Hive Check : cleaning the dead out and freezing frames

Today is pretty cold so I couldn't do much with the surviving bees.  I did check to see if they were still alive, they are.  They had eaten some of the sugary-substance-that-should-have-been-fonant but not a lot.  I'm sure this has to do with the fondant being on top of the parchment instead of the other way around.  There were two dead bees on the fondant.  I didn't see any standing water but I am pretty sure that there is moisture being generated because some of the sugar was soft.  Another potential issue/problem is that the shim on the nuc doesn't fit flush with the box and I'm concerned about winds getting into the hive so I'm going to also have to check around to see what I can use to stop the gap between the shim and the top box. 

I inspected the dead out frames again and looked for, but didn't find, the queen. 

Finding frames with pollen turned out to be harder than I thought.  (the queen will only lay if there is natural pollen, sugar alone is not sufficient)  The two frames that I found with the most pollen were abesnt of any honey stores, capped or uncapped, and contained maybe 50 cells of pollen.  I put those two frames on the outside of my empty 5 frame nuc box and put three full frames of honey in the middle.  I'll have to check with my mentors to see if that's the right set up before I put this box on the nuc. 

It's recommended that beekeepers freeze frames for three to four days before putting them on a different hive.  I definitely don't want to set this hive back by putting on frames with any existing issues.  Sunday is supposed to be a nice day with temperatures in the 50's and that's the day I'll be putting on this "new" box. 

While the 5 frames are freezing I'm going to be making, or trying to make, more fondant.  At the meeting this past Monday it was suggested to me that after boiling the sugar to the right temperature that I use an ice bath, stir vigorously and then pour into molds.  Which reminds me, I am going to have to find molds around here somewhere.