October 26: Tear Down

I survived the most intense day of my short beekeeping career. I decided to do a bit of rearranging of frames from the Russian top super to the Italians. I removed 5 honey-less frames from the Italians and set them aside in an empty box. Then one at a time, I struggled to free a frame of honey from the Russians. The frames were stuck with propolis. I didn't even bother with the outside frames. They were cemented to the box. I carefully removed a frame, bumped it against the super several times so the Russian bees would drop off. You can imagine they weren't too happy. Adding to the fun, the smoker kept going out. It was a little too breezy to be undertaking this task, but as usual, I felt a bit of desperation to take care of this before it gets too cold. I replaced the removed frames from the Russian hive with the frames I had removed from the Italian hive: so a big switcheroo.

I replaced the inner cover, flat side up and propped up about 1/2 inch with shims. Between the inner cover and a queen excluder, I added some fleece cloth (an experiment) to fight the cold, and the top cover. In a week, I'll remove the cloth, as it seems kind of stupid and risky, if it were to wick in moisture.

Amazingly, I finished the project with only 5 or 6 stings to the hands (no safety gear). Time for a nap!

November 1: Realignment and Feeding

The Russian hive has not been level for quite some time, as the plywood and cement blocks have settled. Since it is so heavy, I have been putting off trying to shim it back to level. Today I used some scrap pieces of wood and pieces of shim and my immense strength to get the hive to level. The back is propped up a little more, so any moisture will run out the front. I checked the Italian hive with my level, and it is still perfectly aligned.

As it is forecasted to be in the low 60's for a few days, I decided to give both hives one last feeding. It is risky, because they may not have time to cure it, but I am very concerned about starvation, especially for the Italians.

I ordered a hot plate so I can start making syrup at my house, instead of at my sister's or friend's. I hope it will get hot enough to boil water. I'll likely be making lots of syrup come Spring (I hope), and this will be much more convenient.

November 8: Feeders Off

A return to colder weather after the 70 degree temperatures earlier in the week. I removed the empty feeders and replaced them with the inner cover - queen excluder combination that I'm experimenting with. The inner cover is propped up about 1/2 inch. Also I taped the drilled entrance hole on the Italians and one of the two holes of the Russians. They should be ready for winter. Let's hope.