Stiff and achy? Keep moving.

I particularly like the autumn with its warm days and cooler nights. It seems to me the earth is settling down after the growing season, putting itself to bed under a blanket of leaves. The change in the smells in the air; the warm damp ground offering up something sweet after the tractors have harvested. Wood smoke from pruning apple and briars and dry leaves ahead of the earth cooling as the sun starts to dip below the horizon earlier in the day.

There is a change in us too. Those of us interested in the garden prep for winter, shutting down beds, giving the lawn a final cut, then doing it again because it keeps growing. Pruning and harvesting our own crops of fruit and veg, leaving the leeks for later in the year. Then there is the constant noise of acorns dropping onto the roof. The knowledge that the garden will need more than one darn good rake once the leaves really do begin to fall. Once the gardening activity, present since the early spring, eases up to a halt, we can take a well-earned rest.

A bit of advice at this point might help you through the winter; DON’T STOP! In our experience slowing to a stop and putting your feet up throughout the winter creates weakening of the legs and back and makes you stiff. If you can take up an activity or sport you are less likely to hurt your back. Try a class; Pilates, yoga, circuit training, gym or go out for a decent walk a few times a week. It will help to keep you supple, mobile and strong reducing the chance of stiff, achy joints or a bad back. If you do get a bad back or stiff achy joints you might find talking to us useful