Winter watch?

We're headed into "The Cities" later to visit friends. There's a better than even chance that part of the drive will be accompanied by some version of Dylan's Girl from the North Country. Weather forecasters are telling us that we've reached that time of year Dylan wrote and sung about like this:

Well, if you go when the snowflakes storm
When the rivers freeze and summer ends
Please see if she’s wearing a coat so warm
To keep her from the howlin’ winds

Most of the weather models have most of the snow falling south of "The Cities." That's fine with me. I'm crossing my fingers that it warms up enough later in the week to melt whatever falls on Monday. Another Winter where the rest of the world suffers from global warming while Minnesota "enjoys" exceptional cold and snow is not on my Christmas list.

early November snow

Photo by J. Harrington

Have you started to decorate for the holidays? While out driving around yesterday, I noticed a couple of houses that had wreathes up already. That surprised me. We usually wait until sometime around Thanksgiving before we start putting up lights and wreathes. By the way, based on recent reports on Chanel 5 (KSTP) and in social media, this Christmas season, if you're shopping in Minneapolis, be sure you don't point to anything you want. Even though it's not Ferguson, MO, the Minneapolis police might arrest you as a gang member whether you're white, black or an elected official. Meanwhile, we need to live through

November for Beginners

By Rita Dove 

Snow would be the easy

way out—that softening

sky like a sigh of relief

at finally being allowed

to yield. No dice.

We stack twigs for burning

in glistening patches

but the rain won’t give.

So we wait, breeding

mood, making music

of decline. We sit down

in the smell of the past

and rise in a light

that is already leaving.

We ache in secret,

memorizing

a gloomy line

or two of German.

When spring comes

we promise to act

the fool. Pour,

rain! Sail, wind,

with your cargo of zithers!

November 1981

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