TheBanyanTree: First Frost

[Theta Brentnall]

Our days here in northern California have been warmer than usual, so we 
have nothing near frost.  We'd like it to get a nice, cold rainy day 
because that's the magic formula for turning the mandarin oranges sweet, 
but it's not going to happen real soon. Nevertheless, I've been enjoying 
the pleasant mornings with the horizon all orange and pink just before 
the sun comes over the hills and I'll make the most of it until the 
rains come.  The rains must come.  Everyone in the state has their order 
in for a really wet, chilly winter so there's lots of snow in the Sierra 
to get us through the next summer.


Theta


On 11/10/2016 6:20 AM, Russ Doden wrote:
> Today I awoke to see the first frost of the season.  It wasn't a hard
> frost, just a very light little frost hiding in the shadows and corners of
> the yard.  It was so light that as soon as the morning sun touched it, poof
> it was gone - leaving behind a shimmering dew.
>
> Many may have not even noticed it, leaving to go to work, focusing on
> getting on the road, or grumbling about having to scrape it off the window
> if they didn't have a garage. To me this is a welcome sign that what has
> seemed like an endless summer has finally come to an end.  With each
> passing year I find I handle the summer heat with less ability.  The cooler
> weather though is where I come alive.  I admit I don't like the "O M G it's
> cold" of midwinter, but we just haven't had that kind of winter here in
> Oklahoma for a number of years.  This year though, we are 20" below normal
> rain, and the heat of late summer just seemed to drag on forever.  It was
> nice being able to get on the trike and go for an afternoon or all day
> ride, stopping here and there to get something cool to drink before
> continuing on what was usually a journey to no place in particular.  Still,
> the first frost of the fall is a welcome sign for me.
>
> Granted, it means my mornings of sitting on the patio sipping my morning
> coffee as I munch on a bagel or biscotti is coming to an end.  It is a
> trade I will gladly make.  It means I can get out in the afternoon and do
> things around the yard that need doing without wilting!  I have several
> projects that have been waiting for just this sign!  OK, I could have
> gotten out earlier this fall, but for some reason my inner being just
> didn't have the "push" to do it.  Maybe my inner clock was saying, "wait
> for the first frost".  I a poor excuse is better than none maybe!
>
> To celebrate this barely noticeable event I added a bit of chocolate and
> flavored Torani syrup to my morning coffee.  I can now say that I feel fall
> is truly here - late, but here never the less.
>
> Just in time for the big holiday that marks the transition from fall to
> winter too.  Maybe winter will be just as tardy!
>
> Russ
>