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November Changes
There are two very tough months in Vermont: March and November. The March calendar declares the start of spring, but the snow pack is deep and cold, the ground’s frozen to two feet under or more, and between the wind and the repeated arrivals of more snow, Vermont March tries the patience of anyone who longs for green grass, leaves, and productive gardens.
November doesn’t bring the same sense of impatience. Instead, with fewer strong winds and the storms uncertain — one day misty rain, another a soaking downpour, and on two more, gusts of snowflakes swirling past — each day takes us one day closer to Real Winter.
Today is on the warmer side, and I have three button-up tasks on my list, including emptying the planter where parsley and mint still thrive. I need that spot for the package-delivery “locker,” because the sunnier spot where the locker perches during no-snow months is about to be snowplow terrain. Today’s sky threatens, gray, then white, then torn strips of blue, and the wind pushes, and there’s an urgency to completing my list.
I push back. Always have. My grandfather tried to hold my hand to “cross me” on a bustling street once, and I resolutely pulled free and marched on my own. Feeling the same this morning, I headed up the ridge in morning boots. Exploring has higher priority than being good.
