Winter cometh

Really? -

Yes. Really. They're lovely.

The mist was still overhanging Warwick Racecourse when I took the dogs for a walk this morning. It smothered all sound and was eerily quiet. The trees rose of of the mist and the dark shapes of the hills loomed behind them. The larks were flying low and the only person I saw was a lone runner away in the distance. Peaceful.

Bet they aren't proper cowslips, Primula veris.

The only "spring" flower our here is a confused hellebore. Just the one. I've still got borage in full bloom. Just when I think summer is over the sun comes out and a bumble bee turns up to feed on it. Fuschias still doing well. Even on grey misty days the yellows of the birches and maples (field and norwegian) glow. The birches in the park opposite have shifted from butter to egg yolk yellow this week. All hail to those clever people who planted so many trees in this new city. We drive around in an arboretum, albeit a youthful one.

The planners did well there, jess.

My 'feral' climbing roses have opened a few flowers this month, and the Red Campion is still bravely flowering a little. Oh, and one ox-eye daisy . Cowberry doing well too – such a weird plant; it has flowers and fruit at the same time. I wonder if that's because it's a tundra plant and used to a very short growing season?

Nice to wake up to white hills.

Or even white park.
This is the first week we have had a proper hard frost right down on the grass.
Better than all that rain - eh?

Oh yes, Jess!

It's cold up here. I can't sweep up the leaves because they're frozen to the ground. I suppose that's a plus, actually.

I can forget the garden until next April - 1 metre of snow and falling hard.

Whereabouts are you? North of England here. No snow at the moment but very cold and blizzards expected next week. Not gardening weather!

Which part of the North, broomsticks? There are quite a lot of us in Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire.

I am in the Swiss Jura mountains, at 950m

Southerners! I'm up in the North East near Durham. Mind you my husband comes from Merseyside originally.

Up in the Swiss mountains is seriously wintry though. Maybe more sun than here?

Yes, the sun came out this afternoon - wonderful. And of course the snow is light twinkly and fluffy

Nice part of England, broomsticks. Mind you, I'm an exiled Scot myself.

Actually, I did do some gardening today. It wasn't too bad out.

There's no light pollution here, and the midnight sky is magical, holding hundreds of stars.

Hard white sky
It's cold out there
All is still.

Ice blue sky
Lightening by the minute.
Small clouds
Scudding by from the north.
Moving trees.
House playing wind tunes.
Faint pink towards the dawn.

That's really nice, Bags. sounds beautiful.

Quite warm and sunny here. Amazing.

Bags

Lively sea...pewter-grey waves
topped with creamy foam.
Steel grey mountains
topped with shimmering snow.
Busy, blustery wind
singing through the branches.
Rain drops tapping at the window.
Black cat -
snug in his basket, without a care in the world.