Well, here we are at the beginning of Spring with seven hives in our backyard. We never intended to have more than two or three hives on our acre lot but the bees had a different plan. Swarming results in splitting and splitting requires more hive bodies (called deeps). Newbies to beekeeping, we had no idea that bees multiply so quickly after the winter solstice. After that point during the winter and when the temperatures are very cold, the queen gets on with her laying of eggs. Mark that up to winter boredom. They are all balled up yet having a huge birthing celebration. Everyone gets very hungry and it is common for colonies to starve during this time because they are working hard to keep the hive warm for their little ones. It reminds me of how I would wake up several times a night when my babies were newborns to make sure they were warm during the cold winters.
So after using honey from the stores during the winter, as soon as the earliest food resources start to blossomi in early spring, the colony growth takes a giant step. More brood emerges and the queen has more space for continued egg laying. 
When you start raising bees, this aspect is important to understand as you move into spring - after acquiring bees the year before. Our good friends, Linda and Jim, had their first swarm today. We feel like pros after four swarms so Craig was free to go over and help them gather up the swarm and place them into a new hive box. Unfortunately, this was not what they wanted so they left that box. We would love to think that they returned to their original home or hive but that is most likely NOT what happened. I'll post later any information about their hives. By the way, they got their bees the same day as we did and our colonies have all split so it was just their time. Good luck Linda and Jim.
Here are some pictures from last year when we installed our bees. Enjoy.
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