J and I  installed the beehive this past weekend. Today I opened the hive for the first time. I would like to say that I was fearless, but that would be a lie. It was a little like opening Pandora's Box, for more than one reason. I didn't have enough smoker fuel and it went out before I could get even the first frame pried from the super. While I was back in the garage refilling the smoker and getting it lit, the girls had time to get good and mad! When I got back with the smoker, I could  herd them down into the hive, but as soon as the smoke cleared they were right back boiling mad.  The contented humming  that  I was used to hearing from the hive had gone up in pitch and escalated to a loud threatening warning buzz. I thought about putting the roof back on the hive and trying again later, but just like the time I rode my first bike home from the motorcycle dealer in the rain, I had the conscious thought, he who hesitates is lost. The smoker, helmet/veil, and bee brush are indispensable tools. I might even decide to invest in at least one bee suit. I learned how convenient it would be to have a frame rest. When you pull the frame from the hive, even with smoking it comes out with a huge hanging beard of bees, and it's very important that those sisters be gently brushed back into the hive. After all, one of them is the Queen who is the center of the bee universe. When I pulled the center two frames that were most heavily loaded, I scraped as much propolis (bee glue) and burr comb from the frames as I could and  moved them to the outside edges of the hive and moved two empty frames to the center. Bees would rather build up than out, so they must be managed to ensure they fill the super fully. If you open a hive too frequently it can cause your bees to become aggressive, not frequently enough and they'll fill the hive to capacity and swarm off to find a more commodious home. After I got the inner cover and roof back on the hive, they were still really P.O.ed at me. I retreated to a safe distance, put the tools in their proper place. Five minutes later I was glad to hear they'd  settled back to their contented hum. Whew! It'll be a lot less scary to work the hive with a hanger to place the frames on as they're  pulled out. Loaded with honey and brood they're much heavier than you would expect, and having only  one hand free for both the smoker and the bee brush  made me wish I was an octopus. J and I have been enjoying watching the hive so much. It has the same hypnotic quality that you would get watching an aquarium or a beautiful fountain. I hope that J and I and our bees live long and prosper.