Dad called to say that he was doing something over by the hive at his place, and somehow it was tipping over. I got there later that afternoon, and it wasn't as bad as I expected, the box had tipped, but was still intact. We found a couple of pavers to put under the frame it is on, and sorted it out. Had a peep in to see what they had been up to all winter...
before the straightening...
Edis
The girls were still working, despite the tilt.
Not very busy, but we found plenty of honey inside.
Under the hive mat. No sign of the condensation that I'd found in the Northcote hives.
Some mould , though. I looked this up, quite OK to have a bit of mould in there over winter, however better to keep it ventilated to keep the condensation down. Bees have it good in Australia, even in Melbourne, mild winters, but sometimes lots of rain. No snow, at least.
I had a quick look through a few frames, there's actually a fair bit of honey in there, scattered throughout the top two boxes, but not consolidated intoa particular area (other than more in the middle, as usual)
Down past the Queen Excluder (QX)
I only had a look at one frame down in the brood box, it was kinda late in the day and cooling down rapidly.
Plenty of brood, though, and solid. I'll have to make sure I have a proper look next time.
Some of the girl having a union meeting, voting on whether to attack me or not.
They were very placid, surprising, I thought, considering they hadn't seen me for months, their home was listing to starboard heavily, and it was getting cold...
The improved setup, with the steel frame ( ithink its an old sewing machine stand) sitting on pavers, so the legs cant sink into the ground.
No stings, though one did have a good go, as I was packing up.
