Ah so he got freebees… 
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He was very nice to come and help me so I don’t really see it as free but a barter. I was happy about it and so was he.
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It’s going great as I had some expert help today and I’m progressing in a good manner posted below. 
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I’m on track for some honey after having some help with my almost exploding hive. My bees outgrew the hive and we’re set to swarm but I averted it. Whew!
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That’s fantastic- so excited for ya!! Wish me luck, I’ve been delayed in my next moves by rain today - was set to put next brood box on one and the Flow super on the other…also considering possibility I may need to split one or both 
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Boom. Done. The Flow is ON!!!
Just checked my hives today & in the slower one I found empty queen cups, lovely brood & stores, strong population AND the queen 
️:tada: - great stuff. This hive got a second brood box.
The stronger hive had finished building about 85-90% of the second brood box they got last week - woohoooo!! So on went the Flow super 
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Congratulations, @Eva! 
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I just watched a Frederick Dunn video on YouTube showing how it takes 14 days for the bees to ready the flow super for honey. It was interesting so I guess if my bees are as active I have 1 1/2 weeks to go and see if my girls are on the same time frame.
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Update on my second broodbox. Mistakes and successes. My lack of conformity and novice skills have created an interesting result.
1; My first frames installed were the initial 5 frames that came with my nuke and they look great and are healthy.
2: The second set of frames came with my hive and I stainless steel wired them for the first time in my life. My wire was tight but got a few dents from my pliers but the bees built them out a little wavy looking but healthy looking.
3: third set of frames I decided to buy wax foundation and build my frames. I installed the foundation upside down cuz I didn’t know better and the foundation didn’t say which way up. The bees built it out wavy like a sand dune and the queen has placed eggs, larvae and capped brood in an unusual pattern with some capped honey in the middle but it looks healthy as well.
4: the only reason I discovered all this about my efforts is because of experienced help as a learning inspection.
So the hive is cranking, 3 uber heavy frames of capped honey, flow frames almost finished being prepped by the bees ready to be filled.
A third brood box might be in my hives future and I’m building a second hive.
But most importantly, the fellowship of beekeeping has been a wonderful experience of open source learning. Buzz on peeps!
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What’s going on in your hive?
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Hey @Martha! Sorry it’s over a month later - didn’t see your post at the time, had to go out of town around then.
Anyway, wish I had an exciting harvest story for ya, but my bees have been pretty slow to get the Flow frames ready for nectar, and if there is any in them it ain’t much. So it’s looking like I’ll sit this season out for a harvest but at least be bang-on ready next season
How’s it going for you?
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Hi Eva, my girls suffered some drama in August while on vacation. It’s a lesson learned as well. I had to travel and my husband called me while I was away from home and he said my bees were crawling on the ground. My hive was cranking too! I called someone to go over a see what was up but they could not respond rapidly. At any rate here is what I learned. I bought bees and the queen had clipped wings. ( I didn’t know enough to ask this question when I purchased a package) She left the hive and I don’t know why.
However, when I got home I did an inspection and there were still a lot bees left in the hive with no queen. I made some calls and another beekeeper came to my aid and helped me rescue my hive with a queen and some brood and workers. He figured out the mystery of my queen. So I still have my hive and it over wintered beautifully and we had really bad weather out here too! I put on a solid bottom board and left box of 8 frames deep of honey and 1 brood box with a vivaldi board on top to keep moisture down.
1 week ago I did my first inspection and the bees consumed the 8 deep frames of honey and 1 frame of eggs are present. The girls are bringing in pollen and things are looking up for year 2 of beekeeping.
Thanks for asking!
Sincerely,
Martha
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Wow, serious congrats on overwintering your bees!! That is a great outcome to your colony’s moment of peril last season, I’m very happy for you 
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Flow Hive #2 installed yesterday! Whoop! My apiary is growing and thanks for all the support and advice. Year 2 is beginning! Flow hive #2 is off to a great start.
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