Day 9: Warm Weather, Big Moves, and More MacGyver Moments

It was a hot one in the bee suit today, but the sun finally broke through, and the hives are buzzing with activity. With our local weeds and crimson clover starting to pop across the field, the natural nectar flow is officially on. I took advantage of the afternoon warmth to do a comprehensive round of checks across the yard, make some critical adjustments, and play a little mechanical problem-solver.

Here is how the yard is shaping up on Day 9:

👑 The Chalet: A Royal Intervention

Over the weekend, I noticed the bees in The Chalet were taking their sweet time with the queen cage candy plug. After some thinking, I realized a design flaw: we had the candy plug facing straight up. The poor nurse bees had to crawl headfirst down a slick plastic vertical slide with nothing to grip to get back out!

Today, I stepped in to help. I carefully poked a hole through the candy plug and pulled out a bit of the extra sugar to give them a head start. Then, I re-hung her cage sideways so they can easily crawl in and out. The reaction was instant—the bees immediately rushed to start clearing the rest of the plug. I am so excited to see if they break Her Majesty free by tonight. I really hope The Chalet takes off and returns to the booming hive it was right after the package install.

🏰 The Citadel & The Bastion: The Powerhouses

• The Citadel: This hive is absolutely booming. During my quick peek, I saw some empty queen "play cups" and a lot of brood cells right at the tops of the frames. Because they are bursting at the seams, I officially pulled their in-hive feeder, added a few empty frames, and stacked their second brood box right on top. They now have a full mansion to expand into, and we’ll keep a close eye on them.

• The Bastion: I left them alone today since we just gave them their second brood box a couple of days ago, but given how fast things are moving, I’ll need to get back in there soon to pull their in-hive feeder as well.

🛡️ The Keep & The Sentry: Holding the Line

• The Keep: These guys are plugging right along. I scraped a bit of burr comb off the top bars to keep things neat but otherwise left them alone to do their thing.

• The Sentry: The crowd in here is looking a bit thin, but that beautiful, peanut-shaped queen cell is still hanging securely at the top of the frames. The girls seemed very calm. I’m considering giving them a frame of capped brood and some extra nurse bees down the road (just like we successfully did for The Keep), but for now, I’m just going to monitor and let nature take its course with that queen cell.

🏡 The Haven: Package Disappointments & Slow Starters

The Haven is doing okay, but they just aren't building out quite as fast as I had hoped. I pulled their in-hive feeder today just in case it was making them a bit lazy with all the wild forage available, and I slid an empty frame into each end of the box.

Honestly, I’m feeling a bit disappointed with these package installs this spring. Out of the batch, we’ve already had one failed queen and now one slow starter. It’s a reminder of how unpredictable beekeeping can be, but we will continue to monitor and help them expand.

🤠 The Ranch & The Vault

• The Vault: I bypassed this one today. It’s just so massive that tearing into it is a major chore, and I was already overheating in the suit!

• The Ranch: What a beautiful hive. I took a quick peek and saw they are beautifully expanding into the empty frames at the far end, drawing out gorgeous, fresh new comb for their workhorse queen to populate. They haven't worked their way to the middle empty frames yet, so they still have plenty of room to grow. I did spot some thick drone brood at the top of one center frame to keep an eye on, and it was highly encouraging to see workers over on the honey side actively working away at the honey frame I gave them.

Wrapping Up

After a hot afternoon of heavy lifting, I hauled back a few pulled in-hive feeders and lots of tools and headed inside for a well-deserved break. Overall, the yard checks went incredibly smooth.

Now, we wait on The Chalet. Fingers crossed that by tomorrow's update, the Queen will officially be walking her new kingdom!

Moral of the Day: You can't force the bees to work on a rainy morning, and you can't slow them down when the sunshine and clover arrive. The best we can do is stay observant, stay flexible, and give them the room they need to build their empire.

Until next time, keep your smoker lit and your suit zipped!