Happy November!
There are a few leaves left holding onto the beech and oak trees but most of them are on the ground. The trick-or-treaters have come and gone. The clocks have fallen back. Stick Season is upon us.
I was out walking with Carol the other day and she was complaining about how brown everything was. I didn't say anything at the time because I like to be agreeable and Carol talking about anything other than what she's been reading online is a relief, but I will confess to you, I like Stick Season.
There is nothing more refreshing than a clump of dried grass, kissed by the frost, on a sunny, cold November morning. It just feels right. Like Mother Nature getting ready for bed. I like Stick Season because it's short, a brief respite between the busyness of Autumn and the whirlwind of the Holidays. The gardening is done for the year. The grill is in the garage. The summer clothes are tucked into the back of the closet. The quilts and blankets are pulled out. I can enjoy a walk with my friend in the crisp air and enjoy the sun as it warms my face.
I also like Stick Season because I get to start my annual tradition of sending Holiday Cards. For a while there, as I got older, the list got shorter as dear friends passed away or fell out of contact. But then Carol told me about how her nephew—he's barely twenty—doesn't get anything in the mail anymore. That made me think. Young people today need to know how joyful it is to come home and see a handwritten address on an envelope in their mailbox. So I started adding them to my list. I asked my friends if I could send their children a Holiday Card and they sent me their mailing addresses.
With everything going on in the world, simple gestures of kindness still matter. I hope you have a wonderful Stick Season.
Betty