The hive is located in a backyard apiary established in April 2009, in a hilly suburban area 5 miles southeast of Birmingham. The hive faces southeast and is partially shaded by trees but has morning sun year-round.
The double deep hive has a screened bottom board mounted on pressure-treated pine feet treated with water repellent.
The colony was started from a package in April 2010 and an Italian queen.
The scale is a Fairbanks 1124A, 0.5 lb divisions, weights are maintained periodically to within 10 mg with an electronic balance, and is calibrated with a bathroom scale at about 200 lb, to within 2%. The beam and hanging counterpoise are protected from weather with a wood/plastic box.
There are many landscaped lawns with diverse forage due to the variety of landscaping.
