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Thanksgiving falls late in the month for my wonderful neighbours to the south (much as our own Thanksgiving did here in Canada last month, making an appearance on October 14th, the furthest into the year it can ever be, as it falls on the second Monday in October), less than a month away from Christmas. Though, like many I'm sure, my mind is already racing with thoughts of of gingerbread men, holiday card lists, tinsel decked trees and stockings hung by the chimney with care, right here and now, like those in the US, I'm stopping to give thanks and appreciate the bounty of autumn while this beautiful season is still here.
Faster than Santa taking off from the North Pole, it will be winter again, and while the weather here has already mimicked it numerous times over the past few weeks, there are still a few lingering elements of fall, not the least of which is the seasonal produce that is so celebrated today. I'm grateful for each late season apple, pumpkin, and pear, as well as those foods - hearty root vegetables, for example - of the coming season that are starting to appear once more. They all factor into my feasts - be they quick snacks or dinner for ten - that appear, generally piping hot from the oven - during the final days of November.
The palette outside is tinged with dampness and sallow light, it hasn't faded to the degree of late January, but it's a far cry from mid-September, and soon it will be all but hidden under a a duvet of thick Canadian snow. November, a month that I actually quite like, is dark, but not bleak. It turns ones thoughts to the long season of chilliness ahead, yet still finds ways to remind us periodically that it is, every last day of it, wholly a part of fall - and one that is a reason to be thankful unto itself.
From the bottom of my heart, my dear friends, I wish all those celebrating the togetherness, delicious riches, and beauty of Thanksgiving a truly resplendent holiday, and hope that one and all the world over enjoy a beautiful last few days of the final full month of autumn.
