There’s something utterly captivating about the beauty of frost-coated, fading leaves. Here we’ve had three nights in a row when temperatures have dropped below zero, and the frost this morning was the heaviest yet. Today, the first day of the meteorological winter, the frost seemed perfectly timed. I layered myself up (many layers!), lifted my camera and braved the morning chill.


There have been times in my life when my eyes haven’t been fully opened to the beauty of nature that is all around us. The stresses of bringing up a family, running a home and a business, took top priority for many years and too often there was little time to appreciate the life that’s just beyond your own door. Sometimes it takes someone or something to give you a little jolt and open your eyes. In my case, that jolt came from one of my children.


“It’s an absolutely sparkling day!”
Claire, age six
I called to her to stay close, and she stopped skipping, thew out her arms and called out,
“Mummy! It’s an absolutely sparkling day!”
For the first time that morning, I lifted my head and looked. She was right. Everything was sparkling. Not just the frost beneath our feet – the bare branches of the trees were coated in frost and had little icicles hanging from them, and as the sun touched them – they sparkled. Trees, shrubs, and long grasses glistened all around us. We were in a little winter wonderland.
I would have missed that beautiful moment. She taught me to look. I’ve been looking ever since.
Wherever you are, enjoy your garden…I hope you too find some winter sparkle.