New Month, New Snow?

It was early in the morning of October 30, and, just as predicted by the local meteorologists, we awoke to a one-inch dusting of the season's first snow and the freezing temperatures that invited it. That was the bad news if you're, like me, not a snow person. It's pretty for a minute, but after those 60 seconds, I want it gone. The good news, it was gone by the end of the day as the sun's warmth was just a bit too much for it to last. Pretty at first, but I was glad to see it go as I still have leaves to rake up before the real winter weather sets in.  

It's rare, but not unheard of, for snow to hit here in my area of eastern upstate New York. Back on October 4, 1987, we had a freak October snow storm that took trees and limbs down with abandon as they had just started to turn and still had most of their leaves, knocking out power and blocking roads and causing widespread damage that permanently altered the landscape. This year, the rains had already taken some of the leaves down, so, fortunately, there weren't many left on the trees to wreak such havoc.

Given the adjustment of the Daylight Saving Time window, we changed back to standard time early this morning. I'm not a fan of the return to standard time but at least it's a bit later on the calendar than it had been, but November 1 is now the soonest that it returns to our lives. Next year, in 2021, it won't occur until November 7. That's just fine with me as I'm not a fan of darkness at 5pm. I like my afternoons lighter later and my mornings light by 7am. Actually, I like the long daylight of June and July, when it's light early in the morning and later in the evening, too. Alas, Mother Nature and her growing season can't accommodate that, so I, like everyone, will have to deal with the seasonal daylight adjustment. So be it.

Before the contrasting colors of autumn are gone for good, here is one more October image to try to hang onto the last of the autumn season's annual display. Enjoy, because the early darkness of the evening has arrived...