Four Seasons of Top-Bar Beekeeping

With the news media's oft repeated dire, stories about "colony collapse disorder", or perhaps just as a fad, there has been a renewed interest in beekeeping across the world. Urban locations are seeing odd hives pop up here and there, and in more rural areas it's becoming a rare day one can take a drive and not see a hive or two. Maybe it's the sweet golden goodness, but honey bees, it seems, are a creature we don't want to see disappear. This is a guide for budding beekeepers who want to ease themselves into hobby beekeeping using a top-bar hive.