Top bar hive entrance hole cover
Most people plug up the
entrance holes of a top bar
hive with champagne
corks, but we were fresh out.
I started to cut a piece of
wood to size, but then imagined the warping that will surely happen
after exposure to the elements.
We used furring strips to
secure the expired license plate and act as a rail for it to slide on.
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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Looks like your hive has been licensed to fly.
Keep us informed on the progress of your top bar hive. I almost built one this past year, but hubby ended up in the hospital 300 miles away and I have been busy with other priorities.
Mona --- I loved the license plate (with fancy handle). It looks even better in person than in the photo!
I hope your husband is doing okay! There's always plenty of time for these homesteading projects --- better to wait until you've got the time to enjoy new ones.
I love how your hive is coming together. The license plate is a neat touch.
http://thisbewitchinglife.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/the-bees-have-arrived/ We just hived our TBH's this weekend if you want to take a peek.
Monika --- Our bees arrive tomorrow! I've got to refresh my memory about installing a package --- any tips for installing one into a top bar hive?
Your hive is beautiful!
Debora --- I laughed when I saw Mark's post too.
I don't drink at all and Mark only drinks with other people (which means, since we're usually the only ones here, he doesn't drink at home).
People do tend to give us bottles of wine now and then, and we actually have a bottle of champagne in the cupboard, but Mark told me I couldn't steal the cork unless I was willing to sit down and drink the whole bottle with him that afternoon. "How will we get the hive done if we do that?" I asked. So we went with his alternative.
I just love the license place hole cover! I've saved all of my license plates over the years (except when some state made me turn it in) so I could use them as bird house roofs someday. Now I know I will use a couple as bee hive entrance covers someday instead!
Hopefully that will just be a couple of years in the future...
Oh, I just downloaded Walden, too. Going to catch up and join the reading list!
Laura --- As pretty as license plates are nowadays, it's a shame not to reuse them! Your bird house roofs sound very nice.
We'll be glad to have you joining us for the book club!