{"id":2704,"date":"2025-12-03T00:04:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T00:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/?p=2704"},"modified":"2025-12-03T00:04:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T00:04:13","slug":"secret-love-affair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/?p=2704","title":{"rendered":"Secret Love Affair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A young buck stands in the glow of a November afternoon.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Now that November has come and gone, I confess, I have a secret love affair. I\u2019ve had it since I was a young boy growing up in NE Pennsylvania, and continues as a much older, young boy. It occurs at this time of the year, after the brilliant colors of October\u2019s fall foliage have faded, and before the commercialization of December\u2019s holidays are front and center. On the calendar, it was called November-a month for elections, to recognize and thank all of our past and present service men and women, and of course, to gorge on as many delicious side dishes to accompany our turkey on Thanksgiving. But November holds so much more. It’s a time of beauty and quiet, providing a link between autumn and winter. Some years it gives us warm t-shirt weather, while other years it reminds us of what’s to come, with bitter cold temps and snow. It’s nature in transition. I\u2019m lucky to have it ingrained in my memory-the sights, sounds and even smells of nature in this \u201cshoulder season.\u201d From the mighty oaks holding their crimson leaves on the mountainsides, to the golden fields of seed heads still displaying summer\u2019s grasses and wildflowers. Nature in November refuses to yield to winter\u2019s coming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By November, Oaks are one of the only deciduous trees left that still have leaves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Grasses and Wildlflowers from a summer past<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a birder, it\u2019s also an exciting month for new bird arrivals. November brings a return of some of the winter residents to our backyard birdfeeders, such as Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows demonstrating their two-footed \u201ckick scratching\u201d technique in the leaves that blanket the ground. Or the increased activity for our three seed-grabbing bird species of Chickadees, Titmice and Nuthatches constantly snatching sunflower seeds from dawn to dusk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n