The trees have lost their clothes

'tis the end of another week which seems to have ended in a blur of action as usual. Time seems to be accelerating - it's already almost the middle of November and if I don't watch out, I will be in in danger of colliding with Christmas.
The last of the leaves are being torn from the trees, and nature is starting to batten down the hatches for winter. The same thing is happening at work - we know there are a few rough years ahead, and we have shrunk the business to match the conditions that we all have been expecting since April. On the radio today, the chairman of JCB was talking of experiencing sales down by 65%. This is the order of numbers that the construction industry knows well at the moment. The latest growth forecasts of minus 2% next year are way off the mark -brrrrrr

You may be able to see the face of the spirit of the woods in this pic - but you'll have to look hard - in the foreground leaves...