Thank you for braving the elements, Ian, to bring us a wintry log this week. You are right that gardens can be just as interesting even in this weather. Lovely images of the redwing too.
We also have lots of conifers in the garden. We save ourselves a fortune by cropping them for Christmas. This year's is (I think) a Leylandii that we have already chopped the top of once before. They smell great and don't drop needles

Best wishes to you and Maggi for Christmas and 2010.