Cold Mornings, Hot Sun

As we head for a quiet Thanksgiving, it has already been wintery for weeks. Here at elevation the season comes abruptly with hard freezes and overnight temperatures in the teens in October. No gentle frosts, no lingering slide into colder times, things in the garden end early and definitively.

We had thick scudding clouds yesterday, but almost all days in November can be very nice. The sun is usually still New Mexico hot. Even on a cold morning in the 30s, the sun on the red chairs beckons. 

I can sit out there with my coffee in hot sun and cold air and admire how the bright stems of redtwig dogwood (Cornus stolonifera 'Arctic Fire') match the chairs. 

I can sit with my back to the brown-leaved potted Japanese maple and not have to look at it. Bought specifically for its scarlet fall foliage, this Japanese maple only turns rusty brown for me (it's the one I am planting out in the front yard in spring. The dog walkers and passersby can look at its brown foliage, I won't have to see it while having my coffee.)

Facing east, I do get to look at the brand new 'Sugar Tyme' crabapple just planted last month. As a baby tree it is filled with crabapples that shine in the cold morning sun.

We're in covid lockdown in New Mexico again. After a well managed spring and summer with the virus under control, cases have now skyrocketed and deaths have risen and all non-essential businesses are closed. Shopping, restaurants, museums, all closed. Even some of the major grocery stores are closed, as they had too many employees test positive. There is no toilet paper to be had. 

With gardening finished, nowhere to go, and no one to see, the highlight of my days is to sit on the deck in the mornings in chilly air, with the sun on my face. It's not the beauty of summer or the soft close of fall, but it's very, very nice.