Back in the spring we had put an empty beehive in the crotch of a tree about 6 feet off the ground. It worked great, in noo time, a swarm had had moved into the box. Bill and his wife enjoyed have the new colony on their property, pollinating their garden, so we decided to leave it there. Looking back it probably wasn't the best idea since its hard to manipulate a hive six feet off the ground.
As I drove the three miles to their house in the country, I wondered about the state of the hive that had fallen with the tree. Would it be broken to bits? bees everywhere? It wasn't too bad. the box was intact, just upside down with the lid opened up and the frames slid halfway out, honey dripping everywhere.
Forty minutes and 12 stings later, the bees were safely in a new home...on the ground.
