I’m a Vermonter by birth, a Yankee by blood, and a Scot at heart…I Love November.  November is my favorite month; preferably complete with bare, rain-lashed trees and smoke on the wind.  January rain in Edinburgh is a close second (except it is a city)

August is when the weather turns, no hint yet of fall in the air; but there are the cool, clear nights that hold the promise.  August is probably a happy compromise for most people.  Still emphatically summer; but the heat and humidity are easing; the twilight is lower, longer, and often colder.  You can still go to the beach and enjoy it; morever, if you are a beachgoer, a night bonfire becomes more enjoyable.  Thus satisfying those night-owls amongst you.

In some ways, August is also a time of reflection for gardeners here.  For the most part, whatever you have gotten done for This summer, this year, is done.  Whatever you do now is aimed at the future not the present.  That, for me, gives me a chance to reflect, to readjust, and to hope.  Not for tomorrow, but for next year.  Hoping for next year is old behaviour.  Next year….  That ability to hope for something so far away? A pretty amazing thing to be able to do.