David's Digest

In mid November we had a wonderful crop of holly berries on several trees around the farm. Right, I thought. I'll cut a few sprigs for Christmas, because if we get frosts and I leave it until late December the birds will have eaten all the berries. I tied up my bunch with baler twine and hung it on a nail in the coal shed out of the way of berry eaters.

I've noticed as I've been driving and walking around the Norfolk countryside in recent days that holly trees have been stripped bare. And I've smiled contentedly and congratulated myself on my foresight. Until I went into the coal shed this morning to collect the holly for my family to use for decoration, that is.

There have been a few periods of rain but most of the last five or six weeks have been pretty dry and there's been little humidity in the air. So when I took down my carefully preserved sprigs, both leaves and berries were rather dry and wrinkled. It wasn't quite what I was expecting and it won't look as welcoming as I had hoped at the time of my good intentions. Next year I shall try to leave cutting the holly until a bit closer to Christmas and hope the birds delay their feast until I've done it.

But at least we've got some red berries even if they do look like an elderly Santa's nose. Those who didn't think ahead may not have any at all.