Ask an Alaskan which month they dislike most, and you'll likely hear January, February, April, or November ... for a variety of reasons that come back to two factors: darkness and snow. The latter can be either lack of snow or snow that lingers too long.
November is the month I find to be too long. Snow is unpredictable while the nights are guaranteed to be getting long as we plummet toward the winter solstice (also known as the longest night of the year). Throughout most of the winter, the presence of snow brightens up the night by reflecting light from stars, moon, and street lights. Without the snow, the night seems to suck up any light that's out there. In a good November, snows arrive early and remain on the ground. Early snows also bring activities that we haven't done in 6 months, like skiing, snowshoeing, and sledding.
This has not been a good November. Temperatures have been above normal, with an average above freezing. The second week looked promising, with some light snowfalls that frosted the trees. Paul fired up the snowblower and we finally put away the last flower pots and lawn furniture. I even strapped on my cross-country skis one day to make tracks in fresh powder. Then the winds whipped up from the Gulf of Alaska, bringing warm temperatures and rain. So we string colorful LED lights on the house to brighten up the nights until the snows return or December arrives.
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