Wreathed in smiles

Wonky, prickly, but it’s my first go.   Somewhere under here is a wire circle, ivy twined around, and fir branches on top.   The tricky bit was discovering just how prickly they were.   I didn’t want to venture up into the forest (limping from a sore foot) so I chose the first pine tree I came to just past the top vegetable bed.   I tied them on as best I could and then threw in some baubles and a candle.   It will do.

A better effort was the Christmas tree. Simple and elegant with Andrew’s glass deocorations.   Well, it pleases me.   And when I come back closer to Christmas I will go and get more branches to bring in that quintessential scent of fir and pine into the house.

What else did I manage once I came back to the house? Leaf work. I have finally removed all the fallen leaves from the courtyard; bagged them and taken them down to the leaf mould cage.

I wasn’t sure what I would find down there. It’s a long walk down to the first terrace below the house and then to the far end of the property hidden behind the rabbit shed. (No rabbits anymore thank goodness)

I climbed in (edging past the nettles and brambles that have crept in) and discoved a rather impressive pile of black goo.   Drier than the normal leaf mould in England or Scotland where it rains so much more. But a juicy soil improver nonetheless. I can’t wait to get it onto the flower beds above the studio.   That’s the area where I want to focus on flowers while I give room for the flowering shrubs and more permanent plants in the areas in front of the studio and towards the house.

Freezing. Time to retire for the day and plot and plan.