The Old Farmer’s Almanac rhymes the weather this way:
‘Bright and still, raindrops fill the lakes, then turn to flakes.
‘Streams are hardly flowing, their pulses slowing: Again it’s snowing.
‘But, just before it freezes up, it eases up.?
Ah, November!
All Saints? and All Souls? Days, Sadie Hawkins Day were just before the elections, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day and on the 30th Lucille Ball married Desi Arnaz in 1940.
Oh, yeah, Sesame Street debuted on television in 1969. It’s all in the November page of The Almanac along with, ‘In the decay of the Moon, a cloudy morning bodes a fair afternoon.? And, ‘Forsaken by the wind, you must use your oars.?
You’ll be happy to learn that on November 12, Indian Summer began, lobsters moved to offshore waters and on the 21st the skunks are hibernating.
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Our house was ‘Boo’d? on Halloween by our delightful little neighbor, Bethany. I wasn’t supposed to know who Boo’d me, but when I didn’t put the spook in my front door right away, the tyke told her mother, etc.
Booing involves bringing a gift after dark, knowing you are home, ringing the doorbell and hiding.
My gifts from Bethany included something for Shayna, candies and a package of beef bacon. Bethany thought of everything.
The beef bacon was new to me. It’s leaner, doesn’t crinkle or shrink as much when frying, smells good, but different than pork bacon, and tastes great.
Next year, Bethany, include a tomato.
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Last Thanksgiving, when daughter Luan wanted to baste the turkey, she found her mother’s basting bulb was busted.
She bought a new one, and last week daughter Susan remembered the incident and bought me another one. Now on Thanksgiving Day if we have two turkeys, Luan and I can be double-breasted basters.
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On a Saturday in October, Michigan State and the University of Michigan were playing opponents at the same starting time on television.
That created a little trouble in our house. I wanted to watch the team with the medical school play and Shayna wanted to watch the team with the veterinary school.
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Ah, November!
A time to nap in the bows of a northern pine tree as the sun lights warms the body and the mind imagines mighty stag deer frolicking before closed eyes.
That’s what deer hunting has become for a lot of us in the UP. As one longtime UP deer hunter told me recently, there aren’t any deer north of the bridge.
However, a lack of deer doesn’t deter us from seeking the fellowship, enjoying fresh air, taking long walks along deserted trails, watching scurrying squirrels and resting beside a trout stream.
We may be wearing hunter’s orange and carrying a rifle, but the main thing we’re looking for is the ideal spot to start a bonfire to roast some weiners and hamburgers at lunch time and compare noises heard from made-up sources.
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Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables would smell as good as bacon.