Cindy White
They’ve seen a lot of changes in their part of Kelowna over the past 22 years.
The owners of Brainy Bee Honey on Valley Road held a yard sale this weekend as they prepare to sell their house, land and bees and move back to Saskatchewan.
“It’s been fun,” co-owner Kaye Chisholm said.
“Big learning curve, but nice and you meet a lot of wonderful people. And the bees are fascinating, which I guess is the most important part. [That] you enjoy what you’re working on,” he adds.
When they moved into their property, it was mostly just farmland and a few houses nearby, but now the area is a hive of construction activity, with new townhouses popping up across the street.
“What used to be a very quiet little secondary road is becoming almost a public thoroughfare, because they’re going through Glenmore, it’s very busy now,” Chisholm said.
They have 15 hives for sale, and she hopes someone will take them over and continue to provide a valuable service to the farming community.
“You have the orchards and the orchard is crying for bees and there aren’t enough bees for pollination,” he notes. “There is a demand for them, no doubt.”
The family has had a few offers on the property and the bees. Until a sale is completed, your Saskatchewan retirement is delayed.
She will miss the time and people of Kelowna, but Kaye is looking forward to spending more time with her grandchildren and reconnecting with the friends she left behind when they moved here and started Brainy Bee from scratch a while ago 22 years
She also wants to relax and do some sewing and gardening and maybe take up painting.
The commercial apiary industry faces serious challenges.
The spread of varroa mites and deformed wing virus (DWV) is killing bees in large numbers across Canada, and some producers are leaving the industry because they are losing too much money.