Beekeeers are natural optimists – starting each season with the hope that this year will be the perfect season where everything comes right. The cyclical seasonal nature of beekeeping makes it possible to broadly predict what equipment and interventions may be needed and when, but how many of us still play ‘catch up’ with the bees?  We review various key tasks and preparations as one season ends and the next begins, and we look at some of the key skills that underpin confident and successful beekeeping