by Curt Kovener
We now find ourselves in the eleventh month of a year many of us wish would hurry and get over so we can (optimistically) look forward to a new and improved 2021. But to soothe our souls, contemplate on the observations of others about the month we have just begun.
•How sad would be November if we had no knowledge of the spring.
•In November, the smell of food is different. It is an orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell. It tastes like cinnamon and can fill up a house in the morning, can pull everyone from bed in a fog. Food is better in November than any other time of the year.
•Spring is brown; summer, green; autumn, yellow; winter, white; November, gray.
•In November, the earth is growing quiet. It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures. The bed is brown and dark and silent, and much life can hide beneath its blankets.
•Not winter, not fall—November
•Dull November brings the blast, then the leaves are whirling fast.
•November is the month to remind us to be thankful for the many positive things happening in our life.
•In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones. Without their leaves, how lovely they are, spreading their arms like dancers. They know it is time to be still.
•November is chill, frosted mornings with a silver sun rising behind the trees, red cardinals at the feeders, and squirrels running scallops amongst the fallen leaves.
•I have come to regard November as the older, harder man’s October. I appreciate the early darkness and cooler temperatures. It puts my mind in a different place than October. It is a month for a quieter, slightly more subdued celebration of summer’s death as winter tightens its grip.
•In November you begin to know how long the winter will be.
•October is the month for painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky; November the later twilight.
•No sun – no moon! No morn – no noon! No comfortable feel in any member! No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees! No fruits, no flowers, no leaves! November!