Rather a damp month with only 4 days when rain wasn't measured!! We finished up with 5.08 inches making the wettest month of the year so far. It was also quite a breezy month with only one day when the maximum wind speed did not reach double figures. The maximum recorded was 22.8mph but with only 9 days when the wind did not blow from the north westerly quarter. Another high was the number of days when the barometric pressure was in the 28 inches of mercury making 10 in total which could account for the breezy month. On the last day we had our first sub freezing wind chill reading at 21F. It was still quite warm for the time of year with a maximum of 66.0F and 14 other days reaching the 60+F. We did have 3 nights when the minimum dropped into the 30sF with a low of 36.0F. We also had 11 nights when the minimum was in the 50sF!!
  I cannot remember a year with so much fruit about. From apples to haws the trees are loaded. The magpies have stripped the elderberries and the blackbirds took the damsons before they were ripe so no damsons this year. It has been the heaviest crop of hazel nuts I have ever seen. Only pears didn't seem to do much obviously they were in flower in a poor spell of weather in the spring. It is often said that a heavy crop of fruit is a sign of a hard winter. We shall have to wait and see on that one but it does show we had a good spring. I was very surprised how the crop filled out with such a dry summer. One crab apple is being propped up by the fence. The birds seem to take this very late. Perhaps it needs a frost to make it palatable. Signs of winter are with us as the fieldfares put in an appearance in mid month as did a few skeins of geese. The tits have got their new feathers for the winter and are feeding voraciously on nuts and fat. The robin is seeing off all rivals. I expect he knows which are females. The garden is looking rather tired but the grass continued to grow.

  I have picked three plants that are likely to be part of many families' decorations this Christmas and tell a little of the many many stories that are connected to them, most of which pre-date Christianity.  The common theme is one of celebrating the middle of winter, and the wild festivals that often accompanied this marking the beginning of the end of the harsh winter.
HOLLY
  The pagan Druids viewed holly - with its cheerful propensity to remain green in winter - as a sacred plant, designed to keep the earth beautiful even as north winds howled and snow blanketed the landscape. They wore sprigs of holly in their hair when they went into the forest to watch their priests cut the sacred mistletoe. The Romans, meanwhile, bequeathed the creation of holly to their god Saturn and used it in great abundance during their raucous Saturnalia festival. Centuries later, in December, while other Romans continued their pagan worship, Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus. To avoid persecution, they decked their homes with Saturnalia holly. As Christian numbers increased and their customs prevailed, holly lost its pagan association and became a symbol of Christmas.
  In West England it is said sprigs of holly around a young girl's bed on Christmas Eve are suppose to keep away mischievous little goblins. In England, British farmers may put sprigs of holly on their beehives. On the first Christmas, they believed, the bees hummed in honor of the Christ Child. Another legend about this Christmas plant says that a little orphan boy was living with the shepherds when the angels came to announce the birth of the newborn king. Having no gift for the baby, the child wove a crown of holly branches for its head. But when he lay it before Christ, he became ashamed of it's poverty and began to cry. Miraculously, Jesus touched the crown and it began to sparkle while the orphan's tears turned into beautiful scarlet berries.
  There are many other stories associated with Holly and its part in the Passion of Christ ranging from its use in the crown of thorns to providing the timber for the cross but that is for another article…….
MISTLETOE
  Mistletoe was considered sacred by virtue of its occurrence on oak trees (a rare occurrence in Europe), a sacred tree and a symbol of strength and immortality.
  The plant was ceremoniously cut with a golden sickle by Celtic priests and caught on a white cloth so as to avoid touching the ground. This ceremony coincided with the winter solstice and thus began the winter celebration.
  Mistletoe was also used to welcome the new year and to ward off evil. Mistletoe was hung over a baby's cradle to prevent theft from fairies, and it was believed that mistletoe promoted dreams that unlocked
the secrets of immortality.
  When hung in the home, mistletoe symbolized purity and strength and promoted happiness, romance and peace. In fact, custom called for enemies meeting beneath the mistletoe to throw down their weapons and embrace.
  Mistletoe also was believed to possess medicinal properties. When worn, mistletoe had the extraordinary powers of warding off demons and witches while protecting the wearer from fits, fever, tremors and poison. On top of all that, it was thought to promote fertility. Because of its association with pagan ceremonies, mistletoe was banned from Christmas ceremonies by the Church.
  It was not until the 17th century that people became more open about their fondness for mistletoe. Kissing under the mistletoe came about because of the belief that mistletoe's curative powers would cure a broken heart and soothe the differences between quarreling lovers.
IVY
  The symbolism of the ivy rests on three facts: it clings; it thrives in the shade; and it is an evergreen. Its clinging has made the ivy a symbol of the traditional, albeit now unpopular, image of the helpless female clinging to her man for protection. It also signifies true love, faithfulness, and undying affection - both in marriage and in friendship. Christian symbolists consider the ivy's need to cling to a support emblematic of frail humanity's need for divine support.
  Like other evergreens, the ivy symbolizes eternal life and resurrection. It has been associated with the Egyptian god, Osiris, and the Greco-Roman god, Attis; both of whom were resurrected from the dead. Medieval Christians, noticing that ivy thrived on dead trees used it to symbolize the immortal soul which lived even though the body (represented by the dead tree) decayed.
  Because it thrives in the shade, ivy represents debauchery, carousing, merrymaking, sensuality, the flourishing of hidden desires, and the enjoyment of secret or forbidden pleasures. Some even believed this plant to have demonic associations. Dionysus (a.k.a. Bacchus) the Greco-Roman god of wine, satyrs, and Sileni are often wreathed in ivy. Crowns of ivy were believed to prevent intoxication and thought to aid inspirational thinking. Therefore, the Greeks crowned their poets with wreaths of this plant.