From fall to winter…and back

A song of praise for November, which can be anything but the dark and gray month we generally think it is.

November is becoming more and more of a favorite month. For many years, I didn’t like it at all. I only saw the darkness and the cold. The definitive cut it makes to summer and the lingering, still warming days of fall. But November has a very special beauty that manifests itself above all in the colors. The all-day low sun bathes everything in a light in which the yellow and red tones in particular are intensely emphasized. The last leaves on the trees really come into their own before they finally fall to the ground. The already bare treetops, on the other hand, create richly textured accents, while the sky and the dark water of the river provide complementary tones. At daybreak and sunset, the sky and water themselves become a colorful spectacle, as if to compensate for the long, dark nights in between.

Onset of winter

November played yet another trump card this week. With the first fall storm, it brought a winter storm that had it all. It snowed heavily for a whole night and the following morning the city was covered in 10 inches of snow. Something that doesn’t happen often in Basel and that I haven’t seen for a long time. Suddenly the atmosphere is totally different. The nights are bright, the sounds muffled and everything seems to stand still. Or will at least slow down. White determines the overall picture and dominates everything. Well, in any case it tries to. On the still leafy trees, the snow creates interesting color combinations and makes the leaves glow in its own way. Unfortunately, some branches fell victim to the heavy splendor and broke off under the weight. Luckily, the beloved lime tree in front of our house held out. And the smell of snow and the cold on our faces. For the first time after all these months. It was a pleasure to walk through this white world, which has become increasingly rare in recent years.

Thawing weather

The winter wonderland didn’t last long. The very next day it became noticeably warmer again and two days later all the snow had melted and disappeared. Like many dreams, missed opportunities, but also fears and worries that you make for yourself and which ultimately dissolve into nothing. In keeping with this metaphor, I came across the following quote this week:

Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s trouble. It takes away today’s peace.

Randy Armstrong

There is a lot of truth in these two short sentences. With the time I spent worrying, which later turned out to be unfounded, I could have painted a few pictures.

Back to colors

So the week ended with the colorful version of November again, which I enjoyed on a Sunday evening walk. Preparations for the coming Christmas season are in full swing everywhere and can no longer be overlooked. The end of November is approaching.

See all Photos of this week