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

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