Yep, it's the old man himself grinning like a bear that's found one of my tbh's. Why not? Beekeeping in tbh's gives me so much pleasure because it fits my goals and philosophy better than beekeeping in conventional hives. I have sold all of my Langstroth equipment, and I'll never keep bees in anything but tbh's. I'm not at big-time beekeeper...I only expect to have a maximum of 25 tbh's, several 5-bar nucs and queen-mating nucs.
Well, let me change the last statement. After a couple of years of beekeeping with 25+ tbh's I decided that I needed to cut back to 5 or 6 due to other activities with which I am involved. I have given all of my tbh's to friends except for 5 that I have remaining. This gives me more time to manage them better; moreover, it introduces the tbh to others.
My decision to reduce the number at this time was precipitated by the insoluble problem of my bees flying into my neighbor's swimming pool. They were not at the pool to pick up water but were returning from foraging and flew into the bright blue "hole in the sky." The bees apparently could not tell where the surface of the pool was located. I worked with my neighbor to try to solve the problem, but as I told him, "I love my bees, but I love my neighbors more." The result is that I have moved 3 hives up to some property in Ellijay GA,and 2 hives are at a cousin's house not too far away. I still have some bees. Gotta *always* have my bees. :)
The bar that I'm holding came from a shallow super I had on top of a 15-bar tbh. I made that hive first, and I feel that in my neck of the woods the bees will need 15 bars for winter survival. I put a super on that hive only. No more lifting supers for me.
I'm a "retired" biologist and electronics technician who enjoys learning... how to construct web pages for example..., and I have found my fountain of youth and I hope that you will find yours.
Best wishes in any beekeeping endeavors you undertake. If you decide
to try tbh beekeeping, keep me posted on how things work out for you.