Adventures in Beekeeping!!

Since my bees arrived a week ago, I've been keeping close track of their progress, keeping their sugar water filled and worrying that the weather was too cold and wet for their comfort. I need not have worried! I have two hives, the one to the west was the most active from the start, guzzling sugar water like there was no tomorrow. The east hive is the lazy hive, not a lot of activity and I've not had to refill their feeders as often.

Bees are teaching me patience and anyone who knows me, knows I have limited patience, "Give me patience, Lord, and I want it right now! With the top bars, you must go slow and easy so as not to crush the hard working bees, after trying different methods, I've finally hit on one that works for me. Just don't ask me to explain it.

With the nice weather we finally had, I decided it was time to go into the hive body and see if the bees are building comb - and they are!!!!!!!

This is a classic comb built entirely by bees on a top bar. I was so excited, I took a strawberry shortcake out to the field to share the news with Bruce. I'm not exactly sure what he was most excited about, the news or the shortcake, but I didn't care.

But true to form, the active hive built classic, straight comb on the bars like they are supposed to. Not so the lazy hive, they are building comb catty wampus, willy nilly, "good enough?" on the bars, spreading into the next bar. I trimmed pieces of the comb and put spacer bars in, hopefully setting the errant bees on the straight and narrow.

Now I'm watching carefully for eggs, then will know the queen is in residence and doing her job.