During these past 3 weeks, I have been very busy on another project (a hen house, maybe a Wallace Chicks blog coming soon), so I only checked the entrance, no hive inspection. I noticed a few drones, always just one at a time. They have not all been killed, there are a few survivors, ... for a while.
I killed a bald face hornet near the hive entrance. Yellow jackets are marauding around the hive, some are eating dead drone bodies.
A lot of pollen coming in during these 3 weeks, thanks to the few rainfalls we got. The smell around the hive is delicious. No more foul odor, I guess the goldenrod bloom is over.
The hen house will be right next to the hive, and will block the early morning sun (bad) and shelter the hive from dominant winds (good).
I may do one final inspection depending on weather, and remove a few honey frames if the hive has more than 3 bodies.
I will soon plan on my next apiary, a 4 hive equipped with Warres, probably with Carniolan bees. They will be on a friend's property, on 5 acres, near a mountain creek. The apiary will need a bear fence.