First Frost

We arrived home late last night, late for us lightweights at any rate.  The sky was a studded with a neck aching amount of stars proclaiming the promise of plummeting temperature.   After satisfying my compulsion to point out Orion and The Plough (the only constellations I know) to the amazement of no one, we dived into the warm house.  With an uncharacteristic attack of the Sensibles  I rummaged out my thermals and heavy-duty socks before I went to bed.   This was a well spent ten minutes as the weather didn’t disappoint.*   A tentative tug at the bedroom curtain just before dawn revealed the glistening windows of the cars in the street below.  This meant that today I ticked off another winter milestone, the first windscreen scrape of the season.  I am not a lover of smearing sprays and aerosols, just a scraper and elbow grease.   This works for me and is a fine and dandy way to warm up on such a morning.  All cleared, off I headed, keen to see what the day held.

The frost was meagre and short-lived, even in the darkest corners.  It was a wonderful day to be a gardener.  After a couple of weeks when my mind has fleetingly strayed to thoughts of warm offices and cosy shop floors,  I was full steam ahead on the Horticultural Express.  Weeding and tidying, leaving flower heads for the birds whenever possible, emptying compost bins, getting things straight.  It was blissful, is there a more satisfying way to spend the day?  Unfortunately, the thermals became little too effective, the healthy glow emanating from my body speeded up the thaw.  If only you could switch them on and off!

*  Do not expect this victory of sense over laziness to prevail, it was merely a battle and not the war.