November Beauty

 

 November is an acquired taste, an aesthetic of muted and subtle things--

A white-gray sky, brown leaves,  shattered pods of milkweeds spilling fluff and seeds. pools of yellow leaves of the ginkgo trees, each leaf slightly different, some folded like origami.

And some red berries on black branches, and after the rain, drops of water on bare branches and the few remaining leaves.  

And light through the plumes of blooming ornamental grasses, the tea  and leather colors of leaves, the gardens lovely in their decline.

Now we see the trees, the nests in the branches, the fractal branching revealing the shapes of the trees.

Already, there are some holiday lights and decorations, and the Festival of Lights on Michigan Avenue. Wreaths and evergreens adorning  apartment buildings.  Already festive colors.

It seems we cannot bear the unadorned for long. Yet there is beauty, bare as bones, wind scattering the milkweed seeds, dry leaves and buds on branches.

One day leaves, next day snow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The full moon is a waning crescent now.  If the sky were clear,  you could see it in the morning in the western sky.

The moon continues its journey, and we continue our changing seasons.  Late autumn, November gray sky,  some bare trees, the last blue flower of the chicory blooming. Meteorological winter begins on December 1st. 

And  I'm feeling a sense of  optimism  in the cold air.   Midterms are over, and there was no red wave.  But there was a massive turnout, a  rainbow wave of young voters!  Thank you, thank you young voters, and everyone who voted, too. We may  have saved democracy.  The future is still unwritten. 

The first snow of the season arrived on Tuesday, November 15.  It was wet and heavy snow, not that much,  but still enough to shovel the sidewalk.  Most of it melted in the afternoon.  There are chances of snow every day, now.   Yes, winter is coming.

For now, there are more leaves on the ground than snow. It was beautiful on the bare branches, where you can see the buds of Spring's magnolia flowers.

Blood Moon---November 8, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

Monday November 7,  and the beautiful full moon rising over a clear night sky in Chicago. 

In the predawn hours on Tuesday November 8,  there will be a total lunar eclipse--a Blood Moon!

The name sounds ominous, a portent of bloodshed and doom.  

Eclipses and comets have been viewed as omens  throughout history. Death of kings or the birth of new things.  In these times of climate change, wars and COVID variations, PowerBall jackpots, Elon Musk taking over Twitter,  and mid-term elections, what could the Blood Moon mean? 

Here's the science. A lunar eclipse can only occur during a full moon, when the moon is directly opposite the sun in our sky. A reddish colored moon is caused by the umbral shadow of the Earth falling across the moon, and light  scattering in the Earth's atmosphere.   You can read more about the eclipse at the NASA Moon website here. 

Here is the timing for viewing the eclipse in Chicago---

• Partial eclipse begins at 3:09 AM
• Totality begins at 4:17 AM
• Peak of eclipse: 4:59 AM
• Totality ends at 5:42 AM
• Sunrise at 6:33 AM
• Moon sets at 6:41 AM

 NASA is also showing a live stream of the eclipse. You can follow along here. 

What does the eclipse mean for you and me?  I'm choosing hope over fear.  Choose light and art and beauty. Share the wonder with your friends and neighbors.  Choose freedom and possibility.  

If you haven't already, go VOTE on Tuesday!