Ideal Home

There are 'guidelines' around the ideal location for a hive. Preferably facing south or south-east (in the northen temperate zone!) to get as much sun as possible, especially on shorter spring and autumn days. This hive entrance is just about facing south-east but, as you see, there are tall, overgrown hedges to the south that shade it after mid-day

Ideally not directly under trees: dripping leaves after rain dissuade the bees from going out; the shade stops the hive drying out and warming up. There are lots of pretty fallen leaves in this shot from, er, the trees overhanging the hive. Quite a few of them are goat willow, which supplies valuable early pollen close at had, so there is some swings-and-roundabouts

Ideally on a well-drained, dry site - bees really don't like damp conditions. I've put a lot of hardcore down here to protect my boots from the claggy mess, with standing water, that this corner becomes after heavy rain. The hive is standing on some re-used black plastic mouldings (no idea what their original purpose was!) to lift them out of the mire, like a house on stilts. The bits of white under the legs are broken bits of surplus limestone floor tiles, left over from our kitchen. They give the leg something flat to stand on. They also provide a way to level the hive itself as the plastic sinks unevenly into the mud. I hope the bees don't realise what marshy conditions they are living in

So, not perfect, but there is still something magical about the hidden, secret nature of this ramshackle spot; its impression of remoteness, though in truth we are very close to the village; a particular quietness. I love it, so I hope the bees feel its numinous aura too - the closest I'll get to the spirit of Samhain. And see, the last light of the day on the dying nettles - some of it was filtering through the increasingly leafless branches on to the back of the hive - a promise of spring

I have finally offered them some syrup feed, much later than would usually be feasible, but the continuing warm temperatures mean they will be able to evapourate moisture from it and store it like honey. Somewhat to my surprise, they have taken it so, somewhere in there, they must have found storage space. I'll try another feed, but will be surprised if they have room for any more. When that is done they are on their own until after Christmas, in the corner they call home