I have a full set of pictures of the combs in one of my top bar hives.
picasa web album I posted it on another forum with questions I had at the time.
Someone was kind enough to point out the queen I had photographed but not been able to find. To keep this sporting I'll share that she is on bar #6. The two sides of the comb are identified by an E or a W denoting the direction they face. Pretty high-tech code, eh?
I think my 2 hives are doing well. They are working diligently bringing in nectar and pollen, their numbers are increasing, and they are building comb again. I've really come to enjoy sitting near the hives to watch and listen as they go about beeing. On walks my family looks for new blossoms, and checks many of them for bees. We cannot know if they are our bees, but it is exciting each time we find one.
I'm trying to learn to relax. Like a first-time parent I'm looking at each sniffle as possibly the first indication of immanent disaster. I want to do what I can to help them out, but that seems to be just letting them bee. They're pretty good at it.
My wife is the quintessential hands off beekeeper. She doesn't understand why I read two forums each night, why I am requesting library books from across the country, why I keep finding new podcasts... I know the intensity will fade with time but this seems like the type of passtime that potentially lasts a lifetime. I want to prepare as best I can.
So, the bees and the hives are progressing well. The beekeeper is trying to keep up.