Full disclosure- I usually hate November. It is my least
favourite month of the year, and I even have a birthday in November!
November is the transition
month between a beautiful fall and winter. In Ontario It is cold and damp-
sometimes it snows, as it did for the Grey Cup. But generally, it creates havoc
for drivers trying to adapt to changing conditions and ordinary folks trying to
determine what coat to wear- raincoat, windbreaker, fall or parka!
November in Yellowknife is awesome. It snows and it is cold.
It is predictable and beautiful.
November in Ontario in usually characterized by the colour
grey. Grey skies, grey streets, grey
snow (if there is any). In Yellowknife November is white- brilliant, sparkly
white. Aiden keeps trying to take videos to show his friends of how the snow
literally sparkles on the roads. When there is moisture in the air we get the
effect of all the trees, bushes and plants being frosted with spectacular ice
crystals. It reminds me of the white witch’s Narnia. Unlike freezing rain that
destroys everything in Ontario, these ice crystals barely bend even the most
delicate plants.
It does get cold in November we had a couple of days where
it was -38 with the wind chill. I bundled up- and except for my calves which
did not have any extra layer of protection (other than wool long underwear)
they were a little cold. However, the rest of me was warm and dry. In fact, a little
too warm. I had to pull down my buff (scarf) because my face was getting too
hot. Of course, it was back up after a minute
or two, but I was surprised at how much heat you generate walking in the cold. The
other bonus of super cold weather is when it isn’t -30 it feels warmer. One day
after coming home for lunch, I was leaving and thinking “do I really need mitts?” because it felt so
lovely out. It
The light in November does goes quickly. We go from sun up
at 8:15 am and down at 4:16 pm to a 9:30 am sunrise and 3:20 pm sunset by the
end of the month. About six minutes shorter every day – until the winter solstice
when it will get lighter at the same rapid pace. In Ontario the sunrise at the
start of the month was 7:00 am and the sunset at 5:00 pm. The amount of change
per day starts at 2 minutes 30 seconds and drops to 1 minute 30 seconds by the
end of the month. Like Ontario we also drop the amount of change each day, but
we still end up at four minutes at the end of the month. Resulting in much darker,
much faster.
The bonus to these late sunrises is I get to watch them. The
sunrises are gorgeous. And while I saw them in Ontario, I was often rushing to get
ready or in the car on the way to work. Here I have lots of time before work
and I therefore have the luxury of getting to watch the sun come up over the
lake and the houseboats.
I also get to see the
moon set. Today the moon is almost full and practically yellow in the sky. It
was hanging over the airport when I got up and has slipped below the horizon
now. There were times in Ontario I would see the moon setting but it didn’t
seem to happen very often. Here I notice it almost everyday. Part of that is sitting
up very high on a hill, I imagine if you lived in a house surrounded by other
houses and trees you would not get the same views.
For me this has been one of the best Novembers, a November
that knows what it is and doesn’t
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