December Creeps

 December is creeping across the land covering all before it with a blanket of dampness.

In the garden everything is slowly winding down for a long winter sleep.  The bushes in the fruit cage have finished producing fruit and are now hibernating, building up energy for next season.  There are very few leaves left on the trees, the beautiful yellows, oranges and reds, which once covered every branch, are now decorating the ground like a multi coloured carpet.  Soon I will be raking them up and adding them to the leaf mould pile. 

For weeks, the valley has been shrouded either in mist or a low cloud base; some days I have had to turn on the house lights shortly after lunch.  This gloom has made me stay indoors and do ‘inside’ jobs as there is not a lot to do outside except tidy.

One by one the eating apples we carefully stored away are beginning to taste a little ‘woody’ so are now being given the birds.

On cold dark evenings, it is good to put ones feet up and relax in front of a roaring fire with a mug of coffee in one hand and an up-to-date latest seed catalogue in the other.  I am planning several new experiments in the garden for 2023.

We are fast approaching the longest day and the festive period and I, for one, am looking forward to Christmas lunch and spending quality time with the family.