Primitive man sought to master the elemental forces of nature–none were fiercer than the bee. Has modern man progressed any further? You decide:

Yes, we got our bee stuff today! (Everything except the suits and the bees themselves.) What you see before you is a hive stand, bottom board and entrance reducer (barely visible, the little insignia and then the gap in the wood toward the left), 5 medium-depth “supers” containing 8 frames, ready for masses of bees to make delightfully tasty honey in them, a hidden inner cover, and then the telescoping top with metal roof. The yellow thing I am holding is the Italian Hive Tool (ooh la la).
Katie’s favorite device, however, is the smoker:

What a piece of art. Why buy the puny “hobbyist” smoker for $27 when you can buy this, the deluxe, “commercial”, industry-grade, pro-smoker (for only $9 more)? That’s exactly what I thought, too!

Not shown are the cool gloves, fume pad for stealing the bees’ honey, queen excluder (don’t ask), and pail feeder.

Katie and I are both totally pumped–getting this equipment is starting to make it real. Thanks Brushy Mountain Bee Farm.