November in Mind
By: Timber Jones
On the porch, the rocking chairs are moving in the chilly breeze. In the kitchen, pork chops are being cooked…the benefits of a bountiful harvest. Through the window, some of the leaves have turned to that rusty shade of red that I enjoy so much. Seasoned wood is stacked in the woodshed, oaks have been scouted in the Gray woods for this year’s felling, and the clocks have been turned back to invite evening a little sooner. This is November and I welcome it with open arms in the same manner that I enjoy an old friend who has unexpectedly come to call.
The farm is a little quieter this time of year without the grunting of pigs, but my family is fed because of their sacrifice. Even the chickens cluck a little softer now, but Old Joe, my somewhat trusty rooster, seems to crow with more reverence to the shorter days. The sounds are changing underfoot as well. The soft brush of green grass as I walk to and from the barnyard has become the crunching of leaves under my boots.
Today, the warm fragrance of pie fills the cabin…pecan pie with chocolate and maybe a bit of moonshine. The orange and red colors outside the window match the colors of the flame on the candle centered on the supper table. I’ve come to believe that the many months of warm sunshine have laid themselves in the leaves of autumn and even in the daytime we see the sunset in the trees. You’ve seen it, and maybe you even believe it, too.
My dog, my great dog, is looking up at me with her acorn colored eyes. She wants to run. She bounds on top of the dried leaves and through the crisper air. Her hickory-like legs were made to climb these hills. She is as wild as she wants to be out here. But, when it’s time to come home to the pie-scented cabin, it is at my feet she lays, not willing to move, except maybe to the couch.
The distant sounds are hollow and the woodsmoke is curling. The gibbous moon is shining and the west is blowing in a low wind. So, of course, my old Woolrich coat still hangs on its hook anticipating, like me. The colder days that are still far off. All of this is a reminder that November is here and all is well.
