Christmas lights

It was a sunny day in Seattle yesterday-- a nice break between soakings. The lights are going up in our neighborhood.  For the first time ever, I was putting up Christmas lights while John mowed the lawn. I thought he was done for the year, but I was happy because the mower chopped up a bunch of leaves and mess I was planing to rake.  I put the mulch on top of my new compost bin, which by the way is looking gross. Hopefully the magic happens over the winter.

The mower ran out of gas right when John was finished so he didn't need to drain it, and that made him happy, too.  It probably sounds weird to mow in December, but the grass is still growing from the rain. 

I love Christmas lights, especially when other people do the work. I only decorate the arbor by the back door.  My excuse is we only have one electric outlet on the deck, but really I don't have the patience to do more, because something annoying happens every year. Yesterday all three new colored strings turned out to be defective (what do you expect for $2.99?) so I went to Bartell's for more and decided I like white better, anyway.  They worked out fine, and now we have something bright and cheerful to look at into January, if they last. 

There wasn't much to photograph in the garden, but I took my camera out anyway. It seemed like the first time in weeks that it was dry and light at the same time.  Mother Nature resting is a soothing sight, not to mention, just looking around for a change, and taking a break from being garden manager of the universe.