The Bees are here!!

Bud picked up the bees today. Katy and I installed the package into the hive. Considering we didn't know what we were doing, it went fairly well. The only mishap, other than a few squished bees, was the fact that I accidentally dropped the queen cage into the box. I didn't realize I was supposed to take the feeder out before I pulled on the tab holding the queen cage in. At least I know now for future reference what the tab was for.  I have to say this was probably the coolest thing I have ever done in my life though. Katy said it was "absolutely fantastic." We are both completely hooked. You could feel the vibration of the bees through the gloves as they were buzzing. There was a humming in the air. When they say you can pour the bees right into the hive, they aren't kidding. It is hard to direct 12,000 bees into the areas you would like them to go though. I wish it wouldn't have gotten dark, because it was just fascinating to watch them. They were covering our hands, tools, and of course, the hive. I was nervous at first because I didn't know what to expect. It was just so cool to have them crawling on us and my nervousness went away very quickly once I realized how calm they were. We spent about 45 minutes with them, and neither of us got stung. Poor Bud got stung on the top of his ear, and on his head when he went to pick the bees up from the farm that we got them from though. The poor guy. He decided to watch from a distance while Katy and I worked. He said there was no way he was going to get stung again. I will post some pictures under the bee tab within a couple of days so everyone can see our little adventure from today.