November 2024 Reading List

 Eight books read in November....

The Mapmaker's Children is by Sarah McCoy and was sent to me by my epal, Leslie. The timeline alternates between 1859 New York and 2010 West Virginia; between conductors of the Underground Railroad and a 150 year old house that may have sheltered some of those escaped slaves. I like books that link different eras, especially when they are as well written as this one.

Tell Me Everything is Elizabeth Strout's latest novel featuring Olive Kitteridge. I have long been a fan of this author.

The Husbands is by Holly Gramazio, a new author for me. I just could not buy the premise of this book, an unending supply of different husbands - seemed pretty far-fetched.

The Mighty Red is Louise Erdrich's latest novel. If you want to read a really good book, read this one - or any other of this author's books. She never disappoints.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd is the only book of her's I had not read. And even though I have been re-reading her books, I almost didn't read this one. I didn't care about reading a book set in first century Galilee. But she is such a good writer I gave it a try and, of course, really liked it. I guess the lesson is, if the writer is good, the story, most likely, will also be good - regardless of the setting.

Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini is the last of her books at my library. If its size looks daunting, that's partly because it was large print and close to a thousand pages long. But I like all her historical novels because they are based on real people. This one, set in the years leading up to and during WWII, was especially hard to read. I will never understand how a society looked the other way while the lives of their fellow citizens were ended. This book is about the women who did what they could to help.

Rose in a Storm by Jon Katz was loaned to me by my son Preston. It tells the story of a widowed farmer, his border collie Rose, and the sheep and other animals on his farm. The story is told through the personification of Rose. I have been intrigued by border collies and the way they herd sheep most of my life. The second dog we had when my children were young was a border collie mix. And I have raised sheep, so the entire time I was reading this book I was remembering that experience and imagining where we lived at that time as the setting.

The book begins with Rose noticing a change in the weather presaging a big winter storm. It arrives - a blizzard lasting for days. I expected the storm to end at some point and even though the book wasn't a long one, I didn't see how the entire book could be about the storm. But it was until the last few pages. And it held my attention all the way through. I don't recall reading any Jon Katz books before but I really liked this one. 

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay is the first book I've read by him. Set during early 1900's London Mayfair society, a housekeeper, suddenly dismissed from her position, recruits an eclectic group of women to join her seeking revenge and settling scores. Something of a fun read, but not realistic.

My favorite read this month was The Mighty Red.

Saying Goodbye To My Flowers

 

Of all the Oak trees around here, this is my favorite. It is on the dam of the pond about twenty feet from another one almost just like it. Almost because while this one is still attractively clad in its fall finery, the other one has already lost its leaves.

As blustery as it has been and still is, you would think this one would be bare, too. But every year, it is like this. Maybe that is why it is my favorite.

This photo was taken when the morning sun was shining on the tree earlier this week. I think the color is gorgeous.

I can't remember a time when the November weather has stayed so warm this late in the year.

The flowers are still blooming, though I expect this is the last day for them. Temps tonight are forecast to be in the mid 20's.

That won't affect these lovely red roses HD gave me for our anniversary, of course.

But it will affect my yellow roses that have been blooming so profusely.

It fascinates me that as the blooms begin to fade and whiten, they then have highlights of pink.

Super surprising is that the delicate Impatiens are still blooming even though we have had a couple nights when the temperature was 32° or lower.

I assume the reasons are because they are underneath the Rose of Sharon bushes and next to the cement patio.

Even the straggly ones in the papa bear, mama bear and baby bear pots still have a few leaves and some flowers on them

There are two blue petunia blossoms hanging on.

And these luscious volunteer snapdragons which have been a real bright spot all season. I hope they reseed and come back again next year.

I think they must really like being in Great-grandma Matilda Means' old iron bean pot. 

Call them Dianthus, Pinks or Carnations, I had four pots of these this year - all slightly different colors.

I have had these over-winter in the past, either setting on the patio or in the unheated garage. 

I hope some of these might do the same this winter.

 

This is the fourth pot. I'm sure they would all look more attractive if I was better about pinching the spent blooms. 

Geraniums are favorites of mine. 

Especially salmon and pink ones. Add some sprengeri fern, aka, asparagus fern, and you have one of the prettiest pots on the deck. 

By the way that pot of hen and chicks on the left and the sedum on the right, will set there all winter and next spring green right back up for another year.

The end of growing season is always bittersweet - the sorrow of an ending versus the pleasurable anticipation of "next year".

On an entirely different note - Bud was doing a long walk for his birthday this morning when he called me from Lake McKinley to tell me there were a lot of white birds on the water. 

I thought they might be pelicans; instead it was a flock of Herring Gulls. This photo was taken from the east side of the lake.

And this one from the west side. It was a nice surprise to see them.

FYI - Jonathan Livingston was not among these gulls, because, you know, his passion was for flight.

A Gray November Day

You Old Vagabond

 

November* By Kevin McManus

November, you old vagabond,

with your tattered coat of grey,

you stumble into every town,

with a chill that steals the day.

You bring the ghosts of yesterday,

in your satchel, heavy and worn,

and your songs, in shades of melancholy,

leave the heart a little torn.

The leaves, they tremble at your touch,

as if they fear your solemn rhyme,

and the trees, they stand like soldiers,

guarding secrets lost to time.

So, welcome, November,

with your sombre grace,

and the tales you have to tell,

in your poetry of solitude,

you cast a melancholic spell.

Kevin McManus, an Irish poet from County Leitrim, is a recent discovery. I really like his poems. The photo is one I took this morning. 

* I could not find the name for this poem, thus the arbitrary title.

Shadow and Sunny

Today is the birthdate of Robert Louis Stevenson. (November 13, 1850 - December 3, 1894) In addition to his books of adventure, he also wrote A Child's Garden of Verses. This is one I remember from my own childhood.

My Shadow

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,

And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.

He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;

And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—

Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;

For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,

And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,

And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.

He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see;

I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,

I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;

But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,

Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

Five years ago granddaughter Katrina's family got a Golden Retriever. They named him Shadow. If I remember correctly it was because he 'shadowed' Rodney and Brynley.

    Last week they got another Golden Retriever. Her name is Sunny.   

   I imagine her disposition will match her name.                                                                                                                                                                                           

As you can see, she is already a big hit with Brynley.

  And Rodney. 

As Charles Schultz said: Happiness is a warm puppy.

Listen To The Rythm Of The Falling Rain

It's a rainy Saturday and I'm okay with that. We need the moisture and would much rather it be from rain than snow.

I've always liked rainy days, which goes back to childhood on the farm. A rainy day meant water for the crops and a day off for farmers. Dad would head to the Red Star Mill in town to shoot the breeze with all the other tillers of the soil gathered there. There would be comparisons on how the crops were looking in the various townships and then the gossip which could range from who had a new car to rumors of a shotgun wedding or a marriage on the rocks.

For me, it meant no pulling weeds out of the garden or mowing the yard. If it was my turn to dust, I gave it a lick and a promise, and then headed upstairs to read. Which, in a nutshell, is why I always have, and still do, love rainy days.

I just finished one of the books I got from the library Wednesday, but before I read anymore of those, I'm going to read the book my friend Leslie sent me along with this very cute and so appropriate Adventures of A Book Lover ornament. 

That is the title of the book splayed (something I never do) on the top of the pile.

The other titles are: Diary of a Page Turner, Climbing Mystery Mountain, Fairy Tale Forest, History Highway and Romantic Rivalry. Those sound like titles I would read.

No Christmas cookies, but some Pecan Sandies and a cup of tea and the pitter patter of rain. 

A perfect rainy day. 💚

Halloween Costumes and Other Attire

 

I did not get as many Halloween photos of the great-grands this year as last. But I didn't send out a reminder that I hoped to see them in costume like I did last year.

This one of Ayden and Greyson was taken at Blank Park Zoo's Night Eyes.

Looks like Louis and his Mom were at a Star Wars themed event.

Louis is a giraffe, I think, and Kathryn is a member of the Safari? 

Meanwhile, back home, little brother Henri is also a giraffe?

Great-grandma should have asked for clarification.

Whatever he's dressed as, he is a cutie.  

Katrina sent me a video of great-granddaughter Brynley in her black cat costume.

She was showing and saying "All candy from Halloween".

Looks like she made a pretty good haul.

And she's definitely a pretty cat.

No Halloween pics of Lily and Maverick this year but their dad, Evan, did share some photos of them at last Saturday's Iowa State vs. Texas Tech game.

Sadly it was the Cyclone's first loss of the season. 

Not a Halloween photo, though I think I look pretty scary, but a picture of me with the shawl that my e-pal Leslie crocheted and sent to me. 

When she said she was sending me something I never expected such a generous and lovely surprise. I can't even imagine the time and patience it would take to make a piece like this. 

The colors are definitely right for me - yellow jasper, crystal quartz and moonstone.

I'm not adept at wrapping a shawl; I'll have to practice. She also sent the wooden shawl pin.

They came in this appropriate little box as she referred to it as a bee shawl which I'm assuming is the name of the pattern.

This shows the colors better as well as some of the many different stitches.

The shawl is on the back of my office chair, handy for me to gather around my shoulders when I feel a chill.

Thank you again, Leslie. 💛

Oops. I almost forgot - one last Halloween picture. 

This is youngest great-grand, Everly, in a cow costume.

I borrowed (and cropped) the photo from her Mom's FB page.

She's three months old now.

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween. 👻

One Final Puff Of Air

This is a blog I began several years ago and never finished. Today, All Souls Day - a day of remembrance for the departed - seems an appropriate time to add to it and post. 

I was standing where loved ones lay buried. Diagonally across the square mile I could see the top of the old pine on what was the west side of our garden. Sixty-four years ago I climbed it almost to the top. (I'm just a spot an inch or so from the top of the photo.) Now it is one of the last vestiges of the farm where I grew up - and where so many of my memories lie.

It took a long time for me to realize that there is no such thing as a true event. The people, date, time and location may be the same, but the stories about what took place all differ depending upon indivdual perspectives. What things we do all remember we often remember differently. Or something I remember may not at all be remembered by my brothers, just as they remember some things I don't.

In addition to the loved ones I was thinking about when I originally started this post, another of the people I am remembering today was my friend and classmate Donna. Today would have been her 81st birthday. 

Usually by this date we've had freezing temperatures. The flowers are done, the pots are put away.

But this year, they are all still blooming, even the tender Impatiens, even though we have had at least one official low of 32°. 

"The dead are never far from us. They're in our hearts and on our minds and in the end all that separates us from them is a single breath, one final puff of air." (Ordinary Grace William Kent Krueger.

Happy Celtic New Year

November 1st - All Saints' Day, Samhain, Calan Gaeaf, the end of the harvest season and the beginning of Winter, the darker half of the year, as well as the Celtic New Year. 

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.  (Clyde Watson)

This Olde Crone depiction has long been my favorite for Samhain Blessings. 

Calan Gaeaf  is the Welsh name for the November 1st celebration.

What I miss about not living in the country is the accompanying celebratory bonfire.

This Halloween card is from our Oregon kids, daughter Kari and her husband Ken.

November is a big month for birthdays and anniversaries in our family. Ken's birthday is one of those.

I'm not a fan of the early darkness, nor the cold and snow, but they go along with the changing seasons and I do love those.

November comes from the Latin word novem which means nine. In the early Roman calendar November was the ninth month. 

Autumn is my favorite time of the year, partly because of my birth month but also because its tone is mellower, its colors richer and it is tinged with a little sorrow. It speaks of maturity and wisdom that comes with age.

"Some of the days in November carry the whole memory of summer." (Gladys Taber)

This first day of November, 2024, has been lovely. Sunny, breezy enough to rattle the drying leaves of the oak trees....

.....warm enough to have the windows open. 

Happy November!  💛🍂🍁🔥