Saturday, November 30, 2019

looking back at november


November was a lovely month, and quickly gone.
There was a lot of rain, but also many clear, bright days.
I loved the clear mornings, often very cold, usually with frost or a dusting of snow.


More than once when I began morning chores I didn't even get as far as the barn before turning around and going right back to the house for a camera. 


Because when rays of the rising sun make it through openings in the trees,
the frost disappears in a matter of moments.



So much color everywhere.
This was new: multicolored leaves of the blueberry bought from a nursery in October:


Not all the November colors are bright, but just look at this:


in early light, the Chelona leaves glow like polished bronze.


November was a time for seeing the "first" of some things...




...and seeing the "last" of other things.




And we had to put a little more effort into being comfortable.
Piper will not allow a blanket on her couch -
I put one on every day, and every night she digs at it until it falls off.
So I experimentally made her a nightgown by cutting the sleeves off my lambswool zip-neck sweater.


She holds very still while I put it on her,
so I think she must enjoy the extra coziness.
She wears it when we go for walks on very cold days, also,
and looks Very Smart.

Moxie and Della divide their time between outdoors and inside,
and both enjoy sleeping in wooly beds by the woodstove,
which has been going non-stop all month.

But when I need to flatten out my back for a while, any time, night or day,
one or both cats will keep me company, which I appreciate very much.
Cats have taught me everything I know about how to be "in the moment."



 Last night I did the Daily Markmaking by painting this fern:


Painted with my left hand, because Moxie was sleeping on my right hand.
It was fun dabbing away with my non-dominant hand. I'll certainly do it again.

And now it's time to do tonight's markmaking before I fall asleep,
which will be very soon.


Goodnight, readers.
Here comes December.
Keep your fires fed.
~~~~~

16 comments:

  1. One of your best posts ever. What a sweet kitty picture and how kind of you to leave your hand where it was. The fern picture is lovely and the story of it is wonderful.

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    1. Thanks very much for your kind comment, kayT :)

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  2. Cats are wonderful nurses. They attend their patients as long as necessary. I've found them very comforting at times when comfort was in short supply. They're good art company, too.

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    1. Unlike the goats, who are always interested when I sketch or paint in the paddocks. The interest is nice, but some of them - usually the youngsters or Campion - are determined to take my brush or pencil away from me. LeShodu used to go straight for the sketchbook.

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    1. Thanks very much! For my first attempt at linocut, I'm fairly happy with it - and I learned a lot about the process. And enjoyed some excellent YT videos of printmaking!

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  4. An excellent job of capturing the change in season. My cats are my lap warmers during the day and my foot warmer at night! So funny about Piper and the blanket.

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    1. I'm so relieved she likes the sweater! She's never had a spare ounce of body fat, and I worry about her getting cold when the stove burns low/out in the wee hours of the morning.

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  5. Thank you for a warm and loving post today. November sometimes gets over looked.

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    1. Thank you for your comment, Donna :)
      I agree - and I think many people seem to find November quite bleak, but I never have.

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  6. Green is definitely Piper's color. You inked your print - excellent!

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    1. I agree - it suits her!
      And I just ordered a sharpening stone shaped for linocut tools. I must be expecting to do more.

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  7. Love the moss sporophytes with their touch of melted frost! And the bronzed turtlehead leaves. (I never noticed that when I lived in turtlehead country. Thank you for opening my eyes, once again). Beautiful photos all - and a good remembrance of what was, now underneath a blanket of snow.

    Be-sweatered Piper - aaah! And cuddly cats - mmmmmm!

    Cheers,
    Chris from Boise

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  8. Piper looks absolutely cozy in her new sweater - I'll bet it will be most appreciated when it gets really cold. And your lino print turned out great!

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