This mid-fall interval is one of exceptional darkness and light.
Halloween speaks for itself. (Boo, it says.)
Later that same night, we (or A.I.) will change our clocks back to standard time. They used to try to bamboozle us with the message that we gain an hour, but we are not fooled. We gain that hour for one night only. In exchange, we lose an hour of afternoon light every day for the next four months.
The weather lady on Channel 5 said that sunset on Nov. 1 will be at 4:37 p.m. That won’t improve until the middle of March, when the new Congress has been installed (we hope) and taken their brooms (we hope) to begin cleaning some of the grime and muck out of Washington.
Nov. 2, you will recall, is the Day of the Dead. Does anyone here celebrate?
Then, of course, there is the mid-term election next Tuesday. If you haven’t voted early, your last chance to express your opinions is at the public safety building on State Road on election day until 8 p.m. My fingers are crossed for a dazzling display of luminescence when those results roll in across the country, in the middle of the night
And, I am glad to note, it will be the end of ads on TV for candidates running for office in New Hampshire.
Meanwhile, we are living on a rock bathed in light. At this time of year, our Island home shimmers with daylight that is crystalline, bright and pure. The ferns in our garden have dropped dead quite suddenly, mowed down by pockets of frost. But the humidity has eased, the air has cleared and, voila, the sunlight can be dazzling.
One of the most attractive features of our yard is a cluster of ornamental grass, tall and graceful, waving tawny feather-like tails high in the air, and thriving at the corner of the wood shed. The plant was a sprig, a gift from Sue Silva about 25 years ago. Sue was then an elected member of the town’s planning board, and I was the board’s hired help. Sue, who died at home last winter, was the donor of many such gifts around the community, frequently the source of those robust bouquets you had seen at the post office or Howe’s House. Her family will host a celebration of Sue’s life at the Grange Hall next Saturday, Nov. 7, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Candle power is enough to illuminate the tables of birthday celebrants throughout the coming week. Happy birthday to Hermine Hall on Sunday, Nov. 1. Across town, we wish a happy birthday to Jerry Gallagher on Monday, Nov. 2. Celebrating on Nov. 4 is Rob Gilbert. And on Thursday, Nov. 5, Liz Witham and Harvey Mazer will be stars of the day.
Congratulations and happy wedding anniversary to Beckie and Doug Finn on Monday, Nov. 2.