Diana, we loose about a third to a half of our bee population every winter and early spring if there is a late frost, but are able to build them back up in the spring and summer. Living in a very rural area where most farmers near us are organic, our bees are safe the rest of the year. We have about 60 hives divided among 3 locations, our property and two friend’s farms. There are all sorts of other pollinators too… it’s like a virtual pollinators party in my huge squash and zucchini blooms. Most of our property is forest hills which is a “garden” in itself, thick with tulip-poplar trees, blackberry brambles and all sorts of other nectar sources. A fairly wide creek runs through it (good water source) and our climate is very wet, no one needs to install irrigation.
Life is good… slow and easy here.
Sounds wonderful! :)