Saying Hello To November

I am a little sad to say goodbye to October but here I am

Saying Hello to November

— and what a beautiful way to usher in this turning the corner towards winter month. We are expecting a high temperature of almost 70 degrees today. The sky is a cloudless bright blue right now. And I am giving thanks for another beautiful day during a time of year that is often not nearly so pleasant.

November is typically the cloudiest month of the year in Minnesota with an average of 5 clear days during the month. I am hoping that this November we will see a bit more sun than that. Looking at the long-range forecast it looks like we will be seeing cloudy days soon.

We really need rain! The pond behind our house is at the lowest level I’ve seen it since we moved here. And Medicine Lake is also lower than I’ve ever seen it. I hope that the coming clouds bring much needed rain (not too much, just enough) later this week.

Taking a Break

This past week I’ve been taking walks in the neighborhood without my camera so the only new photographs I have today are those I made through our living room window looking out at the backyard. With most of the leaves on the ground and mother nature’s more monochromatic pallette I struggle to find the beauty that I know exists all around me. So I have a hard time getting enthusiastic about making photographs this time of year.

Lines Written in the Days of Growing Darkness

Every year we have been
witness to it: how the
world descends

into a rich mash, in order that
it may resume.
And therefore
who would cry out

to the petals on the ground
to stay,
knowing as we must,
how the vivacity of what was is married

to the vitality of what will be?
I don’t say
it’s easy, but
what else will do
if the love one claims to have for the world
be true?

   — Mary Oliver

Still, as Mary Oliver says, “who would cry out” at the turning of the seasons when the turning comes every fall. November arrives. Cloudy colder days are harbingers of winter ahead. But the cold snowy season of winter happens every year here in Minnesota.

Though I have been celebrating the beautiful warm sunny fall we’ve been having, another part of me is aware that this is probably a sign of climate change. We see its effects all over the world with floods, drought, hurricanes, melting glaciers, and sea level rise.

Each day I give thanks for the many blessings in my life that so many others do not have. I often wonder, “How did I get so lucky — to be born here, to live in this part of the world, at this time?” And I have no answers. So I do the little things I can to hopefully make a positive difference and I practice gratitude, every single day.

Wishing you a beautiful hopefully not too cloudy November and just the right amount of rain.

May you walk in beauty.