# 2008 Bee Yard Photos



## newbee 101

Last year I did the same post, lets see your beeyard...


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## peterdubh

Here are my hives. Well the 3 on the left are and the one on the right is my dads. Im getting another 2 later this month.


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## dcross

peterdubh said:


> the one on the right is my dads.


His top cover isn't going ANYWHERE, is it?


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## Matt Guyrd

This is my freshman year beekeeping. I installed a 5-frame local, over-wintered nuc on the far left hive about a week and half ago. The third hive has a swarm I caught from another apiary. Hive two, four, and five will have packages installed this evening.


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## redhawknc1

This is my 4th year if I remember correctly. Beeyard seems to change everyday! This was a couple of weeks ago. Still putting up a few swarms. You can see a little pine on the ground that I cut down to get to a swarm. Now safely in a box. Have 12 total now! Need to move to more sun! Gotta clear off an area somewhere around here!


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## Durandal

THis stand has enough room for 6 colonies. My next stand is a log I squared off on the mill over the winter. I figured it was a waste of time to mill because of the old holes created by ants and I figure it would make a good bee stand or bench by the spring produce plots.

More pics on that later.


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## Keith Benson

Everyone's yards looks so neat, clean and well painted - nicely done folks!

"Here are my hives. Well the 3 on the left are and the one on the right is my dads"

What kind of wood are those made from?

I gotta get off my duff.

Keith


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## AstroBee

peterdubh said:


> Here are my hives. Well the 3 on the left are and the one on the right is my dads. Im getting another 2 later this month.


The lounge chair right next to the hives is a nice touch!


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## Brent Bean

Newbee 101: Very scenic but I wouldn’t want to lug supers full of honey down the stairs.

Peterdubh: Now that’s what I’m talking about, my kind of bee yard recliner and all beautiful. Dose a picture of lemonade come with that. 

Everyone else should have their yards on the cover of Bee Culture. 

Durandal: like the design on the landing boards very interesting.


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## Hobie

Brent Bean said:


> Peterdubh: ...Does a picture of lemonade come with that.


I was just thinking someone reclining in that chair with lemonade might have quite a few "friends" sharing...


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## Brent Bean

Humm, perhaps sugar free lemonade?


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## peterdubh

Keith Benson said:


> Everyone's yards looks so neat, clean and well painted - nicely done folks!
> 
> "Here are my hives. Well the 3 on the left are and the one on the right is my dads"
> 
> What kind of wood are those made from?
> 
> I gotta get off my duff.
> 
> Keith


they are made from cedar. it looks really nice with out it being painted but i got some second hand and they had painted them. you can get cheaper ones made from ply wood but ceader is better


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## peterdubh

AstroBee said:


> The lounge chair right next to the hives is a nice touch!


i fell asleep out there last week. it was really soothing with the bees zipping about. The bbq and table are just to the left as well.


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## jackalope

Retro shot of two of my hives, looking rather "rustic".


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## Brenda

My first and only hive, so far.


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## Laurence Hope

you are all so nice and neat. When I can take time to learn how to post pictures, I'll by comparison show you how neat you are.


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## deknow

here's a bit of a contrast. not one of our own yards, but one of dee lusby's in arizona. this particular yard officially had (and was sampled by the ccd team) ccd. in this photo, dee and ramona (my wife) are preparing the ccd deadouts to make splits....almost all of the deadouts were made up...and this before the main flow.


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## shughes

throwing most my bee yard pics on my gallery...will try and update with some recent shots this weekend. 

http://hugheshoney.com/gallery/v/hugheshoney/


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## odfrank

[QUOTE this particular yard officially had (and was sampled by the ccd team) ccd.QUOTE]

There is officially a defined disease "CCD" that can be tested for, and a official CCD testing team?


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## deknow

...there is an offical definition of ccd that is based on symtoms, not a cause.

there is also an official ccd research group that suspected cases of ccd are reported to, and they sometimes do onsite inspections and take samples.

this particular yard had a dieoff that seemed to look like ccd, so dee reported it to the team. the team sent someone out to inspect and collect samples, who confirmed that what was there met the definition for ccd.

jerry bromenshenk has the samples, but apararantly has not had the funds to test them.

so samples were taken last fall...and we have no idea what those samples showed.

deknow


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## Troy

Only the nice and neat seem to post pictures. My yards are a mess too - thus no pictures so far.

Maybe you will shame me into straightening up.


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## France

deknow said:


> ...there is an offical definition of ccd that is based > on symtoms, not a cause.
> 
> A:
> Right, so true cause could be a number of things?
> 
> 
> > there is also an official ccd research group that suspected cases of ccd >are reported to, and they sometimes do onsite inspections and take samples.
> 
> A:
> Fine and dandy... (But their position hardly authorizes them to make decisions one way or the other?)
> 
> 
> > this particular yard had a dieoff that seemed to look like ccd, so dee > reported it to the team. the team sent someone out to inspect and collect > samples, who confirmed that what was there met the definition for ccd.
> 
> A:
> By your own admission - they "seemed" and "definition" are the key words here!
> Both are set by this group with no "official" proof - one way or the other!?
> 
> 
> > jerry bromenshenk has the samples, but apararantly has not had the funds > to test them.
> 
> A:
> What? A private interest?
> Is there no other "scientific" group involved, or interested in CCD, as it is labeled? Or is only this batch of samples exempt - from any "official" group of researchers?
> Is Mr. Bromenshenk it? The sole "king and the pawn' in this whole thing and with no funds to boot?
> 
> 
> > so samples were taken last fall...and we have no idea what those samples > showed. deknow


A:
So, one should refrain from, or be at least a bit slower, to attach labels to things - for which there is no scientific proof? At least not as yet - to my knowledge?!
Fear mongering and sensationalising things, hardly brings anybody anywhere. . . . It only further complicates things.

And if you will allow me to ad my opinion as to what could have befallen those bees in Dee's yard:
They could or probably did starve!? 
As we all know, that in temperate climates, where bees can and do fly in winter? They will go out looking for nonexistent pastures and will not return. 
Flight on empty is simply not possible - no matter who or what you are. . . .


Regards,
France


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## Ski

I thought the photo Gallery and this thread was for 2008 Bee Yard Photos.


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## Romahawk

Mine are out in the woods and even though they aren't so neat and pretty the bees don't seem to care.


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## Romahawk

Hmm, so much for posting a picture.....


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## deknow

france, you are welcome to do your own research here...don't take my word for it, but also, please don't tell me i'm wrong when you are simply making baseless assumptions.

the ars has a page on ccd:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572

which should answer some of your questions.

in a nutshell, by definition, ccd is a collection of symptoms. if one uses the term "ccd", one is refering to a set of symptoms, and not a specific pathogen, disease, or mismanagement practice.

from the website linked above:


> This phenomenon, which currently does not have a recognizable underlying cause, has been termed "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD). The main symptom of CCD is simply no or a low number of adult honey bees present but with a live queen and no dead honey bees in the hive. Often there is still honey in the hive, and immature bees (brood) are present.


you can argue all you want about what you think the cause is, how the root cause of this particular instance relates to the root causes of other instances...but no one is using the term ccd in any way other than as a collection of symptoms....simply because no root cause (or causes) have yet been identified. i'm not claiming a root cause here, i'm claiming a case that meets the definition of the term as it is defined and used.

please do your own research on who jerry bromenshenk is, and what his role is...it's not hard to find.

as far as dees bees simply starving...it's always a possibility, but less likely in a case where the beekeeper, after evaluating the stores of all of her yards, fed back 6,000 lbs of honey (that's over 2,700 kilograms). you can speculate all you want, but without some basic facts (like knowing how the term ccd is used, the skill and long term record of the beekeeper involved, and what her management practices are), you are unlikely to approach the truth here.

i would suggest (since this is the photo forum), that if you would like to continue this discussion, that you post something over on "diseases and pests" or "biological beekeeping"....if you do so, please send me a pm so i can make sure to see it.

deknow


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## Veracity

okay not a great picture, but it is from the yard...

more to come hopefully my wife will take some pics or hold a frame or two...


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## Veracity

Troy said:


> Only the nice and neat seem to post pictures. My yards are a mess too - thus no pictures so far.
> 
> Maybe you will shame me into straightening up.




take some close ups... notice how my pic does not show off my yard


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## BjornBee

Some of these yards are impressive.


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## Veracity

This is my yard, we have lived here for almost one year (new subdivision). Needs a bit of work 

My 1st hive did not make the winter, I had purchsed a NUC locally (was in july, 07) I would not recommend purchasing so late in the season. 

This yr. I ordered 3 packages early and they are doing quite well, god willing they will be healthy & productive, hoping to find some good suggestions for organic treatment in these forums.


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## BeeAnonymous

*Beginning of 2nd year*


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## AstroBee

Veracity said:


> This is my yard, we have lived here for almost one year (new subdivision). Needs a bit of work
> 
> My 1st hive did not make the winter, I had purchsed a NUC locally (was in july, 07) I would not recommend purchasing so late in the season.
> 
> This yr. I ordered 3 packages early and they are doing quite well, god willing they will be healthy & productive, hoping to find some good suggestions for organic treatment in these forums.


Nice pics! Can't help but comment that you might want to consider beefing up your hive stands. You should consider some type of bracing on the legs.


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## Veracity

Thank you for your concern, you will have to trust me on this one... those legs will not be moving any time soon! As I look at the photograph I see why you may suggest re-inforcing 'em.

...the taller table will be switched out soon as well, I miscaculated the height.


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## AstroBee

Veracity said:


> Thank you for your concern, you will have to trust me on this one... those legs will not be moving any time soon! As I look at the photograph I see why you may suggest re-inforcing 'em.
> 
> ...the taller table will be switched out soon as well, I miscaculated the height.


I usually test mine by hopping up on them and dancing around a bit. Two deeps and some supers can easily be over 300 lbs.


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## Veracity

I too am easily 300 lbs., so my dancing days are well behind me. j/k 

Each hive w/ the (2) hive bodies "brood chambers" on, have 10 frames on the lower body, I have the top settup with nectar, no frames.

I will however if the hive does well this summer expand/add 10 more frames to the upper bodies. At this juncture I will move these paired hives to a more stable stand as you suggested.


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## Joseph Clemens

Well my location doesn't provide such greenery, except where I irrigate, but here are a few shots of my main apiary and Nuc yard:


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## Veracity

Arizona, I am sure the appreciate the shade...


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## Joseph Clemens

Veracity said:


> Arizona, I am sure the appreciate the shade...


The main apiary is under tan shadecloth, the Nucs are under a very large mesquite tree. Without the shade I believe the bees would be under more stress - but I will admit that I am even less durable than they, I would not be able to work them. Even with the shade it is exhausting to spend more than a few hours working bees in the early morning.


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## Ross

First year bee yard....








Last year's bee yard.....


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## Veracity

I have been inspired by some of what I have seen here, Very very nice...

I am going to get my kids involved on the next paint job I do on a hive


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## newbee 101

This is my new yard, in Kent CT. This is an organic farm on 11 acres.
These were nucs that I transfered into deeps and shallows. The hives are facing East.
I have to bring in some bricks, cause I cant find a stone anywhere. Nice bottom land.


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## jackalope

Ross said:


> First year bee yard....


Interesting hives there. Do you have the brood up top and the honey "supers" on the bottom?


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## Durandal

Looks like a Warre style or something similar. Do you have one of those lifters?


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## dorado

My hives....2 older hives producing lots of honey right now and 2 new hives with Koehnen queens.


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## dug_6238

*Hive Attic?*

Dorado - what's above the inner cover on your taller colonies - is it just an empty hive attic?


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## Veracity

dug_6238 said:


> empty hive attic


thats cute lol


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## dug_6238

Veracity - "?"


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## Veracity

*meaning no harm*



dug_6238 said:


> Veracity - "?"



meaning no harm... thought the hive attic was funny or cute... never heard that before

my sense of humor I would say...


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## dorado

dug-6238

I think you may be seeing my imirie shims between the top box and the one below. It provides a top entrance. It also creates a space for more burr comb ....I use the shims when a flow is on and usually harvest before there is too much burr comb to celan up.


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## dug_6238

Veracity said:


> meaning no harm... thought the hive attic was funny or cute... never heard that before
> 
> my sense of humor I would say...


No worries, no problem.


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## thesurveyor

Ok here are a couple of Hives that are extremely heavy.










Here are two more. The one with the red excluders has two queens in it. Both queens italian one lives upstairs the other down. This hive was started from a package of MH.









Have other yards, but this one is down near a creek bank. The hive on the right came from a package from Long Creek last year. They are caucasins, best hive I got.


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## allrawpaul

Those tables dont look too sturdy. I'd slap a facia board accross each side. You really dont want your hives too crash!


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## allrawpaul

Not those tables! the other ones!


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## Barry Digman

Troy said:


> Only the nice and neat seem to post pictures. My yards are a mess too - thus no pictures so far. Maybe you will shame me into straightening up.





For those who are hesitating to post because they think their yards might not look nice enough.... let me be the first to post an alternate style. I appreciate the really nice looking yards, but I'd like to see ANY yard that has bees in it. It really doesn't matter what it looks like to another beek as long as it's got bees.


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## Ross

jackalope said:


> Interesting hives there. Do you have the brood up top and the honey "supers" on the bottom?


Those were feeder covers on top, and ventilation boxes. That was back when I thought bees need coddling. Now I feed with a 2 gallon bucket sitting on top of a piece of plywood (migratory top) and ventilation is a stick propping up the top.


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## Yuleluder

Here are a few of mine. I will get some pics of my other yards.

http://www.yulesapiaries.com/VideosandPics.html


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## beenovice

Let me add my 7 hives. 5 out of 7 are top bar hives


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## Matt Guyrd

I concur with Barry...post 'em if you got 'em! 

Matt


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## newbee 101

A box o bees, is a box of bees..
keep posting..I love them all...
4,323 views


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## jellybeen

*My Backyard Bees*









I took this a couple of weeks ago. The grass has gone to seed and it's gonna be brown until it rains again in October.


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## bakerboy

*not much*

but we call it home


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## Oldbee

*Not much?*

It looks,.. "idyllic",. with the storm clouds in the background and the, the,..."fire engine red" beehives under the tree! The bud-out of the trees and shrubs looks about the same here in WI.


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## Matt Guyrd

BeeNovice...very nice top-bar hives...looks similar to a park with picnic tables...lunch anyone? 

BTW - what are the smaller square boxes with what lookslike screen on them?

Matt


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## beenovice

Matt Guyrd said:


> BeeNovice...very nice top-bar hives...looks similar to a park with picnic tables...lunch anyone?
> 
> BTW - what are the smaller square boxes with what lookslike screen on them?
> 
> Matt


Hehe you are right  It does look similar to a park with picnic tables.

Those square boxes were packages with bees...


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## aircooled

*Life in the big city*










A front view of my hives...










I am planning to build the bees a deck on the back of my roof so we can use the front and leave the back to them...


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## Yuleluder

Inner city beekeeping, aircooled that is sweet! What kind of honey yields do the girls produce?


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## dcross

http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/...8 bees/?action=view&current=DavidGroup109.jpg

Two strong overwintered hives(Demaree'd), and six packages.


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## jasontatro

*Urban Beekeeping at it's best.*


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## aircooled

Yuleluder said:


> Inner city beekeeping, aircooled that is sweet! What kind of honey yields do the girls produce?



Well, this is my first year, so we'll see. So far, they've been kinda slow to buildup, but I guess its early yet!


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## odfrank

*Roof Top Beekeeping*

I did that for a few years until three hives produced an 800 pound crop. Envision sliding and handing full dripping honey supers down ladders while being stung by angry bees.


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## aircooled

*lucky for me*

luckily, I've got stairs up to the roof and a little enclosure up there where I might do my extracting, etc. Its tight, but it could work. I also doubt that I'll get that much in the city, but I could be wrong!

-mike


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## Luke

I had some more trees taken down this year. Down to two hives at home. One more hive in New Hampshire and waiting on a second nuc for NH as well.

http://images.fotopic.net/y68li8.jpg

http://images.fotopic.net/y68lic.jpg


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## peterdubh

Luke said:


> I had some more trees taken down this year. Down to two hives at home. One more hive in New Hampshire and waiting on a second nuc for NH as well.
> 
> http://images.fotopic.net/y68li8.jpg
> 
> http://images.fotopic.net/y68lic.jpg


Nice house!!


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## Budster

I'll be posting mine this weekend. Got the grass all cut and everything looking "spiffy". Forgot the camera last week..


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## Primo

Try my luck here at posting some pics

http://www.primoelite.com/Bees/images/2008/NJProperty/P5290138.JPG

http://www.primoelite.com/Bees/images/2008/NJProperty/P5290139.JPG


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## Yuleluder




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## JPK

Yuleluder said:


>


Great photo!

Got a little weight on the 2x4 eh?

Might be time for a cinder block in the center.


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## allrawpaul

Hives







with silly hats.


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## odfrank

*Industrial Beekeeping*

I am jealous of you all in your lovely county / forested settings. Surrounded by grass, nature and trees while my poor bees are subjected to life in suburbia about 100 feet away from one of the world's busiest freeways. One advantage, they are surrounded by many square miles of irrigated suburban gardens loaded with year round flowering trees and plants, 300 lb. crop hives are common. On the left, big bee trailer with room for 22 Langstroth hives, in the middle a motorcycle trailer loaded with six Brother Adam size hives, to the right a "BeeBed", movable by my debris box truck, with 16 Lang size hives with Jumbo depth brood chambers. We must be disguised and portable, you never know when that nasty zoning officer will cite you for keeping too many bees. How can you keep too many bees??? That's ridiculous.


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## Gene Weitzel

*Bee Yard A*

This is a new yard I set up this spring. These pics are a couple of weeks old, all but four of the nucs are now in single deeps and a few of them are in doubles. The two single deeps with nucs on top of them and the double deep at the far end of the stand with 3 dbl deeps and a nuc are 3 of the MH Italian nucs I got from Lake Thompson honey. Most of these colonies are busting at the seams and need the second deep now and the one nuc (now a double deep) from LTH needs a super:


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## Troutsqueezer

Nothing special, unless you're me. I have another group just like it down the driveway a bit.


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## Aisha

*bees with a view*

I don't have a beeyard as much as a bee balcony, 20 feet above the ground. I like them up high so their flightpath does not intersect where people walk nearby. I never thought I would have 3 hives when I started a year ago.


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## 3mfarm

*a quiet day in the bee yard*








taken 9-6-2008


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## beemandan

*hey 3mfarm*

I see the date stamp on your photos is Jan 1. I also see you are listed as being in Maine. Those pics don't look like January in Maine to me. Am I safe in assuming that the date/time needs resetting in your camera?


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## odfrank

*Hive stand design - suggestions*

I am concerned about the design of several hive stands I see posted here. 
Gene's have no shear strength. Might never be a problem but a good push on one end from vandals, a big wind, or earthquake, and the top blocks would fold over and the whole shebang would go down go down. 
Aisha: all the weight on the front end rests forward of the main pressure causing front wall of the boxes, on that thinning tapered porch. A few years of big crops and wood fatigue, your entrance will squeeze shut and the hive stand distort. I would move the blocks back under the front wall of the hive.


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## 3mfarm

*time stamp*

the camera seems to eat batteries quickly so the date stamp needs to be changed every time but the pics where taken sept 6 08


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## Durandal

My first outyard...

This is located on my neighbor's property. We bale hay for them.










The nuc is just about busting out. It was a cut out out from a wine cask back in early July. I've been needing to switch it over to a 10 frame and give them some drawn frames to store but was out of gear till just recently after doing two combines.

This is farm more simple than my other yard/stand. Its an I beam (one of several) that I recycled from a mobile home I tore down a couple years ago. I simply dug out ground leveled the support blocks placed a piece of metal roofing underneath for weed control and that's that.

Here is my main yard about a month ago:










I am combining now and hope to have just 6 strong colonies going into the winter.


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## honeyman46408

*my home yard Aug 5th*


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## deantn

Honeyman so sorry you had that happen to you.
How many hives did the tree take out?


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## honeyman46408

Only one it could have been a LOT worse there are 14 in that line, it did knock 2 more over but it olny took an hour of chain sawing to set them back up and yesterday the smashed one still had some bees in it.


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## papa bear

saw this yesterday between boone and n.wilkesboro, nc


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