Outdoors

June is here and winter is creeping in. The weather is changeable, frosty nights followed by gradually warming sunny days. Gale force winds blow in followed by sudden bursts of rain and ending up with rainbows.

There are still flowers in the garden. The summer beauties are gone but the winter wonders have kicked in. Winter flowers are always so delicate looking, yet they are the strongest of them all. From fragrant papery wintersweet blossom to the silk-flower allure of the camellia, winter flowers lift my spirits when not much else does.

I work a bit in the garden, in the optimal hours between 12 and 4 pm. It's funny how this changes... in summer this is probably the worst time to be outside, but in winter it's that narrow window of opportunity and you have to grab it. My winter garden jobs include digging up some more flower bed (of course), laying some weed mat in various places and planting lavender seedlings along the back fence line. I've made a small start on one of these jobs. There doesn't seem to be any need to hurry.

I miss going for walks. I was in a good habit right before daylight savings for going for a walk in the evenings. Sometimes these days I go for a walk in the weekend, but often I'm too busy gardening, or else sitting around. I do a lot of that too. Really, you just have to roll with it. Winter is a time for hibernation and I guess that's what I'm going to do.