November in Vermont

Below are excerpts from Ellen’s journal. She has kept her Walden Hill Journal going since we moved from Illinois. We hope you enjoy reading them for a vicarious experience of Vermont.

Nov. 3, 2005 November has begun much more “user friendly” than the majority of October was. A touch of Indian Summer gave us the needed couple of dry days to finally get our wood in. Dahlias are safely out of the ground, our yearly compost bin emptied onto the garden, ate our final bit of chard tonight and harvested our first kale for some very spicy chorizo sausage soup. I’ve cut back some of the perennial beds and Jeff has pruned some of the bushes. The porch swing is stowed away in the bulkhead and our car is wearing its winter tires. It’s certainly late in the season to be doing these chores but as per usual, weather dictates in Vermont.

Nov. 6, 2005 The sun has found a hole in the clouds and is beaming down a moving ray of light that sweeps across the bare valley. So far, November is providing us with the mild, dry weather we missed in October. Although it feels and looks more like mid-October, we’re reminded that it is indeed November by the 4:00 sunsets and sound of hunters in the woods. Temperatures in the 50’s and even 60’s in St. Jay have given us time to continue finishing our fall chores. The majority of the flower beds are cut back and kindling in various sizes is brought in with the wood. I still need to cut back the asparagus stalks but will wait for them to lose their green. Jeff dug out the grass by the garage door and placed stones there to help drainage and keep the door frame from rotting. Without our massive woodpile on the the drive, we now have a clear view of the field, especially when driving in at night. Eye shine and leaping deer greeted us on our return from the first concert on the classical music series. It was an inspiring performance by the Wihan String Quartet.

Nov. 7, 2005 I took a pre-lunch walk along Kittredge Road or should I call it boulevard now that the town has widened it for drainage and snow plowing. The brisk chilly wind sure felt like November but the sound of gushing streams is more like spring. All the culverts are staked out and seem to be functioning well, keeping the water running under the road instead of over and washing it out. Colder days are moving in, so I spent the afternoon cutting back the still green asparagus, adding some wood ash and topping the bed with composted grass clippings. Jeff dug and replanted one of the small cedar trees we’ve been nursing for several years. It’s grown quite nicely and is now helping to fill in where another cedar had died. Our tiny oak “tree” has deep red leaves hanging on. There is a clump of seven or so. Each winter it survives is a reason for celebration.

Nov. 11, 2005 22° this morning with the hazy sun filtering through gently falling snow. There’s about an inch covering the ground. Fortunately this time it’s a real snow with swirling flakes, not the heavy wet globby 10 inches that surprised us in October. This is a mesmerizing snow, varying from snow showers to flurries, with globe-shaker snow in between. Floating, swirling and drifting, the snowfall varies in intensity and speed, constantly changing at the will of the wind. Deer hunting season begins this weekend. The light snow blanket will give the hunters some trekking advantage and help soften their footsteps as well. We’ll use caution outdoors, donning our blaze orange jackets and hats.

Nov. 13, 2005 Three evening grosbeaks in their elegant formal attire, have dressed up for a sunday morning visit to the bird feeder. Some snow remains on the ground as do four robins who have not yet headed south. It’s still a mixture of confusing signals as far as the seasons go. Today however is the Danville Town Band’s annual harvest concert which marks the end of the 2005 season for the band and a beginning of holiday festivities. With Jeff’s Burlington concert next weekend and Thanksgiving just afterwards, we’re definitely feeling that November has not only arrived but is quickly moving towards December and all the usual holiday happenings.

Nov. 18, 2005 After a day of heavy rain and near record-breaking high temps, we’re back to winter. A fresh, fluffy couple inches of snow, covers the ground with light, flurries drifting in the filtered sunlight. Blue jays, chickadees, muted goldfinches and the occasional nuthatches are busy at the feeder. I had cut down the sunflowers and left their large heads lying underneath the feeder pole. The birds seemed to have done a thorough job of removing all those seeds. I’ve also rehung the suet basket and hope that the woodpeckers will go for the suet and not go crazy pecking on the more delicate shad branches nearby. We’ll keep a vigilant look out and remove the suet if it just attracts trouble.

Nov. 20, 2005 I just caught a brief binocular view of a pileated woodpecker working his way around the old maple tree down by the brook. There are ample, large, rectangular holes in several trees just across from us on Walden Hill Road but seeing the perpetrator has been a rare occurrence. The large size of the bird, its clinging landing and pointed bright red head, make the pileated easy to identify, even from a great distance. I’ll have to be more vigilant and hope for a closer and more lengthy siting.

Nov. 24, 2005 Snow yesterday and more today perfectly sets the scene for a Vermont Thanksgiving. Unfortunately snow is still falling which will make traveling a bit cautious, but we’ll go slowly and enjoy the wintry feeling as we head “Over the River and Through the Woods” to our Tampico, 3-family feast. The spicy aroma of pumpkin pie fills our house. It’s Jeff’s mom’s “heirloom” recipe and is part of our addition to the dinner. We saw single-digit temps on the thermometer last night as the skies cleared and a cold front moved through.

Nov. 26, 2005 A reluctant sun is bringing out the sparkle in the snow. Glitter on fresh white is a beautiful sight to brighten up dreary November. The holiday shopping season got underway yesterday with a busy workday for us at the Artisan’s Guild. Our 6:30 ride home was dominated by a very bright Venus, picking up some orange at the western horizon. Faint wisps of Northern lights flowed up from the ground like curling, pulsating, smoke as we headed up Walden Hill. Warmed-up Thanksgiving leftovers put the perfect cap on a full day.

Nov. 29, 2005 It looks like the deer have visited us sometime last night or early this morning. Several very neat, single line tracks lead across the field to the garden which is trampled and churned as the deer dug the remaining bits of kale and chard. The lawn nearby got a similar treatment of digging to uncover the grass. They must have spent quite some time grazing and churning before continuing in another neat, single-line track into the woods. I made my own trail into the woods to empty the kitty litter and found myself in a magical winter wonderland. The trees hung heavy with fresh snow. No breeze had disturbed mother nature’s masterpiece. Even though I wore my blaze orange, I didn’t dally long. It’s the last day of deer season and hunters will be intent on making the most of their final few hours. Snow will make tracking easy but the amount of snow makes it slow-going and quite a workout in the woods.

Nov. 30, 2005 Record high temps, rain and very strong wind have erased our Thanksgiving snow and brought on a mini mud season. We’re seeing temperatures in the 50’s with Burlington topping out in the 60’s. A cold front is rapidly moving in and promises to place December well back into winter. Meanwhile November is ending on an overcast dreary note, living up to its shady reputation.