Sighting

Why November saw a sizable reduction in blog activity, I'll never quite know. A lot of long breaks in the action... shorter days and less daylight for evening outdoor lounging. That's probably it. Darkness doesn't inspire. Transition and duskiness does. There are still things I intend to write that date back to October. There are things that are long since forgotten - magical blogs about magical things that will never be written. Some will make it back through my layers of memory, aged to perfection with more perspective and care. Definitely. You're ready to write it when you write it, I always say. You've heard me say it. I expect to find a new groove much like I had over the summer where I either had an idea or one came to me soon enough.

The pear tree in our front yard has only dropped a handful of leaves. Those on the tree are still green (I assume green, they're not yellow or fall colored) and show no signs of letting go. In Roanoke last week, all the trees had lost their leaves already. Leafless trees usually bring to mind winter cold and desolation, and memories of driving back to college after fall break through depressing riverfront cities along the Ohio River. Portsmouth, OH has rows of houses along the one-way thoroughfare where once there was activity, commerce and life. Maybe during a post-war boom there was bustle to be hustled there. Now the sad, windblown, somehow road-weary streets speak to the chill of winter and desperation all year long. Unhappy in Summer. The same in Spring and Autumn.

Some might find hope and resistance in the leaves hanging onto my pear tree in December. I think they should drop and move on. Fall before Winter.