Friday, November 11, 2011

november


It was November―the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines. Anne roamed through the pineland alleys in the park and, as she said, let that great sweeping wind blow the fogs out of her soul. 
 L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables


I know; I know.  I'm forever singing the praises of autumn and winter. Not only do I gravitate toward a neutral palette of grays, I happen to thrive on plenty of cool, fresh air.  Maybe it has something to do with being a Libra, the cardinal air sign of the zodiac, but just like Anne of Green Gables, I must embrace that great sweeping wind.  It certainly does blow the darkness out of my soul, chase the black dog from my doorstep. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off for a fast November drive in the Rover with the windows down, wind-fingers in my hair...


image: November view from the french doors at Willow Manor

49 comments:

  1. Very strange here on Long Island... looks like November out the window, but feels like September when you walk out the door! Warm, rainy, and rusted.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're in Long Island, Marcheline? My daughter lives in Manhattan...funny how it's often warmer there than the Midwest...

    ReplyDelete
  3. We share the same birth month you and I although my sign being Scorpion not Libra.
    I too feel at my most comfortable in the grey skies, and bare bones of this season, the time I return to my nesting place.
    Such a lovely view from your window......
    ~Jo

    ReplyDelete
  4. You certainly know what is beautiful Tess....love the photo!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful. And I love the quote, too. I'll have to revisit the book!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Just returned from a nice windy November bike ride thrugh the scratching leaves! My hair is in disarray, but my brain is fresh! Lovely post thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm Libra too but I still dont't like this dismal dark ominous time of year. Loved Anne of Green Gables though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This Libra feels the same about winter but our winter here in Phoenix is quite different than yours. After hiding from the heat all summer, I feel so free out in the cool crisp air.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I hide from the summer heat, too, Jeanette...I feel liberated in the fall...

    ReplyDelete
  10. A wonderful view and great words. Love this time of the year too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. your november view is beautiful. although i like the heat, i am keeping my thermostat low this year to save money and find when i turn it up a bit i feel stuffy.

    ReplyDelete
  12. beautiful pic and nice quote Miss Tess!

    JJRod'z

    ReplyDelete
  13. You know my feelings on the subject :) But I have been enjoying the crispness of the air and the beautiful skies lately.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh I could live in your world in this season. Fabulous photo and I love the quote ...I love Anne ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. This afternoon, we walked out into November, until it was way over our heads.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ah! a girl after my own heart! Riding horses in the cool crisp air does it for me.

    ReplyDelete
  17. November suits my mood this year. You know, I do -- utterly -- associated autumn and winter with you.

    ReplyDelete
  18. don't mind these chilly fall days, but the deep freeze of winter is not my idea of fun. Already thinking of spring. I like your view mucho much

    ReplyDelete
  19. I am an Aries but I share your feelings for autumn and winter.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I am an Aries but I share your feelings for autumn and winter.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
    Think not of them, thou hast thy music too ...

    John Keats, To Autumn

    ReplyDelete
  22. R.A.D., the music of autumn is written in B-flat minor...rich and dark and lovely...

    ReplyDelete
  23. We are having an uncharacteristically beautiful November. After snow, the leaves decided to turn colors, and the days have been gloriously sunny & warm-ish. But the Novemberiness is coming; I can hear it cracking...

    Glorious photo from your window!

    ReplyDelete
  24. How bizarre Tess ... I recently wrote a song in B-flat minor ... Willow Manor continues to weave its magic spell over all of us I guess ...

    ReplyDelete
  25. R.A.D., Willow Manor has a way of doing that...

    ReplyDelete
  26. omg

    'she considers' on the sidebar is amazing.

    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  27. "It's so easy to be wicked without knowing it, isn't it?"
    - Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Umm....
    A fast November drive is the start of an intriguing story or poem!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. That photo is marvelous, as always.

    ReplyDelete
  30. We were recently on a drive in Lucy Maud's old village of Norval, and it certainly is Novembery here in Canada. The winds are continually whipping up and swirling the fallen leaves, and the grey skies are ominously snow laden. Won't be long.

    ReplyDelete
  31. This year I'm enjoying it too. So far our temperatures have been OK, it's only rained briefly, and no frost. However, when all that changes I shall put my 'grumpy-old-man' face on, and moan for the next few months.

    ReplyDelete
  32. As a child born in December, I do not like old man winter. Must be I was born in the year of the rabbit (a fire rabbit I think) which must not get along with Saggitarius, or something of some sort. Or maybe, perhaps,the numbers clash...

    ReplyDelete
  33. I knew we had more in common than just fabulousness! I too am a Libran (Sep 24th) and I adore this time of year. Spring people freak me out. I am drawn to a layered, foggy dawn. Oh those subtle greys and golds. Heaven!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anne of Green Gables!.. one of my all time favorite tv miniseries...
    have a great weekend dear neice! :)

    ReplyDelete
  35. Lord T. I loved that series too. I watched it in French. The girl who played Anne was SO ERNEST; wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  36. That photograph and that wonderful quotation from Anne of Green Gables, my favourite book - what more could I want on this dull November day!

    ReplyDelete
  37. I like winter a lot. I think it's because it allows me to stay inside without feeling guilty. I have never been much of an outdoors girl. Wet, cold, hot, bugs, sand in my pants, etc. has never been my cup of tea. I do like to take pretty pictures of Mother Nature, though. Aim, focus, snap and then I am back inside where I belong.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I completely understand your love affair with autumn, November in particular. I'm a November baby (Scorpio)and it's my favorite month. I always take a couple of vacation days around my birthday so I can savour the season. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Lovely.....lovely....but don't forget we *October Scorpios* also have an affinity for grey skies, woolie socks AND mashed potatoes!

    This year, though, perhaps we in SF have had MONTHS of greyness from May - October...makes me not quite ready for November's rain...(just falling today)...it has been a glorious October - birthday, visiting friends, lovely Opera...ah, I could use another month of it... oh well...time to put on my woolie socks (lilac and grey tweed - of course) and begin the Winter revelries!!!!

    Love,

    ♥ Robin ♥

    p.s. Thought of you this week , when I met another gorgeous Baritone - Lucas Meachem! Hmmmm.perhaps I will invite him to next year's *Willow Ball*... he would LOVE to attend - in person! A-ha-ha!

    Love,

    ♥ Robin ♥

    ReplyDelete
  40. Summer is fun and frivolous and all that but I feel much more alive in autumn and winter too...

    Anne is a family favorite here...I grew up with her and made sure my girls did too:)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Hi Tess, thanks for visiting the Mt. Woman blog and leaving your lovely comment. I did this one while in bed with a bad cold. Magpie gives me respite, so thank you for that!

    ReplyDelete
  42. And yes, November is my birth month, but I'm a Sag. Love the month, love autumn

    ReplyDelete
  43. Love the lacy filigree of those tree branches in silhouette here! Is this at your place, Tess? Our leaves are still on our trees here in NC. I'm enjoying seeing SOME fall color at home this weekend. Soon, they'll look like your beautiful, powerful tree...

    ReplyDelete
  44. lovely blog :3

    ReplyDelete
  45. You need a bit of a vista to appreciate the onset of autumn/winter. It's all very beautiful from our bedroom and sitting room window with thick mist lying low over the fields and the colour bleached from everything. But two steps outside and that mist enters the very marrow. A time to watch it all from within!

    ReplyDelete

Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)