we are looking forward to the move to Vancouver...

What's new on the farm: During most of the summer, our hives are spread out in groups of 40 across many farmers' fields. We call these "outyards". We do this so that there is enough food for each hive, and...

What's new on the farm: Happy October, everyone! It's been a month since I wrote our last newsletter. A lot has happened in that time; we're only just keeping up! We've had our first frost, and winter preparation has been...

Scratching wax cappings off a honey frame What's new on the farm: And just like that, it's September. We have done two rounds of harvesting so far and we are starting our third round this week. For each round, we...

The sky full of bees at one of our yards. What's new on the farm: It's been almost two weeks since harvest has been underway. The yields have been promising so far! Some of our yards have hives that have...

Honey boxes stacked on top of hives at one of our apiary sites. What's new on the farm: Today we begin harvesting from the hives! The bees have had their honey boxes on for a few weeks and they are...

Mini hives used for mating our own queens What's new on the farm: The honey is flowing! To tell the truth, honey is always flowing throughout the season as long as flowers are blooming. Most of the time, that honey...

Busy crew working in the yard. What's new on the farm: Happy Summer! Since our last newsletter, we've been busy doing housekeeping tasks to stay on top of the farm and the bees. Now that we are approaching July, the...

Buckfast queen bees from Italy waiting to be put into hives. What's new on the farm: This weekend, 300 queens from Italy arrived in Saskatoon. Andrew worked all weekend to get the hives split up and ready to receive the...

An early morning shot of the hives on our home yard. What's new on the farm: The bees have been home for almost a week now. There are so many bees in our home yard that you can hear them...

Our crew in BC get hives ready to move back to Saskatchewan. What's new on the farm: It's time! Our chapter on Vancouver Island has closed for the year. The bees are currently on a semi-trailer, traveling across the prairies....

An idyllic moment on the bee yard. What's new on the farm: It's been a few weeks since our last farm update, and I'm happy to say that things are looking good! Our packages from New Zealand have been booming...

One of our surviving spring queens - a beauty! What's new on the farm: The other day I came across a piece of news that surprised me. Every two years, the International Federation of Beekeepers hosts a conference called Apimondia....

Can you spot the yellow pollen sacs on their legs? What's new on the farm: Happy spring! The weeks roll by, and now here we are in April. After many wet and rainy days, the sun is finally getting through....

Packages of New Zealand bees (top) ready to be moved into their hive equipment (bottom). What's new on the farm: Last week, I mentioned that Andrew would be checking all of our wintering bees. We were incredibly disappointed to find...