They're in!

In the clearing

Okay, this photo isn't very interesting--it's the hives as they looked just before we put the bees in. But it started to get pretty dark while we were doing it, so this is what we've got.

Basically, you spray the bees with water so they can't fly as well, then you jar them to the bottom of the box, turn the box over, and shake them into the hive. They cling together so that a mass of bees falls in. Any that don't go in at first follow later when the inside bees start sending "home" signals.

Everything went quite smoothly except for one sketchy moment when I bent over forward and felt my shirt pull away from my jeans in the back. Instantly I had a bee up the back of my shirt. But I managed to stay calm, and the bee flew away without stinging me.

The first hive seemed mellow and the second one seemed a little more aggressive. That could be their actual personalities, or it could have been circumstantial (that is, we might have pissed off the second hive somehow without realizing it).

I hope our bees are happy here. We are certainly happy to have them.