In a message dated 97-06-26 16:52:00 EDT, Arron Morris wrote:
 
<< One funny thing at the trade show was that few people paid attention to
the
 Backsaver display.  Perhaps it was a macho thing - "REAL men don't have to
 worry about their backs!". >>
 
 
I got such a kick out of this.  One could paraphrase that "REAL women look
for the easiest way to do things and don't worry about being macho."
 Strength (or lack of it) pervades.
 
But seriously, wouldn't it be easier to run our hives with nothing but
shallow supers - four for a "two brood chamber" basic hive and the rest for
honey?   That way everything would be eminently interchangable.  As a
beginner, I eagerly went out and bought all "the right stuff", i.e. deep
brood chambers.  It was quickly apparent that they were just too heavy for me
to handle. A fully loaded super is about all I can handle, unless I can con
my somewhat bee-phobic husband into helping.   After l7 years of beekeeping
and recently having hit the "half century mark,"  I'm moving slowly to the
all shallow situation.  Can anyone see a problem with that?  Thanks!
 
Faith Andrews Bedford, Ivy VA and Tampa FL