Garden
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November 1
November starts and it feels immediately as if winter is
shifting into gear, there is a cold freshness in the air and all the
leaves are now turning
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November 2
Everywhere my eyes turn towards the leaves. The ash leaves
patterning the lawn. The yellow Mulberry leaves brightening the dark
spaces beneath the tree's looming form. And the medlar tree turning its
dark corner into a vibrant yellow. In the wilderness Sycamore leaves
are still hanging on and hawthorn is turning yellow, but the cherry is
turning a deep, dark red
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November 4
The leaves continue to fascinate. Beneath the Mulberry tree
they continue to pile up, but the lime trees are now nearly bare and
their leaves now cover the ground only very sparsely. In the wilderness
a carpet of damson leaves make a very different pattern. The flowers
are now nearly all gone but a few late daisies still protrude
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November 15
Returning from a weeks holiday the Mulberry tree is now
looking very bare, its bark showing very black against the few
remaining yellow leaves. But on the sheltered side of the tree some
leaves are still green and it will be some time before the tree is
entirely bare, I think. Elsewhere the garden is cold and damp with wet
leaves plastering the lawn. Two crows chased each other acrobatically
around church and it felt for a moment as if I was back on Dartmoor
watching the ravens!
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November 16
Eventually a half decent picture of a great spotted
woodpecker which is a frequent visitor to the garden. Facilitated, of
course, by the trees being nearly bare of leaves. A glorious bright
day and an exotic plant whose name I don't know is in full bloom with
strange white flowers, smothered with insects as if it was lavender in
mid-summer.
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November 19
Yesterday
cold and very wet. The leaves wet and sticky.
Today a bright sun but everything still very damp. Here and
there sparks of life in the dying drabness. Remarkable bright
purple
berries. A small sapling with yellow leaves bright against the dark
earth. A few flowers still blooming on the holly tree. And the flies
still clustering around the strange bush with a white flowers and
basking
on the white wood next to it.
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November 23
The Sycamore leaves are becoming more dominant on the lawn,
but they are dowdy compared to the huge bright yellow Mulberry leaves
and the feathery ash leaves. Today a very loud male voice coming from
the school "five... four... three... two... one... freeze!" Then
resounding "What did I say to you! What did I say to you!"
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November 24
Cold today. Frost on the ground lingering in sheltered patches into midmorning
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November 25
The cold continues and it is bringing all the leaves off the Mulberry tree. On the ground they are frozen and beautiful
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November 28
The end of my garden journey approaches as snow is
threatening. Walking out into the garden today I find that the Jays
have reappeared, two of them hunting through the Mulberry tree now
completely bare. I could approach quite closely before they flew up
into the trees. Then going round the back of the Mulberry tree I found
what had attracted them someone had thrown a packet of carrot batons
(50p from Tesco) onto the lawn. The yellow leaves of the Mulberry have now
turned a leathery brown and are thickly carpeting the ground beneath it
where the frost finally finished them off. Coming back round the tree I
found myself greeted by a robin, perched perkily on the lower branches.
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November 30
My final day and the snow comes. Although my journey didn't
begin in snow it feels as if it did and although it wasn't as heavy as
it was in January it still left a decent covering. I leave with my
footsteps showing the path I have taken many times over the past year...
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Leaves
Black buds tight as wood
swelled in the swelling of the year
broke
and unfurled tender green
Stretching in their boyhood
they reach round, close and near
to cloak
where birds sing and preen
Now aging on that dark wood
they turn tier on tier
and soak
yellow in sun sharp and lean
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