I think I might just need to throw me a wobbly... Grim, grimmer and grimmest answers to my inquiry but I will "sort of" take "you-alls" advice in bits and pieces... Kills me to remove laying queens and combine smaller hives... I am more inclined to quietly top-feed the hives and watch for robbing. Moving the hives more than 1/2 mile is not an option for me or I would move the two smallers to a new location. Or all of them to a better location for that matter... Walked out pastures this morning and plantain is flowering again, even after the goats and cows ate it down. Go figure. A few asters, too dry for perilla mint which usually grows in abundance (to our displeasure) in the summer/fall. There may be some hope. Well, I can dream, can't I? In the meantime, thank you for your sage words. -Mary Jane www.steelmeadowfarm.com *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm