Monday morning’s heavy frost, when first hit by the rising sun, looked like diamonds in the field near my house. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Reality soon struck as I had to bust ice for the animals and could not get the hose to work.

It soon warmed and my truck turned into a closet at the job site as I shed layers during the day.

The entrance to the Indian Hill medical center across from the West Tisbury fire station is sporting a perfect winterberry. I experienced a pang of jealousy since my own has been stripped of every berry by marauding birds.

Ilex verticillata is a rather non-descript deciduous shrub most of the year but it really steals the spotlight right now. Of course, it’s wonderful with holiday greens.

My main social event these days is a daily trip to the Vineyard Haven post office. They have finally removed the annoying speed bumps. I wonder if speeding is a problem in parking lots?

Also, I have noticed an inordinate number of crows overhead in the Five Corners area of late. I should ask my next-door neighbor on the column page, Robert Culbert of Bird News, if he knows why!

A group of the birds is called a murder of crows. Wonder who came up with that?

Backing up slightly to social events. I attended a going away party for Mike and Kerry Saunier of Heather Gardens. It took place in one of the large greenhouses at the garden center and was well-attended.

It was great to see fellow gardeners out after dark. Rose from The Larder provided some wonderful food. We will all miss Mike and Kerry, who are moving on to greener pastures.

I left the sugar maple leaves on the perennial beds under the tree. The leaves are so pretty and will break down over the winter to nourish the plants. Hopefully, the bulbs will push up through when their time comes.

A word to the wise. As you are preparing for some end of season pruning, especially of hydrangeas, be sure to grab the safety glasses. A warning from mothers everywhere: you could lose an eye.

Towns are all displaying their holiday finest. The blow-up Santas and Frosties crack me up. They wave around in the wind and then during the day turn into plastic puddles. We are lucky to string one set of colored lights on an evergreen shrub near the kitchen.

Inside, I’m happy to have my childhood nativity set. The manger is, sadly, held together by decades-old Scotch tape.

To pivot back to today’s world seems out of place but I cannot help myself.

I do not do any social media but have been curious abou the Elon Musk situation with Twitter. Like the former president, he got big bucks from Daddy, considers himself a genius and makes poor business decisions. I will never wrap my head around the $44 billion price tag for the online (how did he put it?) town square.

P.T. Barnum had it right. A sucker born every minute.