In from the cold.

It has taken a long time to turn cold here and real frosts have only just begun.

My pretty little acer tree has been flaming for weeks in the drizzle, but the real winter has extinguished it at last. I picked up the final fallen leaf from the ground like a still glowing ember.

The dahlias and gladioli are safely dug up and stored in the basement and the scented geraniums are bulging on the spare room window sill.

When cleaning between the pots, I spotted some tell tale black frass on the window sill. The tiny black spheres were the frass of a caterpillar that has smuggled its way into the warm of the house.

We managed to find it, well camouflaged amongst the munched green leaves and I am hoping it may grow into a hawk moth caterpillar of some description. Hawk moths caterpillars have wonderful markings and spikes on their tails. The adult moth could be a thing of astonishing beauty: a humming bird, eyed, or even an elephant’s head hawk moth; but dreams of gorgeously patterned moth wings are still months away.

Until then I have to wait with the lucky caterpillar, in the warm back room, for the seasons to slowly change.

Eyed Hawk moth

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