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| Rain drops. Always rain drops. |
The blog title sums up the month here at Bean Hill. It was not just cold and grey, it was colder and greyer way beyond normal, if such a thing still exists. The month's average high temperature was just 43 degrees; historically the average is 52. The nine degrees difference was the result of having 19 days with temperatures 6 or more degrees below normal. Thirteen of those days had highs significantly below normal (10-21 degrees!). The month's average low was 32, a mere three degrees below the historic average low.
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| Kaytee hates her booties. You can see why. |
The low daytime highs were aided and abetted by the heavy clouds that blotted out any sun for 16 days this month. On six other days, the clouds weren't quite as thick and heavy, so every now and again, we'd get a brief glimpse of something that passed for sunlight. The clouds held a lot of moisture which pelted us with depressing regularity. Once again we exceeded the month's average rainfall amount: 4.35" instead of 3.19". We also had 1.57" of snow, almost spot on for the historic average. Out of November's 30 days, only two days were sunny with clear blue skies. Nobody, not even the dogs, went outside without boots on. There were NO walks in the woods, and not a lot in the meadows. Actually, there wasn't a lot of going outside, period. I don't know how the English do it.
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| Crabapples. Bird food! |
There are two good things about this and every November. First it's Thanksgiving time. What's not to love about a holiday devoted to eating anything and everything in sight? And whoever invented pumpkin pie deserves a special place in the history books, if not in heaven. The best thing about Thanksgiving, however, is that it makes me a little more mindful of all the good things that grace my life: Loved ones both near and far, cherished friends, good health, a warm and comfortable home, this beautiful property we call Bean Hill, and the creatures great and small we share it with. I have much to be thankful for beyond pumpkin pie. And I am.
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Female Downy woodpecker enjoys
a special treat |
The other good thing in November is that Project FeederWatch begins. This is a citizen-science project sponsored by Cornell Lab of Ornithology that we've participated in for years. We set up the spotting scope and several pairs of binoculars and bird watch from the comfort of our nice, warm, dry home. We keep track of the type and number and birds seen over a 48-hour period. The data is uploaded to Cornell, and is used to study things like migration patterns, the effects of climate change on bird movements and populations, the health of bird species. Birds are fascinating, beautiful creatures, and Project FeederWatch provides the ideal excuse to sit and watch them. I hope you'll consider signing on
https://feederwatch.org/
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| Female Red Belly woodpecker knows she's being watched. |
