Monday, November 2, 2009


Welcome November

Scarlet leaves are falling on the once green grass, a strand of perfect rubies broken and loosened by time, they tumble down one after the other, holding veined hands with the wind. They shall rest on the dappled floor of the garden, to fade into nothingness, turn into memory, leaving behind sweet bits of their spirits to nourish the green that will bloom in their wake.
We turned all the clocks back late last night, once again granting the darkness greater dominion over all the long hours that make up our day.
November is unpacking his cases and settling in.
And so begins the conclusion of the year.

So often the poet writes about death when he considers the month of November. William Morris spoke of this month as the “
Bright sign of loneliness too great for me, Strange image of the dread eternity”, whilst Baudelaire wrote of the upcoming winter as the season of “derision, hate, shuddering, horror, drudgery and vice” a time when he would be “exiled, like the sun, to a polar prison, My soul will harden into a block of red ice.”
A bleak picture indeed.
I do clearly see the illustration painted by nature, I just suppose I read it differently than some. To me November is a frankly delightful time, a thirty day gift all wrapped up in gold and kindly offered for introspection and preparation. My mind fairly glows with ideas that seem to sparkle best in the early, frost rimmed darkness - jigsaws of notions that now find the time to coalesce into colourful blueprints for the days to come.... intricate tapestries of Thanksgiving ambrosias, Christmas adornments, abundant new spring gardens. If, on a cold, windy night, you have ever curled up in a nest of a chair by the fire, with a mug of hot tea, and an enticing seed catalog or an opulent travel brochure, well you will know what I mean. Of all the months in the kaleidoscopic year, November offers the coziest atmosphere for plotting the most adventurous schemes and strategies.

In the metaphorical searchlight of deeper meaning, I can only hope that my affection for this season remains as I continue my journey through this, the great year of my life. I should like to think when all those days that are mine dwindle down, I shall still be found in my chair by the fire, absorbed in a pleasant contemplation of the grand odyssey to come.
Welcome, November.

Painting by Atkinson Grimshaw

51 comments:

  1. I love the dark season. Last night I lit my candles for the first time and am excited at the march towards the shortest day. Beautiful post and I love the painting as well.

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  2. Thank you for a lovely positive view of November, which has a reputation for being dark and dour and unkind. I feel just the tiniest bit inspired to fill the first few weeks of the month with cheer. I'm o.k. when it comes to Advent and all the preparations of the heart for the Christmas season, but November?????

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  3. I share your liking for and enjoyment of November days, though perhaps had we lived two or three centuries ago we might have viewed it differently! This is a lovely post.

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  4. I share your view of November,
    thank you for the beautiful words you found to describe your feelings. Now I can look out the window and know there is a kindred soul out there!

    Happy November! :-)

    I came here from Elizabeth of NY,
    and grateful for that!

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  5. Rabbit Rabbit
    I love everything you post.
    Fabulous

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  6. This is such a nice, welcoming way to think about this month. It surely has been labeled in the past. I will embrace its coziness and ponder the festive days to come.

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  7. what a lovely post. Welcome November indeed- for all it's melancholy I kind of love it too.

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  8. I like November too. It is a sort of "settling in" month, getting used to the absence of growing things and preparing for the winter snow and storms.
    Happy All Souls day.
    I am looking forward to my parcel!!!!
    Whee, another reason to enjoy November:)

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  9. As a person who dreads the coming of September, a signal that soon time will usher in the cold winter months that chill me to the bone, I am now re-thinking that yearly dread due your perfectly painted expressions regarding your thoughts of November. (How is that for a run-on sentence? Pretty good, eh?) Pamela, again, how perfect can a person be, I am in awe. PS I had my husband come in and look at the photos of you and Edward. He LOVED them!

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  10. Our posts could be twins separated at birth!
    pve

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  11. It took me awhile to realize, The trees are nourished by what they let go of.

    AND, they let go before the toughest season.

    Lessons everywhere.

    Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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  12. In this season I add rich warm reds and golds to the mix to brighten things up!

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  13. Good to see an Atkinson Grimshaw Pamela - he is much neglected I think. I too love November - season of mists and chills but with Christmas on the horizon.

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  14. Such a lovely post Pamela...each season has a beauty of its own...you have described the beauty of November well:)

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  15. What a beautiful painting, Pamela.

    I, too love the winter months...I love every month, actually. They all bring something to the table. Enjoy November. XXXX

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  16. You express it all so beautifully, Pamela. If asked, I would say that November is one of my least favorite months . . . but on reflection, I love the holiday preparations and the coziness of the season. Perhaps I will even manage to find a quiet armchair afternoon to organize my photo album for the year?

    I'm sipping apple cider right now and I can just smell the roasting chicken -- with potatoes, carrots and parsnips.

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  17. Me too, me too,
    I should love to abandon everything for this month, to live in quiet solitude, in dusky days...yes you have it just right xxxxx
    Hugs Lynn xxx

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  18. I actually love November! Today is my anniversary and I consider it as my rebirth date. Love is present indeed!

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  19. What a beautiful post!!! I love November and your image of it is just lovely. Your words and the image. To me November is a time of warmth and family. It holds my fondest memories. Thanks for the reminder.
    xxx kim

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  20. I believe November is my second most favorite month. While the winds howl and the rain beats against the windows, inside it's all cozy and warm. A thick stew simmers on the stove while I'm gathered with my babies around the burning fire, telling them stories of my childhood, and the childhood of my parents. Later on, after a hearty lunch we bring out our craft boxes and start on the Christmas cards, which we always make ourselves! Can't wait! And thank you for your lovely words. Your posts always send me off to sweet dreams.

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  21. Pamela, I think that out of all the blogs that I visit yours must be the most optimistic. You find joy in all weathers which is very cheering for your readers, especially gloomy ones like me!

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  22. I love the cosy nights by the fire that November gives you and as I love Christmas, this is the time when I like to start planning. This is a beautiful post.

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  23. I'm with you, Pamela! I love November almost as much as October (my favorite month). I love the colors and textures and, as you said, I love that it's a time of preparation for the winter months ahead.

    Thanks for this lovely post, my friend! xoxo

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  24. Wonderful description of November and how I love the painting.

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  25. Love that picture! gorgeous blog!
    Take care,
    Rosa

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  26. Beautiful post Pamela ... each season has such a special beauty.
    We wait with anticipation for the festive times.

    Happy week
    Hugs
    Carolyn

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  27. Yesterday, I called a friend in when I asked her what she was doing , she answered me :"I am enjoying the bad weather of November"! So yes,...maybe we just have to look at November in another way and learn to enjoy it!!!

    Greet

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  28. Well said. Perhaps those who equate November with death only see one side of the door. Beyond November is the winter, whose snows cover and nurture the new life that breaks forth in April.

    Personally, I picture death as a great adventure, the destination of which is not on my map. I have always loved going on adventures.

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  29. I concur with your thoughts about November Pamela. Not only is it my birth month but it has a lovely feeling of the close of summer and the resting of the earth in preparation for winter. I love the cosy winter nights when you can hear the rain lashing against the window and the wind howling around the house.

    Love Atkinson Grimshaw's work, especially his autumnal trees.

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  30. Hello P&E,

    November, in common with the other months, brings its positive aspects, of which warm, cosy fires are a small part. It's the strong, piercing winds and heavy rains that can be a little harder to welcome!

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  31. I want to run to the sun. Find the sun. Feel the warmth. Please continue to write your words, for they will sustain me through the dark Canadian winter. LPxo

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  32. I love the opening of this post, beautiful descriptions...

    I'm not as happy about November as you are though, it feels like the beginning of a long trek through the darkness, though i do like the cosiness and the autumn colours and the crisp cold...

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  33. So beautifully wrote. I expect nothing less. Baudelaire spoke of Nov. with such angst & disgust. He must of been related to my mother-in-law who hates the fall & winter. I have never spent a winter in Scotland & if I had I would likely be more sympathetic. I love November too, especially in the Seattle area. It was as if nature gave us permission to unwind & slow down the pace. To sit by the fire & indeed have that hot cup of tea you wrote about.
    Happy Nov. to you ~ xx deb

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  34. Love Atkinson Grimshaw....
    always so atmospheric.

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  35. The closing of the year starts now...you always write so beautifully!

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  36. How lovely! Thanks for your comment and visit and have a great week!

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  37. What a fabulous post. I had focused on the early darkness fall of November, sad to me, but totally missed the beauty of the mornings, the chilly but beautiful days, and warm rest inside at night. Thank you!!

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  38. Omg..Pamela, I feel just the same way about autumn and the month of November. Where do you find such lovely, haunting art for your blog. It compliments the writing perfectly. Thank you for the sweet comments on my blog..my niece is a cutie, isn't she?

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  39. Hello....I stumbled across your blog via one of your bloggers. There is a London expat getting ready to throw a virtual English Christmas Tea Party. I'm most certain you would love it. You can visit here to read about it and sign up to attend:

    http://goodteatoo.blogspot.com/2009/11/official-invitation-your-chance-to-rsvp.html

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  40. As a writer myself, I alternate between absolutely loving everything you write, and smacking myself upside the head asking "Why can't I write like that?!"
    YOU, my dear, are amazing!
    With admiration,
    Anne

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  41. Wonderful words Pamela
    It is strange for me to think of November as cold..[upside down over my way]

    I think winter must be so much nicer knowing that the happy celebrations are part of the atmosphere.

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  42. I loved this post so much I linked to it today at
    elizabethwix.com

    Pats to Edward and Apple.
    I LOVE NOVEMBER with a passion possibly ny favorite month of them all.

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  43. It has arrived!!!!!! I resisted the temptation to plunge in immediately:)
    Is there a special date we open?
    (very excited)

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  44. Yes we could do with a cosy quilt in this weather at the moment. It's been down to 6c here with cold winds on the coast. Definately time for scented candles and dreams of Christmas.

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  45. What a beautifully written homage to November, Pamela. I love it too, as we creep up towards Christmas. I love the frosty mornings and the downpours and the bright blue skies with a pale winter sun.

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  46. My birthday is in November so I am quite partial to this month. I also have spent more than a few November nights beside the fireplace with a hot cuppa and a good book.

    It begins with All Saints Day and just gets better for me:-)

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  47. Perfect image of November! I like your positive spin on this month. I’ve been enjoying cozy up time by the fire too. It's a good time to read novels.

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  48. Pamela, I fully share your passion for November, unfortunately November here is in May.

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  49. I love November too. One of my favourite books still is the Ladybird 'What to Look for in Autumn' that I had as a child. Beautiful illustrations by the famous natural history artist C F Tunnicliffe and text following the progress of the season in nature. When it came to a picture of November dusk, with almost bare trees before a cluster of farm buildings, and a farm worker returning home along a cart track sodden with fallen leaves, it felt like the culmination of the season to me. How I love that picture! Raw, damp November dusk, almost bare branches outlined against the fading sky. Pure essence of autumn. Your picture for this post reminded me of it.

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  50. I think nothing tells of the passing of life so eloquently and majestically as autumn with its grand finish saved for last in November. While every place on earth has its own distinctive change of seasons, some more pronounced than others, I hew towards those treasured spots where each comes as a howl, rather than a whisper. It's only fitting to be shaken to your very core on the fragility and brevity of life.

    Thank you for the quotes, the Grimshaw painting and, of course, your always thoughtfully and beautifully composed prose.

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I love to read your comments! Each and every one! Though I'm always reading your comments, I may not respond in the comment section. If you want to write me directly, you may do so at pamela@pamelaterry.net. Thank you for reading!