Falling into a brown study

— Photo by Maciej Boryna

Chrysanthemums can survive well into mild Novembers.

A prince of November

Adapted from Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

November is a gray and brown time, making it  the winner in the saddest-month-of-the year contest for many. Still, it can sometimes have a placid,  mellow, misty, soothing quality, or it can energize us with a  stirring nor’easter.

You might be tempted these days to pick up a rotting apple on the ground in an orchard and taste it, and you have to admire a Norway maple that hasn’t yet dropped its leaves as mild weather seems to last later and later in the fall. You notice the beautiful patterns on bark, painted with lichen, more than you had a couple of months ago, when you were distracted by the vivid colors of many growing plants.

November is also prime time for  gatherings of crows, those highly intelligent and social birds that seem to take over as we head closer to winter. You often see them on streets feasting on dead squirrels killed by cars as they try to collect acorns. But they’re also adept at splatting your car with revolting off-white poop. Do they do it on purpose?