April showers bring may flowers. . . .
May. 4th, 2009 07:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
doodlemaier posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
bee_folkThe girls have arrived! I got the call from the post office at about 6AM and I went to pick them up. They're here at the house and in good shape, if a little tired. The weather's crap: rainy, windy and barely warm enough, about the worst day in May one can imagine for hiving a colony of bees. The upside is that buys me some time to read the instructions a gazillion times over so that I know what I'm doing (even if the instructions are pretty straight forward, the devil's in the details). I also realized on Saturday after putting all of the parts of the hive together that my bottom board (the base that all the supers are set on) has developed a warp at some point in the gluing and the nailing. But then it was the only piece that came somewhat assembled from the factory. Grrrrrr~!
The supers that I assembled are all square and level but in relation to the bottom board it creates a sufficient gap at one corner that the bees will use it as an entrance and make it more difficult for the new colony to defend themselves from intruders. I think if I lay a 2X4 down along the inside edge and give it a couple sharp whacks with a big-ass hammer I might be able to bend the nails a little and not break the glue. That's my plan, anyway. If that doesn't work then I'll just have to run a strip of tape along the breach and hope that in time the bees will make us enough honey and brood as to weigh it down squeezing it all together. If the weather clears up somewhat by this afternoon I just might be able to get the girls settled all snug and cozy into their new home!!
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
The supers that I assembled are all square and level but in relation to the bottom board it creates a sufficient gap at one corner that the bees will use it as an entrance and make it more difficult for the new colony to defend themselves from intruders. I think if I lay a 2X4 down along the inside edge and give it a couple sharp whacks with a big-ass hammer I might be able to bend the nails a little and not break the glue. That's my plan, anyway. If that doesn't work then I'll just have to run a strip of tape along the breach and hope that in time the bees will make us enough honey and brood as to weigh it down squeezing it all together. If the weather clears up somewhat by this afternoon I just might be able to get the girls settled all snug and cozy into their new home!!
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
