Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Unexpected in November

About a week ago, the weather was as gloomy as could be expected: damp and dreary, grey and lowering, chilly and too-early dark. I even composed a sad little poem to express my feelings about the time of year:
Grey Area
Between the sparkle of October
and the glorious white of winter
falls November
Can you hear the thud? November. That's how it felt. All I needed was a suitably bleak photo to illustrate the mood before I shared this chilly effusion with you, my dear readers.

But then the weather changed. Temperatures plummeted. The air began to sparkle like crystal and smelled divinely crisp. A freezing wind came shrilling out of the northwest, and it snowed. And snowed a bit more. The mercury dropped further, and suddenly it was no longer November, but deep winter. People walked around in a state of shock, looking pinched and shivery. The Christmas decorations in the stores began to make sense.

Here are a few photos taken on Monday morning. (I would have loved to take more, but it was 11º F, with winds gusting to 25 mph, and wind chills below zero. A mite nippy for bare fingers on the camera.)

The clouds were breaking as I passed the church on the corner:


A cat had braved the cold before me, and left a long trail of pawprints through the park. (There were plenty of squirrel prints and rabbit tracks too - but luckily no signs of a scuffle.)


The wind off the lake was icily punishing. After facing it for a mile, I was glad to turn around and head back towards the south, where clouds were again gathering over the sun:


An oak leaf lay in the snow at my feet, wondering what it had done to deserve this fate:


One last photo of snow on a railing...


...then it was home, home, as fast as my feet could carry me.

Brrr!

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How's your weather? :)

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20 comments:

  1. Winter has arrivedbin Florida.

    I love the photo of the oak leaf.

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  2. Yes, this last one was a huge, gigantic, massive brrrrrrrrrr! So cold, I didn't go for any walks or rides like you did! Ha ha... I went to a warmer state instead. :)

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  3. Great images of the snowy coldness. We have the same here in Oregon. Thanks for looking at my limpet crochet.. I'm going to frog the alpaca/silk and start over with regular yarn. Wish me luck!
    ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  4. Hi Sue, I love your pictures. That church is so pretty.
    We have the grey weather your poem talks about. It's mild and wet.
    Keep warm
    Jacquie x

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  5. It seems that November is always full of surprises weather-wise. I love the white church with a very high steeple against the blue sky. Like Jacquie says above, it's mild here too and has been very wet, but the sun came out today under blue skies and it should be like this for the next few days!

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  6. You have such an interesting blog. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading your posts. All the best for your future blogging journey.

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  7. Ohhhh that looks so cold. November for us has been wet and windy. The weather forecaster today added another W. November is to be wet, windy and warm. I don't feel Christmassy at all but the shops are full of Christmas.

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  8. Hope you're a wee bit warmer now. But better than gloomy grey November landing with a thud! We have our fingers crossed for snow! Juliex

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  9. We have the cold, but crisp cold days with no snow or clouds. And I long for summer. Today I will build the first fire of the season in my wood-stove. Your pictures are outstanding.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  10. It sure looks beautiful from here. I am heading off to chilly Ohio, brrrrr
    Meredith

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  11. It is colder than usual for this time of year, but supposed to be moderating and rainy this week. I hope to pry myself out of the house to go swimming at the gym today and then hurry home to the warm to do some stitching! xx

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  12. It does look cold I'm almost shivering looking at your photo's but it looks beautiful too, keep warm, with lots of hot drinks and winter woolies :) xx

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  13. That Chapel is darling with the Christmas wreaths adorning the doors. ITs so windy and cold here in Chicago today! Brrr

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  14. About as cold as yours, but no snow. actually no accumulation but we have had snow. And more coming. I am not ready.

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  15. No snow so far. I have a blogpost prepared but it's not the weather that suits it. Have a nice week! Regula

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  16. Brrrr is right! Oh that church! The church's around here do not have that kind of charm, but they are plentiful! Thanks for sharing.

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  17. Your photos are great. I especially love the cat's pawprint, it's so perfectly formed. It was very cold here over the weekend and in the early part of the week but it's moderated a bit now. Still chilly but not frigid! It was too early for that weather around here. Hope you're keeping warm!

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  18. Love the church!
    I just sent you an email about the limpet mitts cal
    Hugs!

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  19. My goodness Sue, it does sound cold, but I wouldn't mind a bit of that at the moment.
    We've had a warm couple of days.......Been trying to rain but hasn't succeeded.
    Lovely photos, good to catch up on what's happening in your patch....xx

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  20. I wouldn't mind a little snow - it's all grey gloom here, and has been unseasonably warm - but I could certainly do without the biting winds. Do you know the expression 'It's a lazy wind'? It sounds like that's what you had ... it doesn't go around you it goes straight through!

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