Perking Up

 The weather has taken a turn for the better, at long last.

Gale force winds have eased off and the sun is shining in a pale blue sky. Still pretty cold though, with the temperature struggling to reach 8C.  I drove to the supermarket this morning and, as soon as my hands touched the steering wheel, I regretted not digging out my gloves from whichever drawer they are hiding in.

Still, it did my heart good to see the sea sparkling in the sunlight as I drove along the coast road.

The supermarket had a special deal on my favourite wine. Too good to ignore so I bought two cases!  The gentleman in the queue in front of me turned around as I placed the 12 bottles onto the belt and raised one eyebrow. "Having a party?" he asked.   I just smiled back and said "No, this is just to last me over the weekend". He did hesitate for a minute before finally chuckling.

In the garden our silver birch tree has lost most of its leaves now, all blown away by the gales.  I remember when we brought it back from the garden centre in the back of the car.  It wouldn't fit in there now.

Out on the patio, the callicarpa has also lost all its leaves now, but the beautiful dark mauve berries are a wonderful splash of colour against the white walls.

I had admired the display of callicarpa in the RHS Gardens in Wisley one autumn a few years ago when visiting my sister.  That Christmas, two plants arrived by courier courtesy of my lovely sister who had remembered that I liked the colour of the berries. She also sent me a liquidambar tree as I had also admired a specimen in the gardens.  

Sisters can really perk up a person.