The Mundane and the Exceptional

November is one of those months that can seem a little empty at the beginning. Garden work has ended for the most part. The harvest is over. The leaves have stopped falling and have been cleared away. At the end of the month things will get exciting when Thanksgiving launches us into the holiday season, but until then, things are usually pretty quiet. But it isn't a slow month. Time always seems to accelerate in November, December, and the first of January. The days speed by only to slam on the brakes in the new year and then slow to a crawl until spring arrives. So far November's weather has been pleasantly mild, but I know it won't last much longer. In November, the world starts cooling down, congealing, hardening like the water in our little lily pond. At first there's a bit of brittle ice along the edges. Then one morning there's a crust of thin ice over the whole surface that melts away during the day. And then the ice grows thick enough to stay. And then it's winter.

The only things that make the beginning of November interesting are the incidental events that come along. We had a few of them last week and a few more lie just ahead of us. But let me take you through my week, with all its mundanities and exceptions.

On Monday morning I had a dental appointment, just a regular check up and cleaning. I always go to the dentist with a sense of dread that they are going to discover something major that needs fixing. But not this time. They complimented me on my dental hygiene and sent me away with slippery clean teeth and a new toothbrush. I came home feeling triumphant.

I had a little garden work to do that day. The asparagus patch finally needed to be cut and cleared. The plants were brown and crisp. It was a chilly day and I knew rain was coming midweek, so I hurried and got it done as fast as I could. I cut them down and burned them. I like the look of the clean asparagus bed. I like to think how in the spring there will be all those delicious tender spears poking up from the soil.

Later that afternoon, when Miriam got home from school, we drove the truck out to our friend Rhoda Lent's farm and got a load of straw. We got ten bales. It was nice to see Rhoda. Back when she had dairy cows, we bought our milk from her. We drove home and distributed the straw bales -- two to the chicken coop for their winter floor cover, one to the pigs to make a warm bed, two to cover the garlic patch, one to cover the asparagus patch, and the rest stored away in the big barn for future use. Sunset was beautiful that evening.

Rhoda Lent's farm up on Sweden Hill.

The garlic patch covered.

The asparagus patch covered.

The beaver pond at sunset on Monday.

The big garden at sunset on Monday.

Tuesday, Election Day, started off strangely. I woke up extra early and couldn't go back to sleep. That made me feel out of kilter all morning. Then I read the morning news and that made things worse. There was so much hyperbolic back and forth, so much uncertainty and contention. It made me feel tense and unsettled. After the rest of the house was up and running I started to feel better. We read our morning scriptures and that helped to bring things into focus. We said our morning family prayer. It was my turn to pray and I asked for a blessing of peace and protection for our nation on such an important day. And then I went off to do the normal things I do. I went down to the barn and did the morning chores. I went out to the pigpen and fed the pigs their breakfast. I filled the bird feeders and then stood still and watched as the fearless little chickadees came down to feed with me standing just a foot away from them. That always gives me a little thrill. The sun, when it finally rose over the hills, was weakly warm. It was a fine late autumn morning. I wondered how things were going in the wider world far away from all my normalcy.

While the Fosters were getting established in their new house, Sarah set up a temporary work station in the music room for a few days until their internet was hooked up. She works remotely. She arrived that morning at 8:30 with their dog, Maverick, and that livened things up a lot. Maverick is a purebred Doberman. He's a handsome dog. He likes a bit of attention. He likes to find me every so often to put his head in my lap and get some ear scratches. It's fun having a dog in the house, but also nice that he goes back to his house at the end of the day.

Maverick.

During the day I tried to resist the temptation to watch the news. I succumbed at noon when I sat down to eat lunch. It was still all the frenzied reporting with no real substance, all conjecture and wild speculation. I turned it off again and went back to my ordered and quiet world. When Stacey and Hannah got home from work, we went to vote. Potter County is a pretty conservative county, like most of the counties in Pennsylvania outside the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas. I like going to vote. We go to the Ulysses Township building just up the road. We know all the ladies that work at the polling place and they know us. There is always a relaxed and friendly feeling there. There were several people ahead of us in line. There are just two voting machines. We chatted while we waited. They told us that the voter turnout had been good so far. I was voter 211 out of 426 registered voters in the township. They said that a lot more people would show up later when they all got home from work. When we finished, they gave us our "I Voted" stickers. It felt good to be part of the process.

Tuesday night Miriam and Hannah went down to the Foster's house to watch the election results on their television. Stacey and I watched for a while and then gave up and went to bed at 10:00. The girls didn't get home until after midnight. I didn't hear them come in.

I didn't know what to expect on Wednesday morning. I didn't check the news right away. I got up, showered, dressed, watered my houseplants, and then sat down at the computer to see what was going on in the nation. I half expected to find reports of rioting and unrest, but aside from one report from Seattle, all seemed quiet. Of course there was optimistic crowing from the victors and weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth from the vanquished. I was in the optimistic group, but I refrained from crowing. There were still people sleeping. And then I thought, now what? Will the contention and division go away? Will the nation heal itself and move forward? I think those times are past us. Our society seems to thrive on division and contention these days. But maybe things will change. I'm cautiously optimistic. And then I decided to step back from all the commotion and drama of national politics and get on with my day. The sunrise was lovely. The chickens and pigs were waiting for breakfast. I had work to do.

Sunrise on Wednesday.

As soon as the sun was up, the weather changed. As I was coming back from the barn, it began to rain. We needed the rain. The rivers and streams were all running low. The rain barrel down at the barn was empty. I'd been carrying water down from the house for a week. I was hoping for a nice steady day-long rain, but all we got was a few hours of drizzle. I spent the rest of the day indoors. I cleaned the closet in our bedroom, organized the shelves, moved my winter clothes -- flannel lined trousers, wool sweaters, my winter coat -- from the back of the closet to the front. Then I reorganized my dresser and switched my winter clothes -- long sleeved shirts, wooly socks, thermals -- to the upper drawer and moved my summer clothes to the lower one. The weather hasn't been cold enough to warrant wearing any of it yet, but it will soon and now I feel ready for it.

That evening, the Fosters arrived to have dinner with us. They have internet now, so Sarah's temporary work station is gone. They are still unpacking and organizing things at their house. It's great having them living just ten minutes away. I wish all my children lived closer.

Thursday was my usual errand day. I went to Genesee for a haircut. I went to Ulysses for hog feed. I think, I hope, this was the last time I need to buy hog feed. They're eating about 150 pounds of dry feed a week now, plus the slop that we give them. They go to the butcher on the 18th. They have been very ornery lately. They have pulled their trough loose from the fence where I had it secured and they push it all around their pen. When I need to feed them, I have to use a long handled hoe to pull it back to where I can reach it to dump slop into it. They have also jostled their dry feed bin loose and it is hanging cattywhampus from the fence. I'm ready to move them on to the next phase of their existence. Eight more days.

We have a special guest right now. My nephew Jake sent his oldest son Malachi on an adventure to visit us for two weeks. When Jake was fifteen years old, he spent a lot of time at our house in Frazer Park, California, and he wanted Malachi, who is fifteen, to experience a little Life With Uncle Dan and Aunt Stacey. Stacey drove up on Thursday night and picked Malachi up at the airport in Buffalo. When our niece Kailie, who is Malachi's aunt, found out he was going to be here, they decided to come up for the weekend. They all arrived Thursday night around midnight. So we've had a full house for the weekend. Malachi will be with us until the 20th.

Friday morning Stacey, Hannah, and Miriam went to work. That left me at home to make breakfast for our guests. I'm not the best at doing that sort of thing. I made what I'm good at making, scrambled eggs and toast, nothing fancy. After breakfast, I took Malachi on a property tour. Ian and Theo came along for part of it. We looked at the pigs and the chickens. I took Malachi to the farmhouse and showed him our food processing operation there. He thought the tree house was amazing. Jake wanted us to put Malachi to work while he was here and I welcomed having an available worker. That morning we went to work moving firewood onto the back porch. Malachi drove the mower with the wagon. We loaded eight wagonfuls, enough to last us a while.

Malachi in the tree house.

Woodpile on the back porch.

Stacey came home at 11:00 and took Malachi and the Murrays on a car tour. They went to a local sugar shack, the Amish bulk food store, and the dairy. That evening Hannah made her traditional Friday Night Homemade Pizza and gave Malachi a lesson on pizza making. 

At the sugar shack.

Pizza lesson.

Dinner was delicious. The Fosters joined us. Afterward some of us played games.

Playing games after dinner.

On Saturday, Stacey took Malachi and the Murrays on an adventure north to Palmyra. They left right after breakfast and were gone all day. They went to the temple and did baptisms. Stacey took Malachi to the church history sites. They went to the Smith Farm and Sacred Grove, the Grandin Press, and the Hill Cumorah.

Malachi at the Grandin Press.

At the temple.

While they were gone, Miriam stayed home and watched the Murray's boy, Theo, and Hannah and I went down to the Foster's to help with more unpacking. There is still some construction work going on at their house, so they can't unpack everything yet. We moved their piano to its permanent spot and rearranged furniture and boxes. There's a lot still to do. Later the Fosters came over here and Sarah made dinner for us -- chicken tacos, rice, and refried beans. The day trippers arrived home at 7:00 and had a late dinner.

Sunrise this morning.

We were informed several weeks ago that there would be a power outage in Wellsville on Sunday the 10th of November. Without power, we couldn't use our chapel, so we canceled church. Instead, some branch members went to church at the ward in Olean. Most stayed home and had home church. That's what we did. We gathered at the usual time, 10:00. The Fosters and our friend Nancy Jones joined us. With our guests we made a little congregation of eleven. In Judaism, at least ten people are required to form a minyan, the minimum number needed to conduct a service. Christ taught that "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." We had more than two or three, and enough to form a minyan. We sang hymns and took the sacrament. Rather than having someone give talks, we had a discussion on our assigned lesson, a talk from the October General Conference by Bradley Wilcox, "O Youth of the Noble Birthright." It was a good meeting.

Sabbath morning, ready for home church.

Home church.

After our church meeting we had brunch. Hannah made her famous breakfast casserole of eggs, cheese, and sausage. Then the Fosters went home. They are returning to Toledo for a few days to take care of some business there. In a little while, the Murrays will depart for their home. Then things will settle in to the usual Sabbath quietude. The week ahead is uncharted territory. Miriam will be staying at the Fosters to take care of Maverick. Stacey has arranged for Malachi to work at the Christmas tree farm all week. That will leave me home alone through most of the day. I know I will find things to keep me busy, but right now I don't know what they will be. And I kind of like that. At the end of the week we are going down to the Thayn's house. Hazel and June are in a play and we will attend that on Saturday. The Journal will be delayed until we get back. So many things, mundane and exceptional, to fill the days of drab November.