So I ordered my hives and equipment from a supplier up in Hackensack, MN. Four deep boxes, 4 shallow western supers all painted pine, ready to put in the field…came with a smoker, beekeeper suit w/ attached veil (with a pithy helmet) and gloves. Hive Tool, Bee Brush, smoker fuel. Frames to hold brood, and hopefully honey.
The boxes came within three days of placing my order, and free shipping. Cool. I felt a little like a kid on Christmas Eve, waiting over the weekend for the boxes to arrive…but when they DID! Better than Christmas. Four big boxes outside the garage, and the delivery guy didn’t even ring the doorbell (go figure). That SOB. But with free shipping, I guess you get what you pay for! 
So I unpacked everything, checked the packing slip, and set the hives up on a couple of 2×4’s in the garage. The smell of the painted wood, and the beeswax covered frames (more on that later) was a little like a pheromone itself. Reinforced my decision to get into beekeeping.
Now there are two hives sitting in the garage, covered with a plastic tarp. Waiting for me to get them out to Zweber’s farm in the next week or so.
(Remember, the boxes are the hives, and the the bees themselves are the colonies)
The ground is still pretty mucky with piles of snow here and there, and it’s a little early to get out into the field. The girls — the bees — aren’t supposed to arrive until the weekend of 17-April, so I still have a little while to get ready…visions of sugarplums? Nope – buzzing bees just working their buns off.