It is also pleasing that almost every leaf is now off the mulberry tree, so once they dry out I will be able to get them all raked up at once. Raking mulberry leaves is usually stretched out over more than a month, so this is a bonus. The weekend is supposed to be dry and at least partly sunny, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to do the raking on Monday and fill both wheelie bins for pickup on Tuesday, and I'll be done with mulberry leaves until next year. When the handful remaining on the tree fall they'll just be decorative, so I probably won't bother raking them. They'll get pulverized the first time the lawn is mowed next year and go out with the grass clippings.
Right now the world is not only a bit foggy, but very wet. The street glistens even in the dim light of dusk, the accumulation of fallen pine needles along the road verge is a deep, reddish gold, and the bare twigs of the trees are strung with bright drops of water. The birds who were pecking at the ground a short time ago have all gone to bed. A slight breeze is stirring the tops of the pine trees and fluttering the few mulberry leaves remaining on the tree, but everything else is still. Again today I got no nap, so the placidity is making me drowsy, but I've got the kettle heating up for tea and once I've had a cup I just might make it to midnight before dropping off.
With luck, the sun will be out for a while tomorrow, though it isn't going to get very warm here— the winter solstice is Sunday, so there's no surprise in that. I'm looking forward to the days growing longer again. Even though the coldest months are still ahead, the growing light should cheer me up. Then, if the winter is not too harsh, there should be camellias blooming in a little over two months. Something else to look forward to. But right now I'm just concentrating on dinner. I think I forgot to eat lunch again.