Tail End of November

It’s amazing how fast this month has come and gone. So much has been happening, it’s hard not to be left a little dizzy by it all. A Thanksgiving Day storm allowed only one of my brothers to come for dinner. It was a quiet meal as we avoided politics and stuck to mundane topics like odd family relatives, cat hijinks and how easy it really is to replace the battery in a watch.

The weather in the earlier part of the month was mild enough to I was able to snap this picture in mid-November of a dandelion plant, near the edge of the road, sprouting a pair of bright yellow flowers.

dandelions in November

There have been enough frost so that it’s unlikely pollinators will be visiting these blossoms. But dandelions are rugged little beings. If they could talk, they would say “We don’t need no stinking pollinators.” They can self fertilize and set seed. The seeds can lie dormant in the soil for up to five years before sprouting. The plant can re-sprout from bits of small taproot left in the ground. No matter what you do to them, they can bounce back from any blow.

Now there’s snow staying on the ground so winter is here, at least for now. But take a lesson from the dandelion. It’s possible to bounce back from anything. If a lowly weed can do it, so can we.

Peace and long life.

Columbia, Spirit of Liberty