The year is old. The birds are flown.

I love weekends. Yesterday I made a lasagna for dinner and while it cooked, I took George for a walk around the property. It has turned cold and the ground is hard but I think November is beautiful.

 

The sun was sinking low in the sky, giving a warm glow to the land, as we made our way around the southwest corner of the property.

 

I miss seeing the widow’s walk at the top of the house. Long-time readers may recall that it was destroyed by gale force winds in March of this year. I wrote about it here.

View from my kitchen window

 

I am so blessed to be able to live here.

Amen.

 

November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.

~ Elizabeth Coatsworth

 

And I am so glad this dog is in my life.

 

 

Amen.

 

 

NOVEMBER

The striped and shapely
Maple grieves
The loss of her
Departed leaves

The ground is hard
As hard as stone.
The year is old.
The birds are flown.

And yet the world,
Nevertheless,
Displays a certain loveliness--

The beauty of
The bone. Tall God
Must see our souls
This way, and nod.

Give thanks: we do,
Each in his place
Around the table
During grace.

~ John Updike

 

I love that poem. It is featured in the children’s book, A Child’s Calendar. This beautiful book is a collection of twelve poems as the seasons change in a child’s life. The poetry is by noted author John Updike and the illustrations are by Trina Schart Hyman.

 

I decided to venture into the field in the front of the house on my walk yesterday. A hawk was perched high up in one of the trees at the edge of the woods and as we got closer, it let us know that we were invading its territory. Whenever I hear or see a hawk or an owl, I think of my husband.

He always walked the edge of this field. So that’s what George and I did.

 

And then we watched as the sun finally set.

 

 

One of my son’s friends came for dinner last night. I made Caesar salad, garlic bread, lasagna, and tortellini with sauce. My son isn’t a huge fan of lasagna but his friend is. It was delicious. I paired the meal with a nice cabernet sauvignon from California called Dreaming Tree. I didn’t know it at the time I purchased it, but the winery is owned by Dave Matthews (and veteran winemaker Steve Reeder). Cool.

It’s gotten quite cold today and very windy. Wind chill is 14 degrees or so I hear. Better bundle up for that walk.

Hope your week is a fine one, my friends ~