Fall

Today is the first day of fall and it’s bright and sunny in San Francisco.   It usually doesn’t feel fall-like until about November.  But this year we started with a front moving through and a big blast of rain yesterday.  Unusually early for us, but reminding us that even Northern California can sometimes conform to the calendar.  Above are two pieces from the 2011 Project — Nor’Easter (we don’t have those in California, but the sky looked a lot like that yesterday) and Listopad one of my favorite pieces from the 2011 Project.

November 4, 2011 – Nor’easter

Last weekend I was on Cape Cod when the first storm of the winter hit. And it was a real winter storm with record-breaking snow (except on the coast). It was early for winter and served as a reminder of why I live in California. The morning after, we stopped at Sandy Neck Beach on Cape Cod Bay. I snapped some photos as the remainder of the storm blew out to sea. Windy, cold and incredibly beautiful, the beach completely swallowed by the surf. A few minutes outside and I had sand in my teeth.

An hour later we were in Stop & Shop. The day before Halloween but everyone was already wearing a mask. The mask was that miserable face they get in New England and will now be wearing for the next six months. They’ll tell you how they love winter as a way of trying to get through it. But their faces tell the truth. The next day I was on a plane home to California with a window sear to watch the snow below.