Will November bring a thaw this year?

Two days ago, great numbers (30,000 +/-) of sand hill cranes were reported staging at Crex Meadows. I wonder if the storm moved them south. Crex Meadows is one of those relatively nearby attractions I haven't yet visited, probably because our back yard opens onto the 23,000 acre Carlos Avery WMA. But, I have neither seen nor heard that many sand hill cranes around here, although the local population does seem to be growing. When our immediate neighborhood can look as beautiful as it often does, it's hard to get motivated to go play tourist somewhere else. When I lived in Boston, the only time I went to "touristy" historic places like Old Ironsides was when out of town company wanted to see them. Something about taking for granted what's readily available, an unfortunate tendency too many of us seem to share.

rustic Winter sunrise

Photo by J. Harrington

I'm not sure whether there was no mail delivery on our road yesterday or just no mail for us. I didn't notice the mail carrier's vehicle, or see any tracks, and the township grader didn't come by clearing the snow from the road until late in the day. Since today's a federal holiday, there's a possibility tomorrow's mail may set a record, especially with Christmas catalogs arriving. I don't know about you, but even in Minnesota, this kind of weather this far ahead of Thanksgiving, really throws off my sense of the season.

This morning I had to take my wagon in for service. I noticed that just about all of Highway 61 was either snow packed or ice covered or both. It also looks like there's a severe shortage of salt and sand, since many of the intersections weren't at all near bare pavement. It will be a pleasant surprise if things improve this afternoon as I return to pick up my trusty conveyance, but my expectations are low. The extended forecast has high temps in the mid to upper twenty's until almost Thanksgiving. I suppose that means that this year we can look forward to a November thaw. Isn't global warming, a.k.a. Anthropogenic Climate Disruption, wonderful?

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