Got Bees??

OMG. We survived the first day.... Cam and I fared better than some others (Toby, Jon, Davis and Evan). Apparently my bees were NOT happy about getting stuck in a box, shipped to Spokane and then dumped out into their new hive in our Back 40.... Did u know that mad bees somehow know to attack the head of their enemy? Now you know!
The day started off well with a trip to 'bee school' for the demo after a yummy breakfast at Chaps. We saw the instructor dump 10,000 bees out of a box and into the hive without wearing a veil or gloves or anything! No smoke either. And no stings. He made it look so easy. Unfortunately when it was my turn it didn't go so well and we hd a unprotected audience! In retrospect, it would've been better to smoke the bees and maybe spray them with syrup. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.... After the excitement died down, I returned to put the second package in hive #2 and it was fine (after what seemed like a year of trying to get the cork out of the queen cage).
Since then, they've mostly been quiet and keeping to their hives since the weather's been cold and rainy. I popped out today with the help of an experienced beekeeper (Gunnar, one of our GHC FP docs). We gave them more syrup and things seemed to be ok. Both queens have been released and they're starting to build comb. The first real inspection will have to wait until the weekend. If we can spot eggs, I'll know we're in good shape. Fingers crossed!