...it's oh so still
Or rather it was, when the frost took hold of everything and made it twinkly. The bare trees at the bottom of the garden looked good against the cold white fog, like a stage set for something magical.
When I went outside I saw crystals on the edge of leaves, rainwater turned to ice and clouds of my own breath on the air.
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| ice in the jam pan |
Then everything seemed to speed up and December hurled itself headlong towards Christmas like the year just couldn't wait to be over.
The Winter Solstice came and went. What a great day that was to write the date, something very pleasing about the numbers
21/12/12
I covered the frozen ground with yet more composted bark to create a warm duvet for everything sleeping underground.
I thought about all the vermilion,magenta,scarlet and purple the tulips promised in the spring - hard to imagine now but I know it's there.
It was all happening indoors, busy as I was with my collection of sempervivums and tillandsia (air plants), planting pixie gardens. It's early days and I am not entirely happy with them so far, there will be much tweaking I suspect.
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| vintage glass bowl,stones,cacti & semps |
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| charity shop bowl & tillandsia |
Whatever your take on Christmas, I do think a mid-winter festival is necessary and can see why all cultures have some form of celebration at this time, to bring light into the short,dark days.
Of all the rituals my favourite is bringing a tree into the house and dressing it. As a child this made me imagine a forest full of cold and dark while the house was warm and bright, the scent of real pine was transporting and still is.
I have a massive bag of guilt but having a real tree during Christmas isn't in it.
Once it is taken outside after all the decorations have been put away the branches are cut and stored for firewood. I keep a bag of needles, leave it to rot down then use as valuable mulch around my blueberry plants.
It is well loved and well used.
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| Snoopy, Charlie Brown & Christmas tree |
Keep yourselves snug & warm, sleep and dream.
I will see you on the ice of 2013
