Two By Two

 deWayne is listening for a buzz!

 With a heat sensor, deWayne searches for the warmest spot in the interior wall,

which serves as an indicator of the bee's location.

 A quick check from the outside of this historical home, leads deWayne to believe our best option is to remove them from the exterior.

An exterior peep hole shows that these bees

have been previously sprayed by an exterminator.

Notice the white powder?

 deWayne thinks to do a double-check
inside the fireplace.

Final determinations made, let the fun begin!

 Since I will be helping deWayne, he sets up two ladders beside one another.

 Two by two...

 deWayne measures before cutting.

 The cutting is a challenge,

and we use several blades in an effort to remove boards.

 With hammer and crow-bar in hand,

we start popping the boards loose.

 With board off, we find a beautiful display of honeycomb.

 deWayne continues to remove boards.

 The colony gets bigger as we go!

 So pretty!

 The cavity is almost completely open and ready for the removal.

 Simply amazing!

 With all boards removed,

we clearly see where we need to cut.

 By using the bee-vac, deWayne removes bees,

prior to cutting the honeycomb out.

 An old steak knife makes for a wonderful cutting tool!

Notice the brood in the right hand corner,

we can't believe this queen is still laying in December!

 With a few cuts behind us,

we admire the work of this old historical home.

 Notice the capped honey, unfortunately,

we were not able to keep any because of contamination.



 With the cavity empty, you can clearly see propolis,

and the wax "centipede" looking tracks at the top.

 deWayne goes down with a 5 gallon bucket of honey!

A inside snap shot of the exterior wall with dead bees at the bottom,

 showing where the exterminator sprayed.

 Several hours on the ladder will make you hurt in places,

you didn't know you had!

 One of the many joys we share in beekeeping, is "bee teaching".

deWayne is answering questions from folks walking by the job site.

 A caulking gun is sure to seal the deal!

 No, this isn't cotton candy! 

 Insulation is placed in large opening

behind wall for double protection.

 deWayne begins to nail boards back up.

 Like a puzzle...piece by piece.

 Fits like a glove!

 Cracks filled.

 A squirt of foam here and there!

 Woe, it grows!

A little goes a long way, that's for certain!

What a beautiful day, playing with the honeybees...

beneath a gorgeous sycamore tree.