Winter and the Helpless Feeling

I am well under way to wintering the bees and this time of year fills me with trepidation and sadness. A real sense of  "you are on your own" now ladies, nothing more I know to do. All down to nature!? Well that makes me more worried as the "summer" was so awful having to feed the bees and queens not getting mated: and of the queens that did mate, how well did they mate?- Will hives come out of winter with no brood or drone brood? If there is a hope then it is that some colonies did seem to thrive despite the bad weather and this could be related to my recent investigations. Only time will tell.