I have always had such a love/hate experience with November. The barrenness, the grey days, the leafless trees, the gathering chill. It used to put me in a royal funk each year. Anyone in the same boat?
But finally I am able to just see it as a moving along of time, and not just a preface to icy winter. Spring is my second favorite season, and that comes along- at least here- late March and April. So that which dies, arises again phoenix-like come warmer weather.
“You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen.”― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast
The Turning of the Leaves-
The leaves as they spark into wild color just before they die are the world’s oldest performance art, and everything we see is celebrating one last violently hued hurrah before the black and white silence of winter.”
― Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way
Oh, the love the flaming colors of late autumn. Each tree seems some work of art, painted in amazing hues. It’s tempting to take photo after photo, as if you were never to see such beauty again.
Something deep inside wells up in tearful awe at the glory of nature! And there’s a real sense of loss, an elegy sung to each tree as it denudes itself, and those last leaves fall.
But…on the other hand, the property is chock-full of trees, and so an ENORMOUS funereal pile of leaves descend everywhere…covering the driveway, in the gutters, stuck in the car…and inches thick almost immediately after blowing or raking.
So all November, you hear the sounds of yard clean-up and on the weekend it’s almost nonstop.
However…all those leaves compost eventually and meanwhile they shelter and protect all the spring bulbs and flowers.
Love? Hate? It’s a toss-up!
It’s a Bit Chilly Out-
A cold wind was blowing from the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things. George R. R. Martin
From the exhausting heat of summer, we now welcome cooler air. Time for sweaters and jackets, maybe a scarf or hat. The air conditioner is finally off for good until next year, and the heater has been tested. Snuggle weather.
But looming is the certainty that winter’s cold isn’t far behind. Snow is an exciting prospect for kids and skiers.
But the older you get the more snow becomes unwelcome- well at least for some of us. Walking can become treacherous, it takes forever to clean off your car, unseen ice on the road is threatening, falling and breaking a bone is feared.
Gone are the days when what you most waited for was news that school was closed for the day because of overnight snow. Remember the excitement? As if you had been given the biggest gift!
It is only when the cold season comes that we know the pine and cypress to be evergreens. Chinese Proverbs
Those Shoes are Made for Walkin’-
“[Walking] is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things. It is the one way of freedom. If you go to a place on anything but your own feet you are taken there too fast, and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside.”
― Elizabeth von Arnim, The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen
November is a wonderful time for morning walks. There is no sweat dampening your clothes, or a need for a water bottle. Other people are out jogging or walking, and everyone waves or speaks. It’s as if we are storing up all the sunshine and exercise that we can, knowing that winter is coming.
There’s the seasonal sound of shuffling through crisp, dry, fallen leaves that fosters child-like delight.
But the trees look so forlorn and skeletal and the landscape leans toward bleak. There’s just not the same type of natural beauty as earlier.
“But the beauty is in the walking — we are betrayed by destinations.” ― Gwyn Thomas
Dark Night Falls Quickly-
“The world rests in the night. Trees, mountains, fields, and faces are released from the prison of shape and the burden of exposure. Each thing creeps back into its own nature within the shelter of the dark. Darkness is the ancient womb. Nighttime is womb- time. Our souls come out to play. The darkness absolves everything; the struggle for identity and impression falls away. We rest in the night.” ― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
Day light saving time ends, and the evening darkness comes earlier and earlier. It’s as if the world closes in on itself, and people retreat to lighted rooms, candles and fireplaces. There’s a kind of snugness and comfort in hunkering down inside. No wonder the bears hibernate. We do too… sort of.
But when you are out and about, it feels like the whole world has gone to bed, so what are you doing wandering around so late? And then you check your watch. In August it wouldn’t even be dark yet.
Consequently, many people stay home and there is less socializing. Which- come to think of it- is probably a good things since less crowds of people means less spreading of colds and flu.
Dark nights and indoor comfort seems to bring out a pensive side- a time to ruminate over things, and think deep thoughts.
“Autumn is the time of balance and of
sacrifice, a time when the light is defeated by darkness, a time
when night takes over and brings the coming winter. The
ancient wisdom says that those who long for light must face
their inner darkness and overcome it.” ― Tony Riches, The Secret Diary of Eleanor Cobham
The Pleasure of a Warming Fire
Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. Edith Sitwell
There is nothing so welcome and inviting as a warm fire glowing in the fireplace- the smell of the wood, the heat that washes over you as you sit closer, the crackling and popping of the wood as it burns, the shooting sparks.
Of course the preparation is tedious. Acquiring the wood and stacking it. Lugging armloads inside. Setting the fire with tinder and placing the logs just so. Soon you and your clothes smell as if you just spent the week at a campground.
And then there’s all the ashes that need to be swept up.
AH..but, those ashes are great for the garden.
“The joy of the open fireplace is playing with fire without being accused of playing with fire.”
― Gene Logsdon, You Can Go Home Again: Adventures of a Contrary Life
Reading is Like Dreaming With Your Eyes Open
“I am such an autumn person. Give me a quiet, cozy spot with a simple view of gorgeous trees, with colorful leaves on a crisp fall day, fuzzy socks, a warm drink, a good book, and I will be in my glory.” Irina Yuzkova
The inside time is such a great opportunity to read, and read…and read! You can delight in reading a book all day, time out for meals. Or read a different one in different rooms of the house.
You get to journey into the past, into the lives of people you will never meet, travel around the world from a recliner and live someone else’s life for a while. You discover other cultures and traditions, learn new, interesting, and sometimes astonishing, facts. And…You don’t need special sports equipment, or clothes, or travel expenses.
Whatta deal!
However…all that sitting and not much exercise, results in winter weight gain.
Bummer!
“For as long as she could remember, she had thought that autumn air went well with books, that the two both somehow belonged with blankets, comfortable armchairs, and big cups of coffee or tea.”
― Katarina Bivald, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
Delicious Fall Foods: You Are What You Eat
Apple-tree, apple-tree, crowned with delight,
Give me your fruit for a pie if you will;—
Crusty I’ll make it, and juicy and light!—
Give me your treasure to mate with my skill!
~Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron, “September,”
Autumn foods- apples and apple cider and apple pie, candied apples, pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie. Winter squashes and root vegetables. Ginger snap cookies. Hot chocolate and mulled wine. Pecan pie. Chicken and dumplings. Homemade soups. Cinnamon, nutmeg and all-spice. Baking bread.
There is something deeply satisfying and soothing about autumn foods. They’re down-home and filling. They please the senses with colors and tempting smells. They bring with them the whiff of country and farms and old cooking skills.
And yup! It’s very easy to go overboard on such comforting food, and then add in all the holiday meals. It’s no wonder so many New Year’s resolutions are to lose weight!
Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie. ~Jim Davis
Thanksgiving Around a Laden Table
In November, people are good to each other. They carry pies to each other’s homes and talk by crackling woodstoves, sipping mellow cider. They travel very far on a special November day just to share a meal with one another and to give thanks for their many blessings – for the food on their tables and the babies in their arms.”
― Cynthia Rylant, In November
The coming of Thanksgiving is a welcome event. No cards to send, no gifts to buy. Out come the recipe cards and books, and a sumptuous meal is planned. Family and friends are coming, so the table is set beautifully, and extra chairs are crowded around the table.
Is there anything more mouth-watering than the smells of turkey roasting, stuffing being prepared, and all the simmering pots on the stove?
Then, with a flurry and much hugging and laughter, the guests arrive, each carrying some side-dish or dessert.
And when we all sit down at table, and look around, we realize how grateful and thankful we are for all our blessings- even for grumpy grandpa, or non-stop talking aunt.
It’s one time we spend some time eating and talking and just being happy to be together.
Finally, the dreaded finale’- clean-up! So many pots and pans and dishes and glasses, but sleeves are rolled up, and everyone pitches in. Sooner than thought, everything is washed and packed away.
Then, the next day, there’s nothing better than a turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sandwich!
But…for the next week or so there’s also turkey soup, turkey salad, turkey tetrazzini, turkey pot-pie, turkey a la king, and lots of left overs as well.
“May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey plump,
may your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious, and your pies take the prize,
and may your Thanksgiving dinner, stay off your thighs!”— Unknown
Looking for the Perfect Gift
“Probably the reason we all go so haywire at Christmas time with the endless unrestrained and often silly buying of gifts is that we don’t quite know how to put our love into words.” – Harlan Miller, writer
Can you believe it? Christmas -or Chanukah, or whatever holy day you celebrate in winter – is racing toward us. Time to start trying to find just the right gift for special people. The idea is fun- the actual trying to find that gift is something else altogether.
Just to put it out there…I Hate Black Friday, that monstrous shopping the day after Thanksgiving! Pushing and shoving crowds, impossible traffic, no parking spaces. It’s the worst day ever to shop.
I prefer to sit in front of my computer, and order on-line. Besides, I have to mail almost all my gifts, and it’s easier to let the store do that. Or, I send books, because when you’re sending gifts to a family of five people, and they live across the country, regular mailing rates are astronomical, but books go media rate.
After all these years, the wrapping of so many gifts has become boring to the nth! So you come up with some crafty, lazy solutions – or swaddle the gift in tissue paper and stuff it in a mailing box.
“Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.” – Oren Arnold
Dying to Live
The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let the dead things go. Maya Angelou
With nature all around us withering and decaying and dying off, it’s hard not to be caught up in the sense of departure, endings and change. It awakens sadness, nostalgia and memories of times past.
Those of ancient times feared the change of seasons. What if the dying off never stopped? What if spring and growth and vegetation never returned? And so they created myths to deal with their apprehensions.
We today still feel a sense of our own mortality, and nature’s autumnal dying resonates and plucks at all those primal fears.
“Time remorselessly rambles down the corridors and streets of our lives. but it is not until autumn that most of us become aware that our tickets are stamped with a terminal destination.” ― Joe L. Wheeler
So, November, before we launch into all the festivities to come, is a good time to consider our lives. To reevaluate where we’ve been and where we are going. It’s a time to let go of the things that no longer serve us, the things that are weighing us down. Only by daring to let go, can we dare to re-enter, said Meister Eckhart.
Spring is on the other side of winter. We need to remember that when faced with endings and interruptions and disappointments in life.
The phoenix, hope, can wing her way through the desert skies, and still defying fortune’s spite; revive from ashes and rise. – Miguel de Cervantes
Seems to me that it is not a bad thing to have conflicting emotions about something. The good and the bad are part of the same package. Some days you’re up, and some days not so up. So hurrah for November… unless it’s a boo-hiss type of day!
November- I Salute You!
“Autumn. It’s crispness, it’s anticipation, it’s melancholia, it’s cool breezes replacing summer’s heat. It’s long days in the field, a harvest festival when work’s done, a cheering crowd in a football stadium, chrysanthemums punctuating a somber landscape… It’s the first curls of wood-smoke, fresh blisters from pushing a rake. It’s crisp and fresh and mellow and snug, solemn and melancholy. And it’s very, very welcome.”
― Good Housekeeping Magazine
