"Listen to me," said the garden quietly.
"People think that winter is a time for hibernation. That is true, but not for me. I am working so hard underneath the surface. I am nourishing and nurturing new growth. The intensity of my spring season would not have escaped your notice."
"No," I smiled. "No, it certainly did not."
"So," continued the garden in the same quiet tones, "so now it is time for me to sleep. Look around you. Whilst my trees are vividly green and my grass is the same, my flowers have lost their blooms and are returning to my earth. You should come back from time to time, but that brief shining spring is over for me and I need to rest. In a few months autumn will be here and the circle and the cycles and the seasons will be completed. Go now and let me sleep."
"OK" I said and turned and walked, softly, away.
