Winter's First Dusting, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Yes, technically, winter is still three weeks away - but the sky doesn't pay much attention to the calendar - our first light dusting of the seasonal delight has occurred.  Priscilla Beach Theatre, clad in its new exterior is shown above with a light coating of snow.

And elsewhere in Manomet, a small unfrozen pond also welcomes the dusting. Regardless of the cold, the shoveling, the slush, the slippery roads and walks, a fresh snowfall is ALWAYS beautiful.

Thanksgiving Parade, Part 2 of 2, America's Hometown, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

This is part two of images from this year's Thanksgiving Parade. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves - it is, after all, a parade like parades all over the world. People, floats, animals, music, soldiers, flags, uniforms - people have brought these things to parades for thousands of years.

This horse turned purposefully towards me.......

....and then tapped out/scratched out something with his hoof - perhaps he was saying, "get out of the street and stop being in the way of the parade marchers."

It was Santa waving goodbye that marked the end of the parade. It was a beautiful day for a joyous parade - a brief annual moment to stop and celebrate thanks for everything in life.

Thanksgiving Parade, Part 1 of 2, America's Hometown, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

With a crowd of up to 200,000 spectators, Plymouth's Thanksgiving Parade was held on a beautiful sunny fall day.  As start time approached, many spectators took up positions on Cole's Hill opposite the reviewing stand at the waterfront at the end of the parade route.

The usual merchandise sellers were plying the crowd were their plastic stuff.

Folks were bundled up against the cold sitting in the shade.

These folks even brought their blankies.

But if you sat on the other side of the parade route, you were in warm sunshine.

These two folks are part of a popular Boston television station morning news team and served as grand marshalls for the parade.

So on with the parade........

Although today we celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November, according to Brian O'Donovan, of PBS's Christmas Celtic Sojourn fame, "the first Thanksgiving was actually celebrated on February 21. In the fall of 1621, the pilgrims had just arrived in the New World and had no idea how wild a New England winter would be. Many of them starved and the thought of heading back to Europe was prevalent. On February 20th, an Irish ship called The Lyon arrived and delivered much needed provisions to those who survived the winter. The ship was sent by a Dublin merchant whose daughter was married to one of the pilgrims. Grateful for their salvation, the pilgrims dubbed the 21st as "a day of much thanksgiving." I'm not sure how it got moved to November........ 

Walking Around, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

What makes a good walk? The three d's: distance, duration, and difficulty - each of the three vary depending on ability and mood. A good walk consumes a finite amount of time and can neither be hurried nor slowed appreciably.  It's a good time investment in any case - for health and peace of mind.

I don't normally think of blue leaves as a fall color but, these hydrangeas sure look blue to me.

No one seems to have taken up residence in this birdhouse. Not sure what's wrong with it - it has a nice location. At least the squirrels occasionally sit on top of it.

Nature's original hot dogs on a stick.

Fall on a small pond. (Panorama - click on image to view in full width).

This is either a large pumpkin far away or, a small pumpkin close up.

Reflections at the old Drummond Cottage.

This is likely the last yellow clump of color for the season.