Wintering In

We must be in winter now even though I haven't turned on the heat yet. I know it must be winter because all the leaves are falling off of everything and there is frost on the green lawn in the morning and we don't have to mow EVERY weekend - just every OTHER weekend - and everyone in the grocery store has hats, gloves, coats and scarves on. And most telling of all..... everyone is talking about how COLD it is! Now, I realize that I am not a native Mainer... not even a native New Englander made of good granite. But I did grow up in upstate NY and lived in Maine for 12 years. And it was definitely cold there. I mean in the minuses-in-the-middle-of-the-day cold. So when the house is 65 in the morning and 70 in the evening, it is NOT cold... yet. I went to the quilting group again today. This lovely group of older ladies came all bundled up with winter wear and made lots of tea to warm their hands and talked about the damp and cold. And I smugly smiled and said, "This isn't really that cold." Oh you just have thicker blood, they told me. We have lived in California all our lives and aren't used to the cold. One lady, who is in her 80's, said her parents lived in San Francisco when the original "Big One" hit. Her father had to patrol for looters while her mother stayed home. And she also described a trip to New England for the fall foliage. She said that she FROZE while there. I just smiled and nodded and felt..... well..... a bit superior... like I'm made of sturdier stuff...... until my friend sitting next to me said, "Well, you are wearing a turtleneck sweater and down vest..." Oh yes.... but I have NO SLEEVES on the vest. I stopped smiling so much. It does feel like late October here. Our fig tree has lost all its leaves. But before all the leaves fell off, a few brave little figs tried to grow. So now they hang on bare branches looking like little testicles blowing in the wind. And the doves - flocks of them!- can be seen sitting in the tree. I am told that it will rain alot in winter. But I don't think it has started yet. And Mark continues to bike to work despite MANY comments about how brave he is to ride in this FRIGID weather. They don't realize that he is, like me, made of sterner stuff.