Autumn thoughts

This is what I see at present looking beyond my computer and out of the window. At least, right at this moment the sky is not at all this colour--it's grey grey grey and dripping. But the birch trees almost make it seem sunny. I have two big birches in my back garden, carefully planted hammock-hanging distance apart. Not that I have much time in the summer for lounging in the hammock, but when I do, it's bliss. There are usually chickadees hopping about in the branches above me--and Trillian doing her best to climb the trees after squirrels.

The birches are still golden but the big-leaf maples and wild plums have dropped most of their leaves in the street already, so I've been out shovelling them into the hedge for mulch. I've been pruning blackberries--a bloody business--and sawing down various branches I've foolishly allowed to grow over fruit trees, cutting off their light. In this climate, it's rarely wintry enough to make yard-work impossible. Unpleasant, yes, but not impossible. And there's always plenty to do. Endless refilling of bird-feeders, for instance...

I often wonder how I ever have time to write!

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