Scott- ""I understand a lot of folks may well read this post, but if were going to consider them all instead of just Jens situation I could write a book that is only marginally flawed that would likely encompass better than 100 pages of VERY accurate guesses from personal experience,''
Okay.... So Write The Book All Ready! Seriously! Many of us know that your have been in and amongst the bees through out your life since your were 13. At least you started with a mentor, many - if not most of us, don't have a mentor, we have forums... and many of us don't even have that.
In my case, I had been gathering my printed reading to get ready to split or for a swarm, maybe a nuc. I was settling in to read for a handful of days. I stepped out into my backyard and the sky had changed color. I'll leave out the cuss words. Long story short, after my first attempt to get the swarm back into my yard, I ran to this forum. Got some information on how to acquire the rest of the swarm. THEN, I got a pm. Scott LazyBkpr said, 'Jen, calm down, take a breath, relax, mix a drink.'
From there you took me step by step on what to do next. Do this first. Take a sip of your drink. Get this ready now. Look for that. do you have a queen excluder? Look for the queen now. Have another sip of your drink. Breathe. Get a frame of brood. Now leave them alone a couple of days.
See? You are an awesome instructor! write a book! nuf said