All my fruit trees have abundant blossom this year, great, thought I.
However I was down by an apple tree this morning, warm, sunny little
wind. The abundant blossom was fully open, but now sight nor sound of
bees, would not it have been normal for the bees to be bust setting my
apples?

Should be but as you know bees are in short supply and deep trouble. Do
you know of a local apiarist who would like to put a hive in your orchard?
They'd probably be grateful of the space and you'd be glad of the bees.

The lack of bees is very worrying. I was watching a solitary bumble bee
yesterday which was the only insect on a massive Berberis Darwinii in full
flower. A few years ago I would have been deafened by the number of bees on
that bush.