Winter is definitely on its way now. The weather's turned cold – the magnolia and fig tree have now been wrapped up in hessian in case of frost – and it's getting dark from about half 4.

On the other hand, the winter-flowering crocuses M planted last month have been and gone already. He's going to get more planters for the other bulbs, the ones which haven't been eaten by the squirrels, and have another go. Hopefully the squirrels will leave them alone if they're in a planter.

We're pleased with the magnolia and fig, the magnolia especially. We were concerned it wouldn't survive the shock of being uprooted and replanted. The leaves all turned brown and dropped off, but it seems to be budding again. Now it just needs to survive the winter, and it survived last winter's snow without a blanket.

The squirrels are getting better at sharing the fat balls and seeds with the birds, though the two we started with seem to have invited their friends around and now we have five squirrels. The nuthatches haven't been about much recently, though. It's mostly the robin and tits, with the pigeons on the ground for the fallen seeds.

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