> Wintering over the doubles seems to be suggested
> as a good idea...
That would be my suggestion (put the singles on a double screen to of the
doubles), but I'm finding that more and more less desireable, as it makes it
hard to do the early spring (late winter) examinations on the doubles.  But
such a configuration has a huge benefit for the nuc on top.

There is an article in this month's (last month's) Bee Culture about
over-wintering single nucs as you described (wrap the singles and over
winter them on their own).  Some beekeepers butt up to 4 hives together and
wrap the whole unit.  This leaves only 2 sides of each box exposed to the
elements if you butt 4, 3 sides if you butt 2.  The other sides are against
the sides of other singles.  Reportedly there is a "between hive" benefit to
such a configuration.

Your August 26 deadline may be a bit too early for these setups.  I wouldn't
make such preparations until mid-October in upstate NY.

> Of course if it can not be done by then, my family can do something.
Are they interested in adopting?

Aaron Morris - thinking winter's coming, but fall's first!