Facing 'Almost-Winter' Head On
I've worked it out! 'It' is the melancholic, wistfully gloomy mood I've been in this last week. It's time to stop pretending, get out the thermal underwear, re-commission the heavy-duty gardening boots - and face 'almost-winter' head on.
I will not get all nostalgic and drool over dripping roses. I will not complain about the cold blue glaze over all my garden photographs. I will throw off this damp, mouldy blanket which has been covering my gardening soul. And I will not write any more gloomy rubbish? That might be stretching it a bit!
Amost Winter is Late Autumn, After All...
I've worked it out. Euphoric scenes when I first notice autumn - my heart fluttering like the golden and red leaves, my eye marvelling at the low-sun shadows, the mellow light. The autumn colours are so unexpected. Click goes the camera, click, click, click... Autumn bonfires and associated trimming sessions are actually exciting. The season is changing, the earth is tilting...
A Bit Sad...
But after the first giddy weeks I get used to autumn. And then the leaves drop and start piling up on the lawns, wet and dead, and I shuffle through them feeling a bit sad. The truth is - I haven't yet accepted that summer is well and truly over, that my beautiful rose flowers are going, going.... gone!
Almost Winter for Cats
Day by day the dampness of almost-winter is more and more discouraging. I can't lie down on the grass and stare at the clouds, I can't sit down by a garden edge to weed - well, I can, but I'd be instantly wet and cold. Almost-winter gardeners tend not to change into dry clothes and dash madly outside again. The armchair by the wood-burner is far too tempting, when one is showered and clean. Almost-winter cats tend to prefer this option, too...
Self Analysis Used Sensibly...
Self-analysis is a wonderful thing, when used sensibly. Work out what's gone wrong, and simply fix it! So I've pulled myself together. I've bid farewell to summer, and I'm ready to celebrate the sun at its lowest, peeping through the pine trees in the garden I call the Hump. Almost-winter - I am now living and gardening in your moment. Ha!
Toadstools and Oak Leaves
I'm also doing some little cheer-up things for myself each day.
- Making a proper pot of leaf tea each morning instead of using a dusty old tea bag.
- Organising the next day's wood and kindling each afternoon.
- Making sure I'm always wearing warm socks.
Easy, eh? Ah well, gardening life was never meant to be anything else...
Alstroemeria
Make Every Moment Count
I've stopped desperately telling myself that I'm lucky while only half believing it. I'm making every almost-winter moment from now on. Simple action is all that's required. Like getting out in the garden every day, planting the remaining Agapanthus, raking up the leaves into bags, finding meaning in what needs doing now, rather than dreaming of past garden glories.
And forget this obsession with 'proper' colours. Lots of little things are still colourful - families of bright red toadstools are growing on Duck Lawn over the top of old tree stumps. And the pretty Alstroemeria is still flowering. There are plenty of colours to enjoy in almost-winter.
Right. Warm socks? Check. Winter boots? Check. Underwear? Hmm...