Thirty mile-per-hour (14 mps) winds have arrived in the North Cape and made it clear they’re blowing Autumn out of 2011. The golden birch leaves are swirling up towards the heavens and disappearing for good, and the surrounding mountains look like they’ve been sprinkled with powdered-sugar snow. In Honningsvåg, where winters can last seven months, I’ve been deliberate in appreciating the precious 1 and a half to 2 months of Fall.
In the children’s book, Frederick, by Leo Lionni, Frederick the mouse, savors all the beauty of the pleasant sunny days, and poetically recalls them when the cold of winter has settled in and he and his fellow mice need some cozy memories to warm their spirits. So like Frederick, I’m going to cling to the images of the beautiful Autumn we’ve experienced this year.
Good bye, Autumn. I’ll miss you. But now it’s time to get out my down parka, an extra layer of wool and greet Winter with a teeth-gritted smile. Brrrrr!
Everyday life in the North Cape & North of Norway 