Wednesday, May 29, 2013

BC Beekeepers 1918 Pure Honey - Italian Queenbees don't sting, they pinch!


We always believed that honey bees were native to British Columbia ..... "not so". But they've always been here, so they must be .... .... "NO,  ...... not so".
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Beekeeping has been practiced in British Columbia for nearly 150 years. The first 2 hives of honey bees arrived by ship at Victoria in May, 1858.  - Beekeeping in British Columbia A Brief Review
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In 1856, two years before Victoria got its first honeybees, Parisian Henri Harnet was given permission to set up 20 hives and teach apiculture in the Jardin du Luxembourg. The apiary and school are still active, now run by a non-profit society.  - Frances Backhouse
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In British Columbia, where the first hives arrived by ship in 1858, honey bee pollination is now responsible for more than $160 million per year in agricultural production. In comparison, the total market value of hive products, including honey and beeswax, comes in at a paltry $8 million. - AluminUBC Trek
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..... has reports of bees shipped to B.C. from California in 1858 and Oregon in 1860., and a lot of stories of the first settlers who kept bees - listserv entomology
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John S. Harbison (1826-1912) was one of the first beekeepers to import bees into California and was an inventor of innovative beehives and new methods of rearing queen bees. He authored An Improved System of Propagating the Honey Bee (1860) 
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John S. Harbison:  There he boarded the ship, Sonora, bound for San Francisco, and upon arrival transferred to the river steamer New World, and was taken up stream to Sacramento where he arrived on December 2, 1857 with a loss of only five colonies of his original 67 with which he had started.
 What triggered our sudden interest in BC Beekeeping was this book from 1918, which probably helped 1921 Gardening on a City Lot three years later, in Vancouver and the Gulf Islands.
Guide to Beekeeping
 We always believed that honey bees were healthy.... "No, .... not so".

Check out this Contents Page 63 (64) on Disease... and Vancouver BC "American foul-brood" (AFB)

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Vancouver, Surrey, East Burnaby and Kerridale (not part of Vancouver until 1929)


Instead of Burning or killing off the Queen Bee, is there a more humane method?

Yes, check out the FactSheet            Number 204


 The development of antibiotic-resistant American Foulbrood (r-AFB) demands that the drug should only be applied when brood disease has been confirmed or detected nearby. It is no longer recommended for disease prevention. Dependency on antibiotics can be sharply reduced through hygienic management practices, abundance of pollen and reduction of stress (refer to Factsheet #200). Do not use antibiotic extender patties.
 If Antibiotics causes cattle to gain weight quickly, and because We eat meat and are gaining weight quickly, does that then mean that we shouldn't be adding honey to our .... coffee/tea or porridge...?

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Women Bee-keepers:

"....women have given bee-keeping as much study as the would-be typewriter gives to stenography..."

Hmmmmm perhaps the author of "Guide to Bee Keeping" should have written "typewriterist" or "type writer" or "typist" instead of being penned as a "would-be typewriter".

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Google Search Criteria    bee honey goes with diabetes

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Google Search Criteria  bee honey production

Google Search Criteria  beekeeping harbison vancouver

British Columbia Beekeepers  of which Valley Gold Bee Co. is one

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Bad Bee Keeping    actually his blog is just the OPPOSITE



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Kootenay Lake 1924  Pages 9, 10 (Image), 11

 Agricultue in West Kootenay
William J. Bonavia Secretary, BC Agricultural Department
 1924
Snip
The bees are Italians, which do remarkably well, and some of the largest yields of honey per hive in the Province have been obtained in the Kootenays.  
Snip
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The Title, if you're wondering, came from "Hugh Murray", a North Vancouver District Teacher in the 1970s where the District had introduced an Outdoor School experience near Squamish, BC.  One field of endeavour was honey bees, and the fact that they were introducing a new "strain" of Honey Bees, from Italy.   To make the point of the proud announcement, Hugh contacted the local columnist Jack Wasserman with a tongue in cheek comment of: "These Italian bees don't sting, they pinch!"


School District 44's Outdoor School  Cheakamus Centre  nature is in session


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First Nations Bighouse Program


From Superintendents Blog:

by Dawn Green

The new North Shore Credit Union Environmental Learning Centre, currently under construction at the North Vancouver Outdoor School (NVOS) inParadiseValley, has won a prestigious award of merit for sustainable design.

McFarland Marceau Architects Ltd., a Vancouver-based firm that specializes in sustainable design, won the award last month during the 2011 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence. The Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence have been running since 1968. In making their award selection, the jurors considered geographical and social context, and evaluated physical organization, materials and environmental features of the short-listed projects.

Slated to be completed by April this year, the $5.8 million Environmental Learning Centre reflects the environmental principles adopted by NVOS. The 840-square-metre building, with its raised floor and forest setting, follows a “tree house” concept and is situated above the floodplain, elevating visitors to the forest canopy. The facility, which will replace existing infrastructure at the school, features an exhibition space, dining hall, commercial kitchen, learning spaces and administrative offices.  SNIPPED


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

1921 Gardening on a City Lot in BC: 35 cents per day or $127.75 per year

Life is so complicated now, because of the internet. It's all about security, including Tomatoes.
Biosecurity Guidelines for Post - harvest Greenhouse Tomatoes: Prevention of Post - harvest and Storage Rot  - March 27, 2013

 

Link to Ron Finley Ted Talk Plants vegetables garden south central LA

Updated 2024-03-05  via the WayBackMachine 

https://web.archive.org/web/20130527105459/https://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerilla_gardener_in_south_central_la.html

 
In earlier days, like the 1920's, there were more important objectives.... SURVIVAL of the fittest and we're not just talking about Tomatoes alone.

The City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 1886, the same year that the first transcontinental train arrived.   There was no Costco or Safeways, maybe a "corner store" here and there, but if you had land, and there was lot of that around per capita, for the taking, then you could have your own source without depending upon California and a link via a Skagit River crossing.

All you needed was a 50' X 50' plot of land dedicated to your garden... Another 50' X 100' for the house and stable.

Gardening on a City Lot in BC


January and February, kale, parsnips, leeks, lettuce, and parsley;
March,spinach and broccoli;
April,  radish, onions, rhubarb, and broccoli;
May, asparagus and peas;
June, early cabbage, carrots, and beets;
July, early potatoes, parsnips, and beans;
August, tomatoes, cauliflower, onions, cucumbers, and summer squash;
September, cabbage, salsify, and herbs;
October, celery, brussels sprouts, leeks, and winter squash;
November, fall lettuce and early spinach;
December, same as for January and February.

Besides the fresh vegetables which may be had through the winter months, the gardener can have a large variety stored, including potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, celery, squash, and turnips.

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In 1921 the BC Government pegged the costs of food shopping at Thirty-Five cents a day  One Hundred Twenty Seven and 75/100 Dollars per year.

2013, taking into account Inflation.... that works out to  $1,536.76 ..... per year.  Does that sound about right?

Or does it mean that the Bank of Canada Inflation bean counters software is out of whack, has been out of whack for a long time.

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The early settlers but later than 1886, following the First World War, were encouraged to come to Canada, to British Columbia where they had to clear the trees, the stumps, plow the land, seed the fields, tend the fields, harvest the field, and have the resources, FOOD to last until the next year ..... like these Links to previous Posts here at the BBC.

Soldiers and RaspberriesStalwart PeasantOats, Wheat and Barley Grows. Firsts for Women, Taxes and Tolls, Pigeon Phones, 125 year old VancouverTom Carter Gallery, Len Norris, Warner Loat, Trutch

Were City Lots dimensions determined by the need of its residents to fend for themselves, wholly dependent upon the land?   Were the backyard buildings still housing stables for horses, soon to be replaced by cars... which didn't create manure for the garden?  Up until 1950's Dairyland delivered their milk by HORSE... the manure was fantastic.... so Mr. D (our neighbour) used to say.... D is for Davis....

Today's residential Front Yards, now they could be used for a vegetable garden..... 26' setback X 50' wide or 33' wide... as long as there are not Horse Chestnut Trees growing on the front street ....  would the southern facing street front yards have more daylight than the their Northern facing front yards .... all depends on the size of the house, not by today's standards, but pre 1921.... is there an inflation counter for buildings...

A greenhouse would help....

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Houseboating in BC. May 5 weekend weather: "Summer" like weather!


Kaslo Shipyard Company - Kootenay Lake

Cruise, fish and explore sensational Kootenay Lake from the unique vantage point of a houseboat. It's all yours to enjoy: the quiet hidden coves, vast sandy beaches, vibrant lakeside towns and superb freshwater fishing. Choose from our four seaworthy cruise vessels, each fully furnished with a spacious wheelhouse, full galley, full bathroom and complete sleeping facilities for four, six or eight people. Since 1970, this has been the holiday of choice for families, friends, couples, business groups and fishing parties from across Canada, the U.S. and abroad.

British Columbia's Kaslo Shipyard Company fleet has been in business for the past 33 43 years, and it's still going strong.

What's the drawing card for Kaslo?  Is it the owners?  Their clients?  The amenities?  The nearness to Alberta and USA?

Houseboating in British Columbia is Saltwater or Freshwater, it's your choice.   Don't forget about River  rafting.

We found the original document for this Post at the BC Legislative Library from 1980 and we thought it would be curious to know if the industry had gone from boom to bust, or holding it's own......   We chose not to do a tally of  HOW MANY vessels were in existence in 1980 (the data is there though) but one may only guess that today's fleet is much larger, based on tourism statistics.

You may have many fond memories of your first houseboat vacation, they are still there, waiting, to be rekindled.

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1980 2013
HOUSEBOAT RENTALS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA HOUSEBOAT RENTALS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
This is a courtesy list of private companies or persons with houseboats available for rental. It in no way implies supervision or grading by this Ministry. Listings are alphabetical  by City/Town. Rates are available from the individual companies only. The telephone area code for British Columbia is "604". Browse the British Columbia houseboat directory for a complete list of houseboat rental companies in British Columbia British Columbia. Listings include houseboat information, contact details, amenities, photos and links to British Columbia houseboat web sites. 


1980 2013


TNT Houseboat Enterprise
Cherokee Resort Ltd. Okanagan Wake Tours
Mara Kelowna


Delta Charters Inc. Lajoie de Vivre Houseboat Dinner Cruises
Richmond Kelowna


Happy Holiday Fishing Charters AA Kelowna Houseboating
Burnaby Kelowna


Balfour Beach Inn
Holiday House Boats Sunshine Houseboat Vacations
Kootenay Lake Lake Koocanusa


Kaslo Shipyard Company Ltd. Kaslo Shipyard Company
Kaslo Kaslo


Cruise Along Houseboat Charter Bluewater Houseboat Rentals
Sicamous Sicamous


Shandy Cove Waterway Houseboat Vacations
Sicamous Sicamous


Waterway Houseboats Ltd. Island Houseboats
Sicamous Victoria


Explorer Houseboat Rentals Sproat Lake Houseboat Vacations
Chase Port Alberni


Ben's Marina & Trailer Court Island Houseboats
Youbou (Cowichin Lake) Lake Cowichan


C.R. Western Electric Lakeside Floating Vacations
Campbell River Powell River


Wilcuma Lodge & Resort Island Houseboats
Cobble Hill Victoria


Birch Bay Resort Solaris Houseboats
Horsefly Sorrento



Fish & Duck Pub, Marina & Houseboat Rentals

Port Alberni