Our Team
Lyndon Janiskevich
Lyndon grew up in a small town near his family's farm in Saskatchewan. He would ride his motorcycle to the farm after school to help his grandparents and his Dad, as well as working in his Dad's business doing exciting things like chipping bricks. If you can chip bricks for months on end, you can do anything! He moved to Calgary as a young adult after a few years away at school. He has always enjoyed working with his brain as well as his hands, and loves to see things grow.
Experience
He has a background in accounting, wood-fired oven cooking, growing seedlings in the dead of winter, and is our beekeeper, as well as farmer, carpenter, welder, mechanic, researcher and general jack of all trades. He recently completed a Permaculture Design course and is applying this newfound knowledge to our projects.
Sharon
Sharon is the other half of this duo. She did not grow up in Saskatchewan or on a farm, but has always thought that having a farm would be a great way to grow good food and have space to spread out. She also thinks that having the chance to be outside, enjoy some sunshine and be constructive, as well as enjoy the beauty that is all around us, is good for us as humans.
Experience
Sharon comes from a background in health care, and is most interested in the therapeutic potential of spending time on the farm. She loves to cook and travel and explore, and is always interested in learning new things.
The Bees
We started with a "nuc" and a "split" six years ago, with gentle bees from a Calgary beekeeper. This is our sixth year (2023) with bees. The first year we flew under the radar in our Lethbridge back yard and were immediately impressed with the increased yields in our garden, as well as being entranced by their gentle busy-ness. We have since expanded to up to 52 hives spread across southern Alberta, with a mix of Carniolan and Italian bees.
The number of colonies at any one time goes up and down due to winter/predator losses, and our splitting colonies to prevent swarming. If you are interested in getting into beekeeping, contact us in the spring, as this is when we increase our colony numbers. Many things can influence colony survival. Drought and heat impact their forage, and predator losses from wasps and hornets can be severe. Unpredictable winter weather with large temperature fluctuations can have a severe impact, resulting colony losses. Thankfully, this year has been better, and we are going into winter with 46 colonies.
In general, our bees are exceptionally gentle. This is something that Lyndon is fostering as he works them most of the time without gloves. He is constantly learning, and carefully and thoughtfully manages our apiary.
Experience
This past year we had colonies in southern Alberta in 2 locations in the Cowley area and by the Old Man River. These are our Anchor B bees.
The rest of our colonies are in the Calgary area, mostly semi-rural in the De Winton, Highway 22X and Springbank areas, gathering nectar from whatever is in bloom.
Bella
Bella is our 13 year old rescue dog (from ARF). She lives in joy, most of the time, even when running and squealing in her sleep. She is quick to communicate when she is hungry or thirsty (she rings her dinner bell!), and is always happiest when she is with us, (especially lying on the porch at Anchor B Ranch), or chewing up a stick.
Experience
She has 13.5 years experience as a Joy Ambassador, and even though she is quite deaf and lumpy, she remains happy.
We would also like to introduce our dear Anchor B Ranch friends: Brenda (the Queen of Anchor B), and Pixie the border collie (Senior Dog in Charge). Daisy (Junior Pyrenees/Retreiver Canine Welcoming Committee) joined the ranch team and has had a big impact (the "Daisy effect!").We are so grateful that they are willing to have us share some space with them. Thank you Anchor B!
You will also catch glimpses of other ranch visitors and residents, especially if you follow Lyndon on Instagram.
Thanks to Brenda, for sharing the beauty of her corner of southern Alberta with us. Thanks also to Pixie, who has shown us what joy can come from being a hard-working and attentive ranch dog.
Daisy will get an email address when she learns how to type. She's too busy right now entertaining all her friends.
To reach Brenda and Pixie, you can email:
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