# Newbee hive inspection disaster



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

The comb and the capped brood and the pollen and the honey, by the way, were beautiful. Every frame full.


----------



## charmd2 (May 25, 2008)

get some rubber bands, rubber band the comb you dropped back into the frame. 

are all of your frames pushed together to the center of the hive body? If so you should have a little room to take a hive tool and gently pry the frame on one end to the hive body. Then once it is loose, pull it out, leave it out, and you should have more room to manipulate the rest of the frames. when done inspecting, reinsert that lone frame. pushing all frames back to the center. 

If you are so heavily propolized that three weeks into having bees you cant get the frames out at all, they may be to big for the box, or perhaps the box is to small?


----------



## Omie (Nov 10, 2009)

Can you describe your setup more?
Are you using one deep brood box with 10 frames?

What kind of frames?
Are you using foundationless or with foundation?
If foundationless, did you tip the frame and hold it horizontal to look at it? (not recommended, watch some Youtube clips about examining foundationless frames in such a way that avoids having them fall out of the frames)

Get some rubber bands that fit vertically around a frame easily.
Go get the piece of comb that you tossed back into the hive and rubber band it back into the frame it fell out of and put the frame back where it was. The bees will reattach it. I've read that the bees will even remove the rubber bands when no longer needed. Be sure to use a smoker.
If the brood box is for 10 frames, you should have 10 frames in there. Leaving a space with a frame removed and just plopping some loose comb there will only cause them to glue the comb in and build yet more freeform comb around it to fill the space that the frame used to be in.

Is the whole box full as you say? Time to add another box maybe?


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

I have 8-frame mediums. Two hive bodies with frames, inner cover, empty body, jar of syrup on inner cover, telescoping cover. Bottom body full. Second body completely empty. I think maybe because it's still chilly at night.

Foundationless frames, which I knew would be trickier. I didn't tilt it, it just wasn't well attached.

All frames were together, but they weren't centered in the body.

Lots of walking bees. Does that mean newly emerged? One that I noticed strolling about (even before the chaotic hive opening) had wax secretions on her underside. (Do new bees take orientation walks?)

How soon do I go back in to attempt to repair the damage? I'm afraid they're doing to take such a disliking to their meddlesome landlady they'll seek lodgings elsewhere.


----------



## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

go back in tommorrow. the longer you wait the worse it is. my recommendation is the same as other experienced beekeeps have expressed lately-use wax foundation for the first year or two. contact your local club if you dont have a local supplier and borrow or beg about 30 sheets, get a book and learn to crosswire. learn to beekeep the tried and true way, then experiment. good luck,mike


----------



## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

How big was the chunk of comb that broke out? Unless it was really large (like almost the entire frame) I wouldn't worry about trying to fix it. The next time you get in the hive, you can remove the chunk of broken comb - you said you dropped it in the hive and closed it up. It's just going to be in the way if you leave it in, and a small comb probably isn't worth trying to salvage.

Those things happen. Don't let it get you flustered. Keep feeding the bees and they will have that frame repaired before you know it.

_Lots of walking bees. Does that mean newly emerged? _

No, it just means you were doing a good job of not making them mad. Worry about them when they are flying and buzzing madly, and keep trying to attack your veil.

New baby bees will be gray and fuzzy.


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

Countryboy said:


> How big was the chunk of comb that broke out?


Whole frame of beautiful capped brood and larvae. Definitely worth saving.


----------



## Cactii (Sep 5, 2009)

This is really hilarious. I feel for you though!

Being a new beekeeper myself and from reading your despair I'd just like to say - keep going with it. Be brave. Remember that the bees don't need us and it would take a lot of damage from you to make them think they want to go somewhere else.

I started less than a year ago but I decided to go with foundationless and my bees didn't build the comb in the hive properly. Today I cut all the comb out of the honey super and put back about half of it with rubber bands exactly as you were instructed to do in some of the previous posts.

The half of the comb I didn't put back was full of honey. The first ever honey I have tasted from my own hive.

It's worth every bit of trouble and learning!


----------



## bigd (Apr 18, 2010)

Good luck Breakfast.Hang in there!


----------



## The Soap Pixie (Mar 15, 2010)

I just want to say: I feel for you. I know how nervous you must have felt. Hang in there!


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

Thanks for the encouragement! I have a knot in my stomach about the mess I made. But planning a trip to the store for rubber bands, and if the weather isn't too chilly I'll be back out there.

It sounds so simple, this rubber band thing, but I'm really good at making messes, so . . . exactly how does one do this? And will I ever get to the point that I can open (and close) the hive without killing the girls?


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

Wait, I found a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9WRcBSWGRU

So apparently I need to find two big, confident men who've done this a hundred times to do it for me. No? It does look like a two person job, so I guess I'll be enlisting the 13yo again. . . .


----------



## bmcmahon (Apr 23, 2010)

Breakfast with the Bees said:


> So apparently I need to find two big, confident men who've done this a hundred times to do it for me. No? It does look like a two person job, so I guess I'll be enlisting the 13yo again. . . .


I'm a newcomer and I had a similar disaster. Wish I had heard of the rubber band method. Here's the approach I took: http://beesinthemeadowlands.blogspot.com/2010/05/houston-weve-had-problem.html


----------



## clarkfarm (Apr 13, 2009)

I use all mediums for brood boxes like you do but not foundationless. I have had no problem with wired wax foundation that I did not reinforce with more wire. So I agree with the suggestion that you leave the foundation less frames until you feel more confident. 

One thing I wondered from your description of your inspection - do you have the type of hive tool that has the little hook projection on it? This tool makes breaking the propolis bond at the top of the frame where it hits the box rim easier than does a regular type tool. (My bees live close to about 200 White Pine trees and love that propolis so I would be in a bind without this tool). 

Also it sounds like you may be removing all the frames as you inspect and then returning them at the end of your inspection. ??? I may be reading this wrong but if you are doing that, consider not doing it. Rather, remove only two of the outer frames and then slide and inspect the remainder one frame at a time holding the frame over the box so that there is no chance you will drop the queen on the ground outside the hive. 

I think all of us have had moments like you describe -- like the old country song: we have more than we wanted of some of the things we had and more than we needed of some things that turned out bad -- but here we are still keeping bees and writing on Bee Source. So don't fret. Its a great thing to keep bees. Cheers.


----------



## G3farms (Jun 13, 2009)

Also keep in mind theat when you do rubber band the comb back into the frame the iis turned the right way...........up side up. If you are not sure about it look at the comb from the end and you will see that the cells are pointing ever so slightly upwards.

No need to be nervous about it and yes one persone can do this, I have held many frames with my knees while rubber banding. 

I doubt your bees will leave (abscond) for this little mistake you made. All will be fine.

New wax is very fragile and will fall out of frames very easily as you have learned.

The bees will re-attach the comb to the frame, chew the rubber band in half and drag it out the front of the hive in about a week or so.

Good luck and let us know how it all turns out!!

G3


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

It's rainy and cool today, so the project is going to have to wait for tomorrow. In the meantime: do I brush the bees off the comb before I handle it?

Clarkfarm, would that be an Italian hive tool? I've got one, but I was using a more traditional one yesterday (and thinking, wish I'd brought the Italian one instead).


----------



## Oldbee (Sep 25, 2006)

"New new newbee here."

Can I ask you a question? How did you come to decide that you wanted to use f*oundationless* as a *first time beekeeper?* Was it from your readings? In most, if not *all* of the beekeeping books I have read, [Ross Conrad, Natural Beekeeping mentions it] there is no mention of '*foundationless*' in the index. All of these books were written by expert beekeepers who have kept bees for 10-20-30 years. There are a very few, if any books published prior to the last 2 years that even mention foundationless or starter strips as an option for those that want to use the "natural/organic" approach to beekeping.

Did you,. 'discover' foundationless on the internet? Many aspiring beekeepers, without access to the internet would just go to their local library and read,..read.

I don't have an 'agenda' like some beekeeepers do about natural/organic beekeeping and foisting that philosophy upon unsuspecting newbies.

My major concern and philosophy is first and foremost,,...about the welfare of the bees. SO,..my final statement about this is,.. if you have NO EXPERIENCE AT ALL WITH BEEKEEPING: Do NOT,..I repeat,.. DO NOT use foundationless.

Your NEWBIE experiences with this foundationless fiacsco may be entertaining reading to some folks that read blogs, .but it really isn't.

Granted,. a few mistakes here or there regarding the use of *foundationless* among* new* *beekeepers* isn't that important in the greater scheme of beekeeping in general.

The major problem I see is the *teaching of beekeeping* that has come to the fore. That all these things about keeping bees is so very simple that *anyone can do it*. You don't even need an introductory course or someone to recommend starter strips,...FIRST!


----------



## clarkfarm (Apr 13, 2009)

Re your question about the name of the tool I mentioned -- have no clue if it is called "Italian" hive tool. It is very common and is sold by Dadant and probably other vendors as well. Old fashioned one looks like a paint scraper and this one has a hook on one end to lift the edge of a frame. If I were a techie I would attach a picture. Alas. Maybe someone else knows if it is called "Italian". Susan


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

I suppose at this point, with 8 fully drawn foundationless frames, going foundation-ful would be kind of like locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen. I appreciate your concern for me and your desire to help me embark on this adventure using methods that will guarantee success. But I'm a stubborn old girl, and I want to do it foundationless. Yup, even with my messes.

Where did I learn about it? I wondered about foundationless before I even heard about it, while I was sitting in my extension office beekeeping course. Then at the field day, during lunch, a longtime beekeeper showed me pics of his foundationless frames, as if he had been reading my mind. Great conversation. THEN I started to research it. (And I'm reading every book I can get my hands on.) That was a year before I found this fabulous forum. So don't blame anyone but me--I put the foundationless bee in my bonnet all by myself.

I really like the way the members of this forum have different methods and opinions, and are free to express them. Nothing like a good discussion, I always say. Seems to me a great way to learn. I like to do things naturally as much as I can, even though my experience has been that it's harder and it takes longer.

Everyone's circs are different, and everyone has to make his own decisions. I have only one little hive, and I don't depend on it for a living. I want my (and my neighbors') fruit plants pollinated--which is happening--and hopefully some honey and wax. If the hive doesn't make it this year, I'll try again next year, hopefully learning from the many mistakes I fully expect to make.

Sorry I'm rambling so long! The day I picked them up, I almost hyperventilated--I don't like to be sticky, and I don't want to be stung--why am I doing this? But so far I am loving having bees, and hope I can graduate to keeping them. I'm hooked.


----------



## bmcmahon (Apr 23, 2010)

clarkfarm said:


> Re your question about the name of the tool I mentioned -- have no clue if it is called "Italian" hive tool. It is very common and is sold by Dadant and probably other vendors as well. Old fashioned one looks like a paint scraper and this one has a hook on one end to lift the edge of a frame. If I were a techie I would attach a picture. Alas. Maybe someone else knows if it is called "Italian". Susan


Maybe something like this from Brushy Mountain: http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Heavy-Duty-Frame-Lifter-Hive-Tool/productinfo/577/


----------



## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

I still can't figure out why you are nervous about working your bees. Don't be. You can leave the top off for awhile with no harm to the bees. If you leave the top off overnight you will return and see they clustered to form a warm cluster and are fine in the morning. Take your time. Slow movements are the key to not getting your bees upset and not breaking your comb. You can use wire or rubber bands to hold the comb to the frames until they seal it up again. If it's been more then a day they have been out of the comb, those brood they couldn't reach to keep warm are already dead so there will be no saving them. They will clean out the comb and use it again as soon as you get it up. To get the bees off the comb when you go to wire it back into the frames hold it tightly between your fingers (you can crush the comb a bit they will fix it later) over the hive and give a quick hard shake downward. The bees will drop into the hive...if you brush expect them to be flying all over. Wire or rubberband it up and put it back. They will climb back on the brood. Easy. Take your time and enjoy working with them.


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

http://http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:k91Pr_lKJyUJ:www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Italian-Hive-Tool/productinfo/591/+italian+hive+tool&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari

This is the one I have.


----------



## Oldbee (Sep 25, 2006)

"But so far I and hope I can graduate to keeping them. I'm hooked." --BwtB.

OK! As long as you,.."am loving having bees," You graduated from beekeeping 101. . Just be careful next time and pass on the word that beekeeping isn't so simple as some folks make it out to be. Give a warning too, about 'foundationless' to those newbies that you may encounter.


----------



## Omie (Nov 10, 2009)

Alpha6- some great little tips you gave....thanks, I can use that advice too when I inspect my hives tomorrow.

BreakfastWB's- right on, you're doing great.


----------



## Cactii (Sep 5, 2009)

Oldbee...

Wow... that was quite the rant you put out there.

I also went foundationless right from day one. Actually maybe that's not quite telling the truth - I received a deep hive with queen and workers with a small super on it full of foundation and I decided that I didn't want to do it that way.

I made the decision to go foundationless after they had begun to draw out the brand new foundation in the small super. I also made the decision to go with all mediums as well. So I built a medium and frames designed for foundationless and scrapped the partly drawn foundation. 

Yep! NEW BEEKEEPER!!!

I wanted to start off the way that I thought was right, the way that I thought fit with my vision of what beekeeping should be.

There was some outside influence in my decision. Reading about Colony Collapse Syndrome really put the nail in the new foundationless medium super I was building though. Obviously something is wrong with what we (beekeepers) are currently doing. I was inspired by one of the members of this very forum who, along with many others, share their vast knowledge and hope that the reader makes their own decision from it.

I don't judge anybody about how they keep their bees. Different people have different reasons for keeping them and in their situation requeening every year and treating every year might be sustainable and economical for their needs, but for me personally it's not.

My bees didn't draw the comb in the frames the way that I expected that they would. I was forced to cut out the comb and put it into the frames properly. Many bees died in the process and I stole about half of their honey too. I'm sorry that my inexperience killed these bees, I'm sorry that I had to destroy their house.

BUT! We all have to learn somehow, we all have to start somewhere. Next time I'll have more experience and knowledge and maybe one day I'll be able to share with someone my experience with natural beekeeping. You know, natural beekeeping, the way that bees did it way before man ever started managing them.


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

Alpha6, thanks! Exactly what I needed. Looking forward to the morrow. (I think.)


----------



## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

cactii, i hope you appreciate the difference between starting with an established hive with a laying queen and starting with an empty box and a package. what you are calling "day one" is a year down the road in a package beehive. you were miles ahead at the git-go.


----------



## Cactii (Sep 5, 2009)

mike haney said:


> cactii, i hope you appreciate the difference between starting with an established hive with a laying queen and starting with an empty box and a package. what you are calling "day one" is a year down the road in a package beehive. you were miles ahead at the git-go.


Actually it was a 2 or 3 month old split.


----------



## DavidBee (Oct 15, 2009)

L'audace, encore l'audace, toujours l'audace!

I admire your tenacity. I also started off this spring foundationless. Three hives, one a top bar hive. I've done two inspections and still don't know what I'm looking at. Tried using a magnifying glass to see eggs but haven't seen any so far. Nor have I identified a queen. Like you, I hate to fiddle with them too much. If my comparison with photographs is corrrect, though, I have capped brood. On my last inspection the comb jiggled a bit and I feared I'd have the same experience you had, so I carefully put that frame back.

All I really want is healthy, thriving bees with a minimum of interference from me. I started with "small cell" bees from a keeper who uses no pesticides, and I plan to keep them that way. If nature tells therm to propagate by swarming, so be it. While I'd like to "catch" the swarm and keep them around, if they strike out on their own in the woods I will wish them well. I plan to trust the bees decide when to supercedure rather than replacing queens myself. I understand that folks who need to make a profit on their bees don't have the luxery to do it that way, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm just a hobbyist.


----------



## mike haney (Feb 9, 2007)

Cactii said:


> Actually it was a 2 or 3 month old split.


not trying to split hairs with you. id guess for every new beekeep here that reports success starting package bees foundationless, theres a hundred whos bees died- and threw in the towel. good luck,mike


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

I DID IT!!! I rubber banded two frames of comb (full), and I pulled a chunk of "double" comb and rubber banded that too. I couldn't shake the bees off (comb was way too soft) so some of the bees got flicked with the rubber bands.

I didn't see the queen, but it looks like lots of brood emerged, because where there was once capped brood there are now darkened cells--with new little eggs in them. I was able to pull out and look at every frame this time. My hands hardly shook, for a change.

They're starting to festoon on the frames in the second hive body.

Best of all, I had to remove some little bits of comb, beautiful white wax, with a few eggs (so the kids got to see) and a little unripened honey (which we all tasted--mmmmmm).

So happy. . . .


----------



## bmcmahon (Apr 23, 2010)

Congratulations!


----------



## Cactii (Sep 5, 2009)

That's excellent! Good for you!


----------



## Omie (Nov 10, 2009)

Well done!!


----------



## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

Excellent job. Lesson learned, no long term damage, and your confidence is way up. When you can open the hive and leave no trace of your path Grasshopper...you will have learned.


----------



## bigd (Apr 18, 2010)

Way to go Breakfast! Sounds like you and your bees are on your way...


----------



## Oldbee (Sep 25, 2006)

_Oldbee..._

_Wow... that was quite the rant you put out there.--Cactii._

"Quite the rant"?? 'Wow',.. I have seen other 'rants' on Beesource and I would give mine a,..C- or a D [2-3 on a 1-10 scale] as far as rants go,.. Maybe that's in reverse order because if Barry gives you an F for ranting he will delete it. 

I am glad everything [so far ] has turned out OK. for you Breakfast wt. Bees. .........however.

_"In thousands of parks and wilderness areas across the nation,* inexperienced* and *unprepared* hikers get lost each year — so lost, they have to be rescued."_Thank goodness for Beesource!-Ob._ -- Over the past five to 10 years, the number keeps growing each year,"._ .

_"People seem to *underestimate *how physically demanding or challenging the wilderness [beekeeping is,.Ob.] is," Duffy says_. "I think they also *overestimate* *their own ability."*

"..for every new beekeep here that reports success starting package bees *foundationless,* theres a hundred whos bees died- and threw in the towel. M.Haney.

Well,.. I don't know about "a hundred" actually, but I have seen other *new beeks* havng problems with foundationless on *other forums*. Now you multiply that by your mathematical formulas and add into that all those new beekeepers that are not actually responding on the internet as far as their *problems* with *foundationless,* there might be a significant statistical [scientific,.] number that would discourage *new *beekeepers from going foundationless in the beginning; but you always have those,..stubborn ones. .

Again: Is a few delicate combs, from *foundationless*..dropped here or there,..some labyrinths or castles of combs that have to be cut out by *inexperienced* *new beekeepers*,... "hordes of bees",.. *flying about*,..a few queens get killed in the process,,.that important in the greater scheme of of beekeeping? Probably not.

The question is about how we should go about *guiding/teaching beekeeping* among the *new beekeepers* that have recently become interested in this endeavour to insure their greater success. Should those that promote "organic beekeeping" set their strong opinions aside for a moment, and just teach the basics of beekeeping; without their egos getting involved?

In most endeavours that we embark on that* are* *new* to us, we seek knowledge most often first, from the library,..from books. We then put into *practice *what we have learned. Hopefully,. it is a step by step process, as we gain more *experience.*


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

And yet I'm still happy.


----------



## Omie (Nov 10, 2009)

Breakfast with the Bees said:


> And yet I'm still happy.


lol! 

I believe that those beginners who are truly devoted will persevere, continue seeking knowledge, and move forward no matter if their first experiences were failures or not. I lost my first hive last year. I couldn't wait to get new colonies this year! Meanwhile i spent the winter reading, talking, and learning more.
I am using wax foundation in brood chambers to start my new hives for now, but will probably be using foundationless for my honey supers for cut comb and crush/strain method....if I get that far this year. 

You are either cut out for beekeeping or not, I suspect. Plenty of new beeks fail and give up while using foundation too. When you stop enjoying it as a whole, which includes both one's successes _and_ disasters, you should just quit. That's how I see it, anyway. 

(hmm...time to put more hydrocortisone cream on the new sting on my neck right now...I look like a 56 year woman with a hicky! ...I suppose there are worse things to look like though. Like maybe a 56 year old woman _without_ a hicky... :lpf


----------



## Oldbee (Sep 25, 2006)

"..but you always have those,..stubborn ones. ."

"hordes of bees",..Allowing their bees to *sting* the neighbors while they,...cut and run,...


----------



## Omie (Nov 10, 2009)

Sorry, but I'm just not getting your point...?? :scratch:
Oh well. 

I had a great first thorough frame-by-frame inspection yesterday of my two 12 day old hives (from nucs)
Got to finally see my new queens running around all fat and sassy like, and white larvae in the worker cells glistening like pearls...so wonderful! 
Now I feel less nervous about them now i know the queens were accepted and are alive and kicking.


----------



## Oldbee (Sep 25, 2006)

_"Sorry, but I'm just not getting your point...?? :scratch:_

You mean about "hordes of bees" flying about? That's from another thread.


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

Omie said:


> I look like a 56 year woman with a hicky! ...I suppose there are worse things to look like though. Like maybe a 56 year old woman _without_ a hicky... :lpf


Love it!


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

Well, this was MY thread,  and all I can make out is that it's awful, just awful, to start beekeeping differently. It's too hard, and too many people give up, therefore it shouldn't be done.

I grant the point that one shouldn't jump into beekeeping without mindful preparation. I'm not sure I grant the point that it's so awful for people to get into beekeeping and fail. If there is evidence that the failure rate is contributing to CCD et al., point me to it.

I'm not so sure (just to keep the discussion lively!) it's such a great idea to turn newbees loose with all kinds of chemicals. I mean, we've seen what injudicious use of antibiotics has done in the human population--we're now dealing with superbugs that don't respond to drugs. Why would the "bugs" that our bees deal with respond any differently? For the record, I am a big fan of antibiotics, etc., just used sparingly and when absolutely necessary--that way they'll work when you really need them to.

Just wondering: does it ever get "old" to see that beautiful white freshly-drawn comb? It takes my breath away every time I see it.

Perhaps this seems way off topic, but it ties into why so many of us have chosen to start foundationless, for which we are being maligned. Rightly or wrongly maligned I leave to the reader to decide!


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

Oldbee said:


> NO. It requires a respect for others opinions,...besides Micheal Bush,. who promotes foundationless among *new* beekeepers.


Oh, yes, Michael Bush, he lives about thirty minutes away. The next time my comb falls out I'll just call him to come put it back in. (Hmm, should've thought of that sooner.)


----------



## bmcmahon (Apr 23, 2010)

Breakfast with the Bees said:


> Just wondering: does it ever get "old" to see that beautiful white freshly-drawn comb? It takes my breath away every time I see it.


Your question (and a signature line on Omie's posts from Tennyson) reminded me of a poem my daughter sent to me a couple weeks ago. 

A Prayer in Spring

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

-- Robert Frost


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

Thanks, Brian, that's lovely!


----------



## Oldbee (Sep 25, 2006)

_"Oh, yes, Michael Bush, he lives about thirty minutes away. The next time my comb falls out I'll just call him to come put it back in. (Hmm, should've thought of that sooner.)"_

Oh my,..I didn't know that. Well,..all is good then. 

_"Just wondering: does it ever get "old" to see that beautiful white freshly-drawn comb? It takes my breath away every time I _see it.'

No,.but I think the best time happens only once a year [around here] when you pull up a frame of,..."beautiful,.. white,.. freshly-drawn comb",..that is just loaded with honey.  I liked all of your #45 post,.BwtBees.

Thanks bmcmahon. I always liked Robert Frost poetry.


----------



## Breakfast with the Bees (Apr 17, 2010)

Oldbee: I think the best time happens only once a year [around here] when you pull up a frame of,..."beautiful,.. white,.. freshly-drawn comb",..that is just loaded with honey. 

That's the moment I'm waiting for!


----------

