I wonder if you-all could give me some advice on what is too much and what is not. I am just a little to fascinated by them I guess.
You have too few hives. :P Get 10 fold more.
It is good that you are fond of them and you want to know what they are doing. Most of beginners do not study their hives, and they never learn.
Learning beekeeping is that you know, how hive developes and it reacts on weather. If you are capable to learn, you will be very skillful beekeeper. Then you try direct bees' aims towards your aims.
Of course you do mistakes and you will see the results what is proper and what is not, and what bees stand.
This is has been my course and I think that I have learned much. I have 10 tricks how to give queen in the hive.
It took me 7 years and after that I did not met surprises with them.
Now after 40 years I do to them many kind of tricks and many beekeepers say that it is wrong. Just now I have electric heating in every hive. This spring I have feeded almost 2 month soyaflour+yeast+pollen to get new bees. My hives are over 1 month ahead natural development.
I take honey away at autumn and I put sugar to them for winter. But I do not feed them all the time with sugar.
The most interesting is to raise new queens. I kill queens every year and I put new one to hive.
Every year I buy new queens from different queen raisers and I want to see, what kind of bees thay have. If they are good and nice, I raise my own queens.
I have no method what I do to hives. I handle them as an individual.
I am not fond of beehive constructions. They do not bring honey. Honey is on the fields and bees gather it. I am also interested on flowers and pastures of bees. It is difficult area.
GET MORE BEES!