This November, as usual, was mostly gray, rainy, and snowy. But, also as usual, these duller days made precious the 10 to 15 beautiful days of sun and blue skies followed by dramatic winter sunsets, including this one from last night:
November here is best remembered for three things. The first, of course, is Thanksgiving, which historically involved Wild Turkeys, of which we have plenty. They’re now in their subdued – but still goofy – winter stage:
The second important November event up here is the White-Tailed Deer hunting season. The bucks seem to know it’s hunting season; we saw only one this month. It was on a misty November night and we nearly trophied him with our car. On the other hand, the White-Tailed does and yearlings were evident this November, if you were willing to go out in the snowstorms:
Lobster fishing was the third important subject this November. Many lobsters move into the deeper seas in November, which is a signal for the end of the lobster fishing season for most (but not all) of our fishermen. The fishermen bring in their traps to the Town Dock to off-load them, and then store their gear and their boats “on the hard” for the winter.
The bait hut in Naskeag Harbor remains as of now, but it eventually will be brought ashore. Some of the boats, on the other hand, will remain in the water and dredge for scallops or become platforms for scallop divers.
Many smaller boats remained in the water until late in the month, when they were taken ashore and stored in boat houses or outside.
November is the “dropsy” month, when the last vestiges of fall flare and disappear. The Tamarack (Larch) Trees turn golden before they drop their needles; the last of the apples hang on, but usually are gone before December, and the Red-Veined Enkianthus leaves explode in flaming colors before dropping.
November usually is the month that we get our first significant snowstorm, and this year was no exception. We had some beautiful snow storms that transformed the woods and local sites.
Finally, perhaps the many moods of November are best shown in Great Cove, where the month’s low sun can turn the sea to diamonds; wind can churn it into froth; freezing temperatures make it form sea ice, and calm, warmer days make us forget that Christmas is coming.
(All images taken in Down East, Maine, during November 2018.)