What is standard care for a hive?
You say an hour a week, what do you do in that time?
Standard care is similar to starting chicks. You get this box of bees (package) or a small beginner hive (nuc), both of which need to be fed to get a good strong start. I'm a naturalist, and feed my beginning hives back the honey I swiped from other hives (instead of sugar syrup which is not a natural food for bees). Many folks feed pollen patties as well to help the hive get a great start in the spring. There is much in the way of management which I'm still learning and know I cannot know everything, no matter how much I read and watch!
In an hour a week, I do the following (because my apiary is in my backyard, so I don't have to drive out to it)....
5min getting dressed in bee gear (long pants, long sleeve shirt, bee-jacket with attached veil, gloves)
5min gathering gear (smoker, fuel for smoker, hive tool, containers (either of feed or to remove honey or damaged comb), rubber bands, string, scissors)
5min getting the smoker lit (and staying lit)
5min walking out to hives and watching to determine what I need to do where
10-15min per hive (inspecting frames, looking for trouble or further issues, closing hives up again) - I've got two active hives right now, so I figure 30min for inspecting both hives
5min walking back to house, getting out of bee clothing and securing the smoker (don't set your house on fire!)
This does not include the daily walk-by's I do three times a day to see what the bees are doing. As our apiary is in our backyard, when the dog needs to go out, I go and see what's happening! That's how I know my neighbor's hive had swarmed - I happened to be outside when they flew over my apiary! That was exciting!
There's a whole bunch of great resources on-line...forums such as backyardchickens - great people who don't (typically) cut down newbies for asking questions. The one I like best is beesource forums....but there are a lot of others, including the one here on the backyardherds -
And much like chickens, remember, the events of livestock ALWAYS, without fail, happen at the most inopportune time! So, Sunday morning, I found that chicks had hatched overnight. Or right before going to a meeting, I see the hens tipped their waterer over (I'm in heels and a skirt dashing back to the house to grab garden boots to enter the run to refill on a 90 degree day - making me late for the meeting!)...it's never dull with homesteading, is it?!
Much like chickens, just start reading! Ask questions! Find a class if you can - many places offer beginning beekeeping courses.
Good luck!
