This is For the Bees

Last fall, we discovered that bees had made a home in our water meter box. It was a small hive, but kinda cool to see.
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We realized, however, that the water guy probably wouldn't appreciate them as much as we do, and that we'd probably better take care of them before anybode came to read the meter. Mike used a water meter cover from one of the vacant houses as a guide and built a box of about the same size and shape.

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Since the hive was attached to the inside of the water meter cover, he just lifted the whole thing up (after dark, of course) and set it on top of the new box he'd made for them. They caught as many of the strays as they could in a bug catcher, which they set over the new box. Sadly, the bees that remained in the water meter box didn't make it through the night -- or the monsoon that hit a day or two later, completely flooding what had been their home.
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This spring, we realized that they had filled up the box Mike had made for them -- honey and bees oozed out of every crack and corner. Steven spent two full days planning, measuring, cutting, and building a bigger box for them. He drilled holes on the sides for them to come in and go out, and even devised a smoking system to harvest honey at some point in the future.
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All they did was lift up the old box and set it down inside the new one. The bees didnt exactly appreciate all the commotion! Mike had to set it on its side, though, since the opening to the original box was on the top, so the lid didn't fit on. Steven went back this week and added another row under the lid.

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When it came time to move the bees, Mike and Steven got all dressed up for the occasion: Steven had his long pants tucked into his socks, a hat under his hood (which he pulled so tight only his glasses showed through) and his sweater tucked into his snow gloves. Mike had on his snow boots and pants, the leather jacket he wears when he rides his motorcycle, his helmet and his winter riding gloves.

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Unfortunately, he had an opening where the collar of his jacket didn't quite meet the chin of his helmet, and the bees were able to get in. He got 3 or 4 stings that night plus another 6 or 8 the next day when he tried to move their box a little bit further behind one of the bushes. I was walking through the living room when I caught sight of through the window running back and forth, flapping his arms and waving his shirt at them.

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We haven't had any other problems with them; they are tucked back behind some of the bushes in the front by the sidewalk. Steven says random people walking by will stop and look at them. Hopefully this new house he built them will keep them happy this summer so they help us grow more yummy tomatoes, apples, nectarines, etc.