November?

Sunny Sunday! A high of 66 degrees. I wore capri pants and went barefoot outside. The windows were open wide and fresh air breezed through the house. It was lovely. These are all pretty standard components for a pleasant day. The remarkable thing is that we are a full week into November, so at least for me, it was appreciated all the more. Winter will show up with a vengeance all too soon. And hang around long past the point when the novelty of snow and cold has completely worn off. I happen to like winter. Maybe because I'm half Norwegian. Maybe because I figure if I'm in the deep freeze a few months out of the year I'll stay fresher, age a little more slowly...that and a slavish devotion to sunscreen might fool Mother Nature for a while. It would be difficult for me to live where the full change of the seasons isn't experienced. I enjoy the cycle of birth/death/rebirth in the trees and other vegetation, the signs of change with the migration of birds, the shortening then lengthening of daylight hours. I could do without shoveling snow and mosquitoes quite happily, as well as the sub-zero temperatures in the winter, the humidity in the summer. These pleasant late fall days are a gift. And I'll take as many as I can get.