November in the Panhandle

Thanksgiving dinner turned out pretty good this year in spite of some turkey timing issues. My daughter did a wonderful job helping me prepare for the family dinner. She made z-bread and a birthday cake for Bruce, put together a casserole and peeled potatoes. She stuck with me for all the cooking! My daughter is on the very top of a long list of what I am very grateful for this year and every year. She is just terrific.

Because we had guests and then a lot of rain, we hadn't walked the state forest in about a week so today we were surprised to see the deep reds of the oak trees this year. Just before Thanksgiving there was a frost then after Thanksgiving it began to get warmer and warmer, then rain. Today the sky still threatens rain, it's a bit muggy and 70 degrees. Perhaps weird weather equals interesting foliage color up here in the panhandle because it was really very pretty. Unfortunately, it appears we missed the high bloom of the ray less daisy's as it looked like the early frost took it's toll on them. They are never really showy but I like their kind of eager look so I'm sorry to have missed their peak.

We concentrate our walk in a relatively small portion of the forest and its not an old forest or famous or particularly notable but even when things look a little bland, it pays to get out there everyday. Everyday something wonderful happens and I don't want to miss it.