"Dreams can't come true without first dreaming...there is no harvest without first sowing seed"
 
James J Steele

November Observations

Thanksgiving at The Cove… let’s take a look at the November Observations at the Cove…

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JANUARY | FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL | MAY | JUNE| JULY | AUGUST | SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER | NOVEMBER | DECEMBER

November Flora…

Leaves of maples, gums, grapes, and more turning color, Golden Raintree finishing its yellow blooms and showing the reddish colored seed pods. Colors seemed to begin changing by the 20th of the month and were still strong by end of the month. Mexican Mint Marigold in bloom, Heavy fog in mornings, mosquitos and gnats plentiful.  There is a heavy acorn drop this year ( 2015). Pecan trees in the area have dropped their leaves by now.  Mullein in bloom is beginning to be seen along the roadsides. Pine Cones are more numerous than in any other year (2017)

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November Fauna…

November mornings begin early. At dawn, the resident Sand Hill Cranes call each day throughout the pond. Hawks are very active, especially in the morning and during the day. Owls are predominant in the early morning and later evening.  Squirrels and moles have proliferated this year, in part due to Gillis becoming an indoor cat.  Mosquitos and gnats are a big problem due to all the water we have had. Armadillos and squirrels are quite active.  Haven’t seen as many turkeys this year ( 2016 )  Sandhill Cranes have returned by the 19th of this year ( 2017 )

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November Celestial Observations…

November’s full moon, known as the Beaver Moon will rise November 4th around 1:23 A.M. EDT. November’s full Moon was called the Beaver Moon by both the colonists and the Algonquin tribes because this was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. The Pleiades always rises in the east before 7 PM and is nicely up after 8 PM. In the late evening, the constellation of Taurus then appears in the east, giving stargazers the opportunity to observe the two beautiful star clusters known as the Hyades and Pleiades. Mercury is now an early evening object, setting about an hour or so after sunset by month’s end. Venus starts the month rising about 90 minutes before dawn, which reduces to about 60 minutes by the month’s end. Mars is also an early morning object, rising at about 04:00 (GMT) during all of November. Uranus is visible almost throughout the night in the constellation Pisces. The Taurids meteor shower is associated with the comet Encke and produces bright, but slow-moving meteors. It has two peaks, the first of which is expected to occur overnight on the 5th /6th, while the second peak is expected overnight on the 12th /13th. The second peak is expected to be the more productive of the two. The Leonids meteor shower is expected to peak on the 19th but will be best seen almost throughout the night of the 17th /18th when about 20 or so meteors per hour are expected. Note that moonlight will not intrude this year. The Leonids derive from the debris trail of the comet Temple-Tuttle, which orbits the Sun once every 33 years. The next major Leonid meteor storm is therefore only expected toward the late 2020s.

 

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