At noon today I was home doing a little maintenance. When I was driving off I noticed that the bee hives didn't look right. So I walked over to check. Of the two hives, the buck fast hive was all over the bee yard. Parts scattered everywhere. This was a surprise. I had strapped the whole thing together through the cinder blocks that make up the support underneath.

Last night there was prodigious wind.

Yep.

Destroyed frames. Bees scattered. Varrora trap dented. Queen excluder bent outta shape. Short super sugar feeder twisted and tossed aside and empty with sugar juice dryed all over the place.

Pandaemonium. Bee Pandaemonium.

SO.... into the house I went. And like any good man, safe in his manhood, secure in his presence of self....

I put on my wifes bee coat and my gloves and went back outside. :D

I re-assembled the hive as softy and gently as I could, making sure to not squash any bees. They were predictably upset.

Both hive bodies went back on the stand, on top of the reworked varrora trap. Then the queen excluder followed by the sugar super, the top cover and the lid. It went well. No stings. Then I strapped it together again and went back to work.

Tonight I installed 6 screw in anchors. Then I started strapping everything together.

Yep. bee in shirt. Sting. Ouch. This was after Crys* went to look at them with me and picked up the very first bee sting of her whole life. My shirt sting was followed by the complete and sure knowledge that there was a bee up by pants, somewhere around my thigh.

No.

I did not panic.

I did vacate the premises, strip and let the bee loose. She landed next on my nuts.

OK, now I did freak a little bit. :D

But it turned out OK. Mostly by shooing her off my scrotum and then running pel-mel down the drive way like a lunatic until I had outdistanced her. :D

In the morning we'll feed them some sugar water and put the last strap on.

Hee hee.... strap on........

For now it's dinner time, and I'm a little weary. Vacation starts Saturday.

Should be fun.

Hope it was the wind and not a bear.......