The Hiving

          I delayed this post a day so I could post pictures of our latest family bonding project—the installing of bees in Dad's and K's hives. First up, the donning of the bee gear:

K and Dad preparing to hive the bees.

          Bees will fly up and down, examining the exterior of their hive prior to foraging, so that they know which hive to come home to. Retired license plates make useful address plaques.

Hives waiting for their bees, which are in the white boxes on the ground.

          Considering that it was a bit cold and windy, the bees were pretty good-tempered. Especially after they were misted with sugar-water.

          A frame full of bees ready to transfer to the hive. The capped cells are either brood or honey.

Adding the frame to the super. The extra empty frames on either side of the bee-encrusted ones are for the bees to expand onto.

          Dad and K added some bee cake and sugar water to keep the bees fed until there's a good pollen flow, and then closed up the hive. Hopefully there will be some honey to share at the end of the season.