10 Nov Monday to Tuesday: Fall in Yankton
The first Monday in November was a gray, dreary, Midwest early winter day. Blustery and chilly. There’s been a nasty head cold making it’s way around the unit and I had successfully fended it off for several weeks. I get enough rest, hydrate, take vitamin-C and try to limit my sugar intake…but I couldn’t escape it. It’s everywhere. I finally got whacked and she was a rough one.
I took a warm shower, read most of the night and went to bed with a very sore throat right after 10pm count. I woke up Tuesday to frost on the ground, the first frost of the season.
We’re are pretty much wrapped up with our Fall cleanup in Horticulture but I headed out to see if we missed anything. Today was different, definitely different from Monday. The sky was deeply blue, similar to the shade you see up at Brundage in the winters. The sun was exceptionally bright and there was zero wind. The cool air felt soothing on my unbelievably scratchy throat and the brightness was a reprieve from Monday’s gloom.
It was also quiet out. I always relish any quiet here because most of the time it’s loud. As the sun was rising and crested above the horizon it started shining on the trees that still have their leaves. A few minutes after the sun hit this one tree the leaves begin pouring off. I would say about 20-40 leaves hit the ground every second. This kept going on and on. But there was still no wind, so you could actually hear the faint sound of all the leaves falling from the tree and hitting the grass below. As they began to pile up they formed a perfect circle around this tree.
Along with learning that the bad days aren’t worth it this was a good reminder that the good ones are usually right around the corner. Who would have guessed on Monday night, as I was laying in bed sick and worn down, how beautiful Tuesday morning would be. How the coldest day of the season would feel even better because I was sick and how the temperature, the sun and mother nature would combine to put on such a show.