November First!

Here we are again. The beginning of a new month. And as the custom has been, Raven tries hard to blog every first of the month. So here it is. This blog came close to not being done, especially because of the tragic events of the last few days. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of those who grieve the loss of their beloved mom, and our dear sister in the truth.

What do you know about the month of November? How did it get it's name? Here's what I found out.

November!

November means "ninth month". Yet it is the eleventh month in the modern calendar. This anomaly has existed for over 2000 years. In the old Roman calendar (which was only ten months long) November was indeed the ninth month. But this changed when two months were added on to the year, and subsequently, in 153 B.C. the Roman Senate moved New Year's Day to January 1st. Curiously, the names of the numbered months were not changed to account for their new positions.

November began with 30 days, but Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome, took a day away in about 700 B.C. Julius Caesar added the day back when he reformed the calendar in 46 B.C. July and August had been named for the first two Roman Emperors, Julius and Augustus. The Roman Senate offered to change the name of November to "Tiberius". He wisely refused saying, "What will you do if you have thirteen emperors"?

November comes between autumn and winter. In the North Temperate regions during November, the trees are bare, and the dead leaves on the earth have lost the brilliant color they had in October. Soft snow seldom hides the bareness of the fields, but the grays and browns of the landscapes are sometimes relieved by delightful days of hazy sunshine. The Anglo-Saxons referred to November as "the wind month" and sometimes "the blood month," probably because during this period they killed animals for their winter meat.

This blog will be limited. Soon we will be flying out to California to visit family and I have so much to do before we leave Thursday morning, and I have accomplished so little to that end.

My biggest request to all my blogging friends, (Old Crow, Old Crow's wife Mickey, Sparrow, Swallow?), and others is to please pray for us. Sparrow, I know I can count on you. Thank you my dear friend. You know exactly how I feel.

I will end this blog with some beautiful November poetry. Enjoy!

Leaves

"How silently they tumble down

And come to rest upon the ground

To lay a carpet, rich and rare,

Beneath the trees without a care

Content to sleep, their work well done,

Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly

Until they nearly reach the sky.

Twisting, turning through the air

Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below

To wait, like children, for the snow."

-Elsie N. Brady

Dull November brings the blast,

Then the leaves are whirling fast."

- Sara Coleridge (The Months)

"November comes

And November goes,

With the last red berries

And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,

And ice in the bucket

And frost by the gate.

The fires burn,

And the kettles sing,

And earth sinks to rest

Until next spring."

-Elizabeth Coatsworth

"Two sounds of autumn are unmistakable,the hurrying rustle of crisp
leaves blown
along the street or road by a gusty wind,and the gabble of a flock of
migrating geese.
Both are warnings of chill days ahead, fireside and topcoat weather."
- Hal Borland

Until we return...

This is Raven-as the crow flies!