Welcome aboard JRS. Lots of good folks here that you can bend the ear of. ;) Go back and visit the folks with the bee hive(s), they might can tell you the "lay of the land" for your area...any type of restrictions, types of forage available, when the flows start, how many boxes you need for over-wintering, etc.,. Beekeeping is "local"...though you can glean the basics of equipment and the husbandry of bees by general talk you will find that some things applicable to, say, New Hampshire will not exactly apply to you and your bees. Having said that,
www.beemaster.com is a wealth of information with folks ready to help you at the drop of a super, er, I meant hat. :-D
Best wishes and have fun on ya'll's bee journey!!!!
Ed