> If you are in hilly country, locate your hive in a valley.
 > Bees fly uphill for nectar and downhill when loaded with pollen
 > or nectar.

While this seems intuitive, this may not be the most important factor 
when all things are considered.

We live on the plains and there is good forage in the valleys in spring, 
but nothing up top until summer.

I located my yards in the valleys, because I thought this same way, but 
I noticed that another beekeeper put his hives up top, near the valley rim.

I wondered about that, and concluded that he had the advantage of easier 
road access and warmer locations, in spite of being exposed to more wind 
and making the bees haul uphill in spring.

The valleys tend to be considerably colder at night and during cool 
weather, adversely affecting spring buildup, so I think he may have even 
had an advantage over the valley locations.

Nothing in beekeeping is as simple and obvious as it might seem.

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