My girls have been bizzy (with pictures)

wow very bizzy bees 

Amazing picture, they really have been busy.

Oliveview - sorry for the late reply - normally you'd be right but this is a 'primative' form of hive/beekeeping (look up Warre top bar hive on your favourite search engine) where the bees are encouraged to build 'natural' comb instead of being encouraged to build on frames with wax starter sheets known as foundation. Pros include lower costs, but cons are legion. As someone with a scientific backgoround, but with limited woodworking skills/tools I built the hive according to my ability rather than my inclination.

SS

No - They've not laid down enough honey to over-winter, so they'll get to keep all that they've collected plus they gallon of sugar syrup that they're converting at the moment. Hopefully this time next year...