Rose hip November
Autumn I'll remember
Gold landing at our door;
Catch one leaf and fortune will surround you evermore

~Vashti Bunyan

The final blaze of color is over, I think.  Heavy rains this week, and the winds that brought them here, have taken care of that.  Laurel's birthday was the last day, I think.  The leaves were just barely hanging on.  We made the leaf crowns around lunch time and then the leaves showered down all afternoon.  I took these other photos over the weekend, on a little drive alone.  It feels like this Autumn, though late to come and spotty in appearance, has really been beautiful.

The time change, along with the damp weather has ushered in the time of year that I love so.  I am hopeful that this Winter will feel more like Winter than the last one did--one long, perpetual, fickle Spring.  It seems like the temperatures and moisture have been more of what we are used to in the few weeks.  There are no big swings up into the mid-seventies in the forecast.  Everyone feels more like hibernating, and more like having cabin fever, at the same time.

It's time for cranberry everything, like this cranberry mors, and tea every day, all the things that make a home and meal cozy.  I am trying to like tea again, as we somehow fell out of favor in the past couple years.  Chicken soup was met with rave reviews yesterday.  I'm now looking at my knitting plans and panicking, while Willow is making her list longer.  I'm glad she's taking off on knitting, as I think it is important to have such skills.

Nature school is going to be cold and wet today.  The rain overalls and coats are at the ready, along with parkas, so it's just a matter of getting us all dressed for it.  I am looking forward to a bit of a hike and maybe we'll see some rushing streams.  I would like a bit of sunshine, though.