They are so short, these winter days. Cold, bleak, grim, stark, dreary, grey – however you describe them, there is not much love given to them. Especially from us gardeners. And then suddenly, there is half an inch of snow and everything changes. The snow asks us to look at the world differently. It simplifies outlines, and draws our eyes towards the smallest of details; a single gold-brown leaf, the one patch of green grass left visible. It resets our eyes, our thoughts, our state of mind. It makes me think of fairy tales – when I was little there was a wonderful version of Snow White on the television. It was made in Eastern Europe and it was set in a forest of the tallest, straightest trees I had ever seen. And the snow was so deep, and so real. Something of that survives in my heart even when I am trudging through the city slush.
Which is all a way of saying – look, look how lovely the orchard is at the moment.