Nope. I couldn’t take it. I just couldn’t leave them like this…

Now, rationally, I know that if I put this thing back together again then Albeart is just going to saunter by, thank me for plating his dessert, and go on yet another honey-fueled rampage in our garden.

And yet, I couldn’t just leave them there. It broke my heart every time I went out to gather veggies from the garden.

So, despite all my cavalier assurances to the contrary, I did put the hive back together yesterday.

Also you’ll note that the weeds in there are quite out of control. That would be another, lesser, reason why I decided to put it back together: so I can weed whack the entire garden again. I mean, weed whacking is miserable enough without getting covered in wood chips, wax, and bee bits…

After combing (zing!) through the debris for the most intact and non-web-covered frames, I threw the rest of the bits away out of a concern over wax moth infestation. That said, it’s quite possible that moths have already laid hundreds of eggs in the honeycomb that I just put back into the hive. But that’s the least of the bees’ problems right now.

I know that I’m likely just delaying the inevitable again here. I don’t see how the queen could have possibly survived 4 consecutive bear attacks and, without her, the hive is lost.
But they had a roof over their little heads during today’s rain showers.
And they’ll have a warm place to huddle together tonight, since the temps are slated to drop to the low 40’s.
That’s something at least.

Gotta be better than just leaving them out to drown and freeze, right?
Wow.
I’m sorry…. This post is a bit of a downer isn’t it?

Okay, then let’s close things on a much happier note. Or, in my case, an ululating collection of completely out of key notes, performed for a happy little girl.

See you tomorrow.

j.s.