At 230 days the countdown to Christmas has begun, that is what this image said to me today. I walk past this holly shrub most days on my way into and out from work. Today I noticed there are both flowers on it, as I'd expect at this time of year, but also some remnant berries (technically called drupes and confirms it is a female holly) from the annual reproduction cycle nature adheres to. Of course it seems strange to be thinking about Christmas in early May but in nature terms this is the season of bounty and reproduction and the point in the cycle when as we sit down after our holly berried post Christmas turkey to watch the Queen's speech the berries we gaze upon are being created. It follows a link to the interconnectedness of all life - we love holly with berries at Christmas but without male holly trees nearby, plus the pollinators such as bees which in May assisted in the fertilisation of these flowers, the berries would not ripen for the Festive Season. So the message is clear, if you wish to have holly berried garlands on the 25th of December, we need to think long term and make sure we have a healthy environment crammed full with pollinators who themselves will be long dead but their dormant offspring will be waiting in the wings for next spring, and so the Wheel of Life, of which we humans are part of, revolves imperceptibly.
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