A stocktake

 I didn't really have any plans for today.

I knew that I needed to top up Hive #2's feeder this morning, and I guess that nudged me towards a day focussed mostly on beekeeping.

I have been thinking about increasing the number of hives I have next year, and had assumed that I had enough equipment. For some reason I decided to check my beekeeping equipment to see whether this assumption was valid.

Over the course of the morning I checked brood boxes and supers and determined that I could, potentially, have up to eight colonies.  A check on feeders and other paraphernalia made me realise that six was a more realistic target.*

As I worked my way through my inventory, I finally got around to cleaning the pile of hive components that had been abandoned in the carport at the end of 2023.**  This included an hour spent on my hands and knees with a hot air gun, cleaning the wax from a pile of queen excluders.

By the end of the afternoon my equipment was tidied away and a shopping list had been drawn up, detailing a few essential items.

I'm feeling quite optimistic about my plans for expansion.

---

* It is necessary to have spare hive components in case of damage, the need to house a swarm, perform splits and shook swarms etc.

** 2023 was the year that I had a very bad back. I was not able to inspect my colonies and they all failed. Towards the end of that year, as my back improved, I managed to get up to the orchard and take a look at the apiary. I was presented with a very sorry scene, moth eaten frames, crumbling comb, hive floors littered with dead bees.  A dead colony is a very sad sight. Six dead colonies was even worse.  I burned the wax moth infested frames and stacked the empty hive components in the carport. They have sat there until today.