A Nod to November

I'm not going to lie. November has never been my favorite month. I just don't like the abrupt, visual change from fall to winter, from vibrant greens and golds and oranges, to dull, lifeless browns. I prefer balmy days to bitter, cold ones. I would rather walk outside when the breezes blow gently, instead of forcing myself to trudge down the sidewalk into a blustery gale.

Long shadows appear early, after Daylight Savings Time ends in November.

November is supposed to be a month of thankfulness, so I must talk myself into being grateful, even now. I look for interesting textures in the fading landscape. I relish the beautiful sunsets. I enjoy the time spent with family, when we celebrate November birthdays and Thanksgiving. I even find myself looking forward to approaching blizzards, just because the dazzling, white snow provides an excellent contrast to the normally overwhelming, brown terrain.

Celebrating November birthdays turns a dreary day into a happy one.

Even though I don't hunt, I enjoy spending time, during November's deer hunting season, with family at the ranch, up on the Pine Ridge on Nebraska's northern border. The scenery is always beautiful, brown though it is, and, of course, it is always good to see my mom and dad, sister, uncle, and cousins, who make the trek to the ranch each November.

Mom basks in the morning sun.

Laura rests on the fence,
after an early morning of hunting.

 

A normal November morning at the ranch.

 

Contrasting textures, unique dwellings (if you can call an outhouse a dwelling), and the blue-and-white sky above, add interest to an otherwise dull landscape. The evergreens add a little muted color.

These brown sunflowers, near the ranch, are ready for harvest.

The grain silos, on the western horizon as I drove home from the ranch, were dwarfed by the setting sun.

I learned, a long time ago, to find beauty in autumn weeds. Nearly every year, in early November, Mom would take us for a drive in the country to find interesting weeds, which we picked and piled up in the back of the station wagon. Back at the hotel we called home, we would carefully arrange those weeds in sand-filled, aluminum foil-wrapped, coffee cans, to make "winter bouquets." Then Mom would spray-paint the weeds gold or silver, and use them as fall centerpieces in our apartment, and even on the banquet tables in the party rooms. They were gaudy, and perhaps even a little tacky by today's standards, but they fit right in with the sixties' penchant for shiny, aluminum, Christmas trees and foil wallpaper.

 

Milkweed pods, like the one on the left, were a real treasure. This is the only one I could find at Northfield Park this month. Other, more common weeds, like those on the right, provided good contrast for our bouquets.

On a rare day when the temperature hits 60 degrees in November, I like to hike at Scotts Bluff National Monument.

The view is outstanding, even when the colors are muted.

 

The monument features the only three car tunnels in Nebraska.

Berries, like these, provide a pop of color, even in the fall and winter.

Isn't it amazing to see how God made these native grasses to have such a variety of colors and textures, even in the fall!

Yet another reason to be thankful: I don't have to travel clear across this rugged country in a covered wagon.

No matter where we go, we can be sure that God goes right along with us.
Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9

And so, another November is almost over. Thanksgiving festivities are a mere memory, reinforced by the presence of the leftovers in my refrigerator. But thankfulness, unlike turkey and pumpkin pie, should last all year long, because our God is faithful every day of every year of our lives. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

These sunny, Thanksgiving Day faces take the November doldrums away.

This sunset reminds me of Jesus, the Light of the world, who died on a cross, much like these power poles, and who still lives to provide me with all the energy I will ever need, even in November.