My Bee-Loud Glade this afternoon. Except for these few, all of my colonies are widely separated in my high mountain valley. I call this little apiary "the classroom," because this is where the bees teach me. This is right beside my house where I can spend a lot of time with them. I am always conscious of their presence and the state of their well-being. These hives are all prototypes of the current Bee Tree Hive that I now build.
Even from within my house I can be close to them. The still shot below is from inside my living room and is not zoomed-in. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've looked out that window!
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
– W. B. Yeats