> As I am now reaching for 75 years old I have built 6 of them and am
> thinking of the years to come where I will not be able to handle the
> Langstroth boxes and will be able to handle the AZ hives frame by frame.
>

Gotcha beat- I am 80. I tried mediums a while back and got rid of them. I
like deeps here in Maine for the winters. I do not do  a lot of things like
springtime swap of boxes  since they do just fine without the manipulation.
I have never observed God reversing a hive in a tree by upending it. I do a
spring complete inspection, but that lends itself to moving  about 1/3rd of
the frames to another box as I check them, then inspecting the rest in the
box and then move the lightened box. I have a frame holder and use it for
the bottom box. If I need to clean the bottom board (usually not necessary
by then if the hive is healthy) I tilt the deep and do not usually bother
to lift it even though, by then, it is fairly light compared to the top box.

And then, when I do need to move some heavy stuff, one of my mentees is
much younger and can do so easily and is happy to help.He helps a lot
during extraction time.

As noted, when you grow older (no matter when) you accommodate.

We have come a long way with hip replacements. If you start to have issues,
do not bother to wait because, as is with most medical procedures, the
longer you wait, the worse the outcome.I was able to get a physical
therapist to give me an exercise program before the operation so I will be
in decent shape after. If you check just about every post-op exercise
program, it is something you should be doing pre-op.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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