Prepping #WildernestHive for a Nor'Easter

Yesterday called for some #WildernestHive preparation for the Nor'Easter that made its way here to southern Massachusetts this morning.

For those who have never experienced a Nor'Easter, it's essentially a miniature hurricane that often times brings tons of snow too. This early in the season (today included), however, it's typically just rain and extremely high winds. Our area is predicted to get winds up to 50-65mph, and being that today is just a mere few days past the anniversary of the Nor'Easter that swept through last year - taking our newly installed $10,000 power poles with it - we weren't about to gamble with the lives of my bees.

My husband (who likes the bees but wants no part in beekeeping) wasted no time getting the supplies we needed to secure the hive and doing all of the installation. Tractor Supply had a good deal on ratchet straps (pack of 2 for $5), so we grabbed 2 packs of those and then made our way to Home Depot to get Stainless Steel Eye Straps, Tie-out Stakes, and a cinder block.

While the hive stand weighs 350lbs+ on its own, I was concerned for any lift the roof might provide for the wind and wanted a way to secure both the stand and the hive. Starting with the hive, Jay screwed in 2 Eye Straps on both sides of the stand. Then we hooked two ratchet straps to them, running those through the holes of the cinder block on top of the hive (keeping the cover from ripping off).

Then to secure the stand to the ground, thus securing everything, we drove the Tie-out stakes directly into the ground and attached two more ratchet straps to them, one on either side. These stakes are massively long and almost go 2 feet into the ground, so we think they will do a pretty good job of keeping everything in place (hopefully).

Tomorrow is supposed to be 60 degrees and sunny, so assuming I have power, I’ll be sure to give an update on Facebook on how everything held out when I head over to do my final inspection before winter. As of now, keep your fingers crossed for me that my babies will make it through okay!