The Seasons of November

 November turned out to be both fully autumn and winter here in SE Michigan. I always say that I require the full change of seasons. I don't want to live somewhere where it's eternally summer, even though I enjoy visiting places like that. I like to enjoy each season in its turn. Still, we all know that my favorite season is autumn, and I bade it a fond farewell during the first week or so of the month. It's always a bittersweet ending for me. 

I took the time to visit several parks in that time frame, plus we found several new places to visit while the weather was still pleasant. Lower Huron Metropark is the nearest, and my favorite. But I also found a new spot, Dexter Huron Metropark. We also explored nearby Huron River parks in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. All in all, it was a lovely ending to the autumn finale.

Once the colors faded completely, we drove to Florida to visit family. Autumn in Florida is delightful, but for different reasons than northern autumns. The weather was perfect, warm and not at all humid. 

But my favorite scenery there was to see how autumn can look in central Florida. There's a park in Leesburg called PEAR Park, and I find it pleasing any time of the year. But it really comes into its full beauty in the fall. Yes, in the fall! I even found fall colors there, much to my surprise. I visited right before sunset, during the golden hour, which made it even better. I'm usually the only one there,  but that's okay by me. 

When we returned home, I still had a few autumn decorations around. I generally leave them up until Thanksgiving itself, and after that, the Christmas decorations can come out. I thought my Thanksgiving apple pie was so beautiful that it deserved a photo opp. And sometimes, I just see a pleasing tableau that I think is photo worthy. 

I was gifted a video bird feeder before we moved, but saved it until now. Because our neighborhood is so new, the trees are small, and I didn't expect to see many birds yet. It took months for any of them to show up, but finally, two little bluebirds visited my feeder. I hope that we'll see more of them as the winter comes on, and there's less for them to eat out in the world. 

After we enjoyed our harvest feast, I did begin my decorating for the holidays, mostly the front porch area.  I always start with the outdoors when it comes to Christmas. 

It was certainly turning towards winter after our trip south, and today we woke up to our first batch of Michigan winter snow. I'm tickled pink, because I'm a snow lover. It was the perfect backdrop for a day of Christmas decorating. But I'll save those pix for my December post. And so the month ends with winter. 

It's been a month of sky watching here, lots of sunsets, a sunrise, and even the northern lights! 

Thanks for stopping by to see November in my Nest! I so appreciate those of you who check into my little nest. We'll see you again at the end of December.