Gray, dark, chilly and damp... that was all I was going to have to say about November. The title of this blog was slated to be "Not so much, November." The gray days and lack of sunlight was getting to me. 

However, some much needed rain and a rainbow delighted me on November 20. Originally, I headed out on the drizzly evening without a camera. Rain showers ensued. Then the sun appeared creating a brilliant spectacle on an otherwise dreary day. I ran across two or more acres to retrieve my camera. Thank goodness, it was all downhill. The dogs excitedly ran with me, apparently thinking I was in hot pursuit of some prey. 

I'm sure I was quite the sight in a bright yellow rain slicker running in the rain. The rainbow was a gracious surprise and a delightful detour from the gray skies. 

Earlier in the month I was surprised by some other rainbow-colored phenomenon. 

"A sun dog is similar to a rainbow and more common," wrote author James J. Garriss in an article about sun dogs posted on www.almanac.com. He continued to explain that both rainbows and sun dogs are formed by moisture filtering the sunlight.

"A sun dog is seen about twenty-two degress (22°) to the left or right of the Sun. Sun dogs often form in pairs on either side of the Sun," Garriss wrote. 

One other interesting point was that to view a rainbow, one must look away from the sun, and, to view a sun dog, one would look toward the sun. 

Meanwhile as the days grew shorter, I found some solace in the flowers blooming in the basement. They basked in the artificial sun of some grow lights. The shortest day of the year will be Dec. 20 or Dec. 21 with only 9 hours, 13 minutes and 51 seconds of daylight. However, the earliest sunset is right around the corner on Dec. 7 and Dec. 8 at 4:50:41 p.m. 

The flowers had been able to enjoy the real sun and protection from the frost on the front porch. Lil' Bit also soaked up the sun on his hammock. However, December temperatures quickly cooled and even the porch became too cold for both the flowers and the cat. 

The lack of light for our evening walks was not helpful as far as photography. However, the dogs provided some inspiration. They also discovered a rather morbid surprise in early November.

It was the heavily decomposed remains of an eight-point buck that I had captured on the game camera several times this year.

They had visited the area where he lay about a week earlier, but I paid no mind as no one seemed to be rolling in or eating anything. However, the pungent odor of decay led me to check out the area. The buck was such an awesome photo subject even though I technically never snapped the shutter.

​I decided to call the Pennsylvania Game Commission and get a salvage permit. The cost was $10 a point.

The deer was so far gone, I only obtained the head. While talking with the game wardens, I said I watched the buck on camera and never named him. One of them suggested "Louie," and the name stuck. I was able to show them some photos of Louie before his demise. Louie in some earlier photos had what appeared to be a wound on his left check that would heal and then open again.

The wardens surmised that this or possibly a bad shot led to his death. There wasn't much left of Louie to tell that story. So, while holding my breath, I attempted to clean Louie up as much as I could. However, I left most of that job to a local taxidermist and his skull-cleaning beetles. 

I planned on doing a European skull mount as there was really no flesh left to persevere. Louie's skull should be ready in a few months. In the meantime, I decided to gather photos of Louie from this year.

​I hope to mount them in an old window frame somewhere near the skull. Louie deserved to on display even if nature didn't necessarily have those plans for him. 

While I wait for the return of Louie, I'm still thankful for little surprises that help brighten my dreary days. My first snowfall with Milo and Otis was entertaining. Otis was willing to brave the weather and venture outside the pen. Milo, despite his longer coat, abhorred the snow and frantically called Otis to come back inside their shed. 

What kind of winter will it be? Here are three different opinions on the subject.

Both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and The Farmer’s Almanac cited that La Niña would have an impact on this winter season.
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The Climate Prediction Center, a division of NOAA’s National Weather Service released its outlook for December 2024 to February 2025 on Oct. 17. 

​“This winter, NOAA predicts wetter-than-average conditions for the entire northern tier of the continental U.S., particularly in the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes region, along with northern and western Alaska.

Meanwhile, drier-than-average conditions are expected from the Four Corners region of the Southwest to the Southeast, Gulf Coast and lower mid-Atlantic states,” the center stated in the post. 
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“This winter, an emerging La Niña  is anticipated to influence the upcoming winter patterns, especially our precipitation predictions,” said Jon Gottschalck, chief of the Operational Prediction Branch of the Climate Prediction Center. 

​“Unfortunately, after a brief period in the spring of 2024 with minimal drought conditions across the country, more than a quarter of the land mass in the continental U.S. is currently in at least a moderate drought,” said Brad Pugh, operational drought lead with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “And the winter precipitation outlook does not bode well for widespread relief.”

The report went on to forecast warmer-than-average temperatures for parts of the eastern Great Lakes and seaboard.
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It also predicted wetter-than average conditions in the Great Lakes state. 

Meanwhile, a graphic on the almanac’s site depicted that western Pennsylvania is on the fringes of both white and wet and mild and wet.

​While not everyone enjoys snow, the region could benefit from some form of precipitation. Early rain showers in April had Franklin’s total precipitation-to-date at 41.58 inches which was slightly above the normal of 39.82 inches.

However, the drought monitor continued to expand its listing of abnormally dry for most of Venango
County. The report released Nov. 7 showed an expansion of dry conditions throughout most of the state. 

At the beginning of November, Pennsylvania’s Drought Task Force declared a drought watch for 33 counties. Two counties, Schuylkill and Berks, were declared to be under a drought warning. 

Venango and other northern counties were not included in the watch. However, much of the state faced the risk of brush fires.

On Nov. 4, the Venango County Commissioners issued a burning ban for the entire county. Despite one tenth of an inch of rain earlier this week, the ban appeared to still be in effect. 

“Much of the Commonwealth is at a high risk for fire danger as a result of dry conditions, and it is critical that Pennsylvanians use extreme caution when handling fire or avoid any burning as these conditions persist,” Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said.
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More rain could be on the way on Sunday if weather forecasts pan out. 

​Franklin finished out October with 1.71 inches of rain which was more than two inches short of the average of 3.76 inches, according to National Weather Service data.

​However, Franklin’s precipitation-to-date was still running slightly above the normal of 39.82 inches with an accumulation of 41.58 inches since January 2024. 

​Franklin also ended October with warmer than normal temperatures. The average high for October 2024 was 65 degrees compared to a normal high of 61.4 degrees.
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Speaking of warmth, Franklin’s temperature for Nov. 5 reached 75.9 degrees, according to data from the National Weather Service station at the Venango Regional Airport. A later check of Franklin's monthly data listed 77 as the high for the day. It didn’t appear to be a record. The National Weather Services’ almanac showed that Franklin's highest temperature for Nov. 5 was 78 degrees in 1935. 

 However, the Pittsburgh office of the National Weather Service posted on its Facebook page some climate site that either tied or broke their record high temperature for Nov. 5.
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They included Pittsburgh: 81 degrees so far (previous record 80 degrees in 1948); Zanesville, Ohio: 82 degrees (79 degrees in 2022); New Philadelphia, Ohio: 80 degrees (79 degrees in 2022) and Dubois: 79 degrees (76 degrees in 2022).

​While the fall so far has been warm and dry, it remains to be seen what winter will bring.

I did spot a reportedly winter prognostication wooly bear caterpillar. It was predominantly light brown in color which supposedly meant a mild winter. It wasn’t wet, but it wasn’t raining. So, I couldn’t tell if there were any predictions on winter precipitation.

​That’s just the nature of things ‘round here.