When we went back to the Sister House on Saturday to finish off the porch and chimney demo we thought we would only be contending with one last bit of bees. The only portion of this hive we could see is the lightly colored bit up at the top. Once we started pulling the wall off we found the rest of the hive. That makes 4 full (small) walls full of bees and honeycomb that we have removed. We were able to save the first few we found but have learned from beekeepers in the area that it is too late in the season to relocate the rest of them. These last hangers on were pissed. All 3 of us got stung at some point in the day. Matt got his first, then Tom, then me.
We weren't sure what to do with the comb. It was dripping with honey and covered in angry bees. We never saw the queen. We broke the comb off the wall and put most of it in a box and the rest of it in a plastic bag. Tom took the box home and is draining those combs into tubs. We took the bag home and put the comb we had into a mixing bowl - the largest thing I have right now. We are waiting for the bees to settle down and hopefully find a new home. I feel bad. We took their home and all their food.
Here is Tom on top of the roof beginning the chimney demo. It went pretty fast. The mortar was quite crumbly.
Here is Matt finishing the chimney demo inside. MUCH messier when the job is enclosed within walls. The demolition drew blood from Matt this time. He got a nasty scratch on his neck from a falling board and a pretty bloody wrist from an unknown assailant.
Here is the Sister House in all her naked glory. I can't wait to get her moved and fixed up properly. I have more pictures of the demo and lots more of the bees posted on Flickr.
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