Inside only

I've been an armchair gardener for the past week, only venturing to the allotment once for a brief chicken visit (the husband does the majority of the chicken chores now that he works from home full time).   They're nearly all in some state of molt:  whether beginning, middle or end, and have pretty much finished laying eggs, probably till January now.

I haven't even gone in my own kitchen garden at home, not even to check on things--though I can see it all pretty much from my patio door and it hasn't changed much.

This time of year I almost always lose the will to garden any more.  Lack of light (it's dark by 4 pm), work schedules, child wrangling, rain, frost, any and all excuses will be offered.  I just need a break from it!

That said, we've had a few light frosts but nothing sharp yet--enough to need to scrape off the car in the morning (north-facing, shaded), but not enough to kill the nasturtiums out back (south-facing, sheltered).  Even the allotment nasturtiums were still alive when I visited them a few days ago, in a much more exposed spot.  

And really, nothing much is happening out there, or really needs to be done.  I'll find time for some sheet mulch, hopefully at home too where the grass and weeds are starting to encroach.  But that's really about it for this year.  Time for reviewing the past year and eating the harvest.