December? Really?

It's December on the calendar and the leaves have finally fallen. (Remember this post about being done raking? Yeah, that was overly optimistic...we had to rake/mow/mulch twice more after that. But now it's really truly done for the year.) You'd never know from the temperatures though. Even though there has been an occasional frosty morning, days have climbed into the 50s. All those new bulbs have been tricked into thinking it's spring!!!

Even our established camellias, which I think should really know better by now, are sporting tiny buds.

I wish I could warn these little guys to stay in hiding for a few more months! Do you think that this will mess things up come spring by killing them off too soon?

Despite the warmth, it's getting to be that time of year again where I go crazy and decorate everything. If you're a very loyal reader, you may remember that last year, we put lights up outside by tossing them haphazardly in the wild shrubbery.

But that shrubbery is now history, thanks to our new landscaping. So I went a little crazy and decided to outline the house. Thankfully, even though D thinks I've gone totally holiday-bonkers, he agreed to help, since this was a two-man operation.

I'm hoping the little lights stay up until January and don't do any damage. We slid them under the slates, which is where the gutter guards fit in. They seem pretty secure and don't seem to be putting any pressure on the slates. Let's all keep our collective fingers crossed!

Wait, no "after" pictures?

Nope, not yet. That's something I'm saving for my Christmas montage post. Stay tuned!