The eleventh month of the year, like the 2nd, often gets a bad wrap. Oh, sure. There’s Thanksgiving, a wonderful celebration of food, family, football and fun. But as a venue for enjoying the out of doors, not so much. November is often dreary, overcast, lackluster and sparse. For those of a more pessimistic nature, it signals the beginning of long months clustered within our homes, the weather outside raging in fits and bursts, sometimes dangerously so with glacial ice covering every surface, frigid Arctic winds, seemingly endless snow and the constant shoveling, scraping and enduring it all entails. Come March we are weary, ready for spring.

But in November, if we look more closely, even this time of year offers a few snippets of beauty and wonder. I choose this latter course, cynics be damned!