wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning;
but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early)
the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a
rain so penetrating, that further out-door exercise was now out of
the question.There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been
wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning;
but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early)
the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a
rain so penetrating, that further out-door exercise was now out of
the question." (Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte)
It is the time of year when I think about these opening lines often. As I stand and look out of the garden it is not a walk I am hoping for but some time out there, getting some weeding done, getting some time with my garden. Today, like many recent days, I aim to get out there but it is so wet and squelchy that doing anything meaningful is unlikely. Even if I do start to contemplate doing something as that would be better than nothing, there remains the knowledge that there is more rain due later.
We seem to be getting very little quality daylight at the moment, there is a heavy greyness that pervades constantly. We have seen the odd sunny day, but generally it is gray and the air hangs full of moisture. Some areas of the country have seen serious flooding so I have to consider the mere inconvenience of not being able to garden in the perspective of how awful it is to be flooded and the damage that it causes.
and still it rains.
even Natasha and Elsie look they are crying. Today I can see some sunshine and we even had a frost the other day. According to the forecast there will be more frost this week which, oddly, I rather welcome. The garden needs a period of freeze, it needs the annual weeds to be killed off a bit and hopefully the loss of a slug or two. The soil also benefits from a bit of freezing and unfreezing, it helps break it up a bit. Of course if the freeze lasts too long (and there is no definition of too long) then I shall then be pining for Spring and some bright milder days. For now though, I welcome the thought of bright crisp days.
