A November Scene

The vivid yellows and oranges of October have faded into the browns and grays of November. It's the annual juxtaposition, as the year's brightest month is supplanted by its successor, November the Gray. No month is drabber. And yet, they're all beautiful in their own way, and not a one of them could be spared, not even the cold ones. Consider it. November teaches us how to part with beloved things. December and January force us to share close quarters with the ones we love. February, with its lengthening days, sends new light again into corners and crevices that had long been dark, calling us to see old things in new ways. And then there's March! March is named after Mars, the God of War, because ancient kings used to wage war in the early spring. (If you're into historic arcana, take a look at II Samuel 11:1. See, I really am a parson....) March teaches us perhaps the most valuable lesson of all: that no season lasts forever, not even the most dismal.

In November, blue skies and golden sunlight are rarer and more precious than at any other time. And the bright, hot days of mid-July are sweetest to those who know the short, dark days of late fall. Enjoy November in all its austere beauty. Here's a November scene, a beaver lodge on the Kinzua Creek between the ghost town of Tallyho and the ghost town of Guffey.