A November to Remember

After the summer we have had this year, November has been the gardening month to remember.  It has been cold at night and frosty in the morning, and the days are short. By 5:00 it is dark. But in the middle of the day it has been very pleasant to be outside and without all the biting bugs. Ed has been working with stone. Today was overcast but in the middle of the day it was nearly warm as inside the house. It was a perfect day for me  to spend some time in the garden. The foxgloves hold promise for flowers next year. These low rosettes are built to survive even under snow, but this picture looks more like spring.

 

I searched for blossoms in the garden and there were very few. This single chickweed flower was on a huge plant.

I found a dandelion too. Blooming on the shortest of stems, it's taking advantage of the warm days and trying to protect itself from the cold nights by hugging the ground.

The red creeping thyme has turned from green to burgundy on the stone patio.

This stone that I found intriguing fit so nicely in an indentation of a wall top stone. I picked  it up today and disturbed a tiny gray larva underneath. I replaced the stone, but I may have ruined the larva's chances for survival.

I can't say there was a lot of buzzing in the garden today, but it was warm enough for some activity. Here we have the backside of a Johnny Jump Up complete with the backside of a bee.

We're not the only ones eating Thanksgiving leftovers. These two bees seem to find our composting sweet potato peels and apple peels to be a perfectly acceptable substitute for flowers.

I was delighted to see a woolly bear on the stone path. They have been a favorite of mine since childhood. Those who consider these little guys weather forecasters might say that all the brown on this one means that we will have a mild winter. Certainly November has been terrific, but the worm can turn any time and I wouldn't bet on it any more than I would on the forecast of the Weather Channel. This is still Upstate New York and we are still in zone 4. December could be a bear!