Signs of the season(s)

Today, while skimming one of my favorite phenology books, Jim Gilbert's Nature Notebook, I was reminded that lakes don't freeze over until all of the water has cooled to 39 degrees. This explains why the smaller lakes and ponds freeze first. It also means that it's the volume of water (surface area X depth) that needs to be accounted for, not just the depth or the size. So the wide but shallow Carlos Avery pools are now frozen. As of Saturday, the larger local lakes appeared to still be open, due to their depth and surface area.

Carlos Avery pools           © harrington

Other signs of the season are showing up. Christmas wreaths and other decorations are for sale at several local big box garden centers. Poinsettias have made it all the way home and are now gracing the top of the piano and the corner of the desk on which this is being written. On Sunday, those who put up Christmas lights (and do most of the leaf raking and removal) received dispensation to do the lights, even though it's not yet Thanksgiving. They want to be sure for the opportunity to complete the seasonal task without benefit of snow on the ground or in the air. The results are simple but effective and attractive to my eyes. Some seem to prefer turning Christmas lights into a carnival display. We prefer a more basic approach such as the one below.

Christmas lights, greenery and oak leaves     © harrington

We'll see if we can find a better time when it's darker and the lights show better. This picture shows most of the lights and lets you see the futility of trying to clear leaves when surrounded by oak trees. The driveway was essentially clear two days or so prior to taking this picture. Lyn Hejinian may have had this time of year in mind while writing this:

from constant change figures

By Lyn Hejinian 

constant change figures

the time we sense

passing on its effect

surpassing things we've known before

since memory

of many things is called

experience

but what of what

we call nature's picture

surpassing things we call

since memory

we call nature's picture

surpassing things we've known before

constant change figures

experience

passing on its effect

but what of what

constant change figures

since memory

of many things is called

the time we sense

called nature's picture

but what of what

in the time we sense

surpassing things we've known before

passing on its effect

is experience

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