HoneyBees- 1 week update

One week ago, in the dark of the night, we installed a swarm of bees into our Top Bar Hive.  Being new to beekeeping, we were not really sure what to expect.  Would they stay, or decide they wanted a better place?  Is the queen present or are we queenless?  It's been a week of observing and learning- and I have loved every day of it.  It's exceeding my expectations, as I have always been fascinated by the idea of beekeeping.  Homesteading, gardening, beekeeping, chicken raising... they all involve a level of keeping records of observations, and I absolutely love that part of it.  I love keeping track of what happens each day, as I know the notes will be very helpful this time next year when we're doing all of it all over again.  We think we will remember from year to year, but it's literally impossible- just the same as the first year of your baby's life.  It all blends together, though you do have a general idea of the memories of what happened, but the specifics get lost.  No matter how hard you try.

So far it seems as though our hive is doing what it should.  Each day we go out and check on them and based on my notes, it seems as though we have observed a new Top Bar of comb being built each day.  In 7 days, the bees have built up 7 bars of comb that we can see from the observation window.  They are "busy bees" and it's so awesome to watch.  We have been feeding them a simple 1:1 sugar:water syrup in a homemade mason jar feeder.  The Laird and I are growing more comfortable with the bees and opening the hive, which is also good news.  No bee stings yet.  No fear.

6 Visible Top Bars of comb

The Laird took lady genevieve & lord alastair to the zoo with friends last weekend.  Lady genevieve's friend spotted a bumble bee and started to squirm in fear--- to which lady genevieve responded in confusion:  "We like bees.  They are our friends!"  Very cute, and definitely demonstrates to me how much she is learning alongside us as we walk this journey of beekeeping.  Where we have no fear- she has no reason to fear.


CHICKENS:
The Queen Mother & Diana have spent the past 2 weeks cooped up in the coop- as is recommended with chickens that will free range.  This past weekend they got to experience their first days outside the coop and they did awesome.  They pecked and hung around in proximity to us while we worked to get a little more finished on their coop.  It's a beautiful thing to see chickens roaming around our yard.  I love it!  We love checking the nesting boxes every afternoon to see if we got any eggs.  With 2 layers, we're getting "just enough" eggs to keep us going.  In 6 months, when the chicks are ready to start laying, we will have eggs coming out our ears!  And I can't wait.
The chicks got to have some outside time in the baby gate area.  They are so friendly.  The chicken coop is coming along.  The roof is about 90% shingled.  We hung trim and an adorable window box on the southern side of the coop (fixed window).  We still have to hang the other 2 windows with their cute shutters- build a cupola- fence in the run below the coop- and cut the interior door to the run.  Hopefully we can get these things done and the chicks can move out of my dining room- sooner than later.  They are quickly outgrowing their cardboard boxes & my house is smelling like a barn.