> Would someone please explain in detail the process of putting two
> hives "together" for the winter without actually combining them?  I
> know this is old hat for many on this list, but there are others
> like myself who just don't know the exact details and don't want to
> find out the hard way.
 
Once again, we are looking at an answer that depends very much on
the region of the world where you live.
 
BEE-L is a *world* list.
 
What works for Stan in Eastern Canada is a prescription for certain
colony death here in Alberta, Canada.
 
Unless people specify exactly where they are keeping their bees, the
answers are likely to be of curiosity value only.  The best answers for
many of these questions is to be found your *local* beekeeping club
or -- even better -- your neighbouring long-time commercial beekeeper.
 
I know my father advised me to find out what successful commercials
*in my area* were doing, and do the same.  Of course I ignored his
advice, being young and foolish (now I'm old and foolish:), and I paid
for the lesson.  So did my bees.  Over and over.
 
Having said that, BEE-L is very useful for discussing and comparing
ideas, but *uncritical* use of ideas and opinions obtained on the net
is simply a formula for personal beekeeping disaster. (The results are
now starting to come in). Even if you understand what is actually
being described, there is always much more that is not said.
 
You might get the impression here that you are corresponding with
some real experts.  *Maybe* you are, but...
 
Beekeeping is a pretty subtle business, and to know whether you are
receiving advice from an inspired guru (if there really is such a
thing) or a deluded windbag is next to impossible if you can't see
the bees.
 
Good beekeepers cannot necessarily write, good writers cannot
necessarily keep bees.  This a forum for talk.  You can see our
words, but you cannot see our bees.
 
Moreover there is often much more to what we do to manage our bees
than can be described in print.  You have to *be there* to catch all
the incidental factors that contribute to the success of a method.
 
Andy has a tagline about not confusing opinion with fact.  Some may
think he is kidding.  I assure you he is not.  Few, if any of us can
tell the difference all the time.
 
Some of the best-dressed, most convincing beekeepers at meetings --
(and I presume here on the net) may not be what they seem.  It is
always fascinating to visit an beekeeper and loook at his/her hives
and outfit, after having heard all about it for years.
 
It isn't often what one expects.
 
Enjoy the banter here, and learn lots -- I know I have -- but as
another member tag says: "Test everything, hold onto the good".
 
You can get lots of good ideas here, but please be sure to test them
on a *local* expert before jumping too far in.
 
When I have followed that advice, it has saved me a lot of grief.
 
Thanks.
 
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>