Yesterday was the winter solstice and I'd planned on cleaning all of my windows to welcome back the increasing daylight, but a case of wine flu put paid to that idea. Once darkness fell though I lit candles, twentyfour of them on my windowsills, kitchen table and other flat surfaces. My living areas were glowing golden, it was so pretty. I wanted to go outside and photograph the house, with the candles in the windows, but this time nature put paid to my plans - we had two huge thunderstorms a few hours apart, with torrential rain. In fact the rain was so heavy that my downpipes couldn't cope and the house gutters were overflowing, with sheets of water dropping to the ground below.

After last night's tempest it was a surprise to wake up to the bluest of blue skies. Everything in my garden looked green and glowing, freshly washed, and the bird bath was close to overflowing. I spent some time just walking around the garden, checking on favourite plants, anxiously counting the number of bulbs already coming up - I hope they're not too early, and manage to hang on for the warmer weather. So far six of the jonquils I planted are pushing through the earth, plus numerous freesias and grape hyacinths. I can't wait for spring when they're all in bloom.