Following Arvin's instructions (via Steve), today I removed the feeders and added (and rearranged) frames. I saw so much comb! The bees stayed gentle. The hives made a beautiful sound and still show a golden haze when you open them. Barbara Haas came along and helped a lot. I am so glad she was there because it wouldn't have been nearly as wondrous on my own, and practically speaking, keeping that smoker going turned out to be more difficult than I imagined--even though our bee book mentioned that many beginners find this task to be the hardest part.
I also saw twice what I think
is an indigo bunting flying near the hives.
Phlox was blooming, and a few columbines. Best of all, we found morels, in the woods just southeast of the hives. Not a lot, but what we found were good sized. We also looked pretty carefully on the other side of the alfalfa field but found nothing there.
Check for ticks. There are a lot of them.
For the time being, the cleaned out feeders are in my garage. I will take them to the shed on my next visit.
P.S. If anyone finds a pair of brown sunglasses around the hives or in the shed , it is probably mine.
