Wyatt Mangum had a unique approach - he'd lay carpeting scraps down, and create a patchwork quilt surface for his hives.  It also made for a very relaxing surface upon which to stand.

Weed Eaters and bees do not get along, mostly due to the vibrations created on hive surfaces by a loud 2-stroke gasoline engine, so I bought electric weed eaters, and wired 15-amp inverters on each Volvo wagon to power them.  Electric weed eaters do not disturb bees at all.  Neither do machetes, but one has to think long and hard about providing machetes to teenager boys before sending them to spend a day alone deep in the middle of a national forest.  Some boys are not ready for that.

As an aside, there has been much press coverage of "telling the bees" of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.   Of course, one tells the bees of the death of their beekeeper and caretaker, not of the passing of someone who might have merely walked by the hives at random times.  But telling bees "the queen is dead" would be met with consternation, as bees are acutely aware of the health of their queen, and would retort "OUR queen is fine, thank you very much."

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