We opened the cellar door, and there, stretched all the way across the doorstep, and then some, lay a beautiful, spotted milk snake, enjoying a last sunbath. It had a row of big cocoa-brown spots exquisitely edged in black, on a creamy tan background. It may have really needed the sun’s warmth to activate its cold-blooded muscles for the last imperative of the year.

Sunday, Nov. 20: We had a sunny morning and off and on during the afternoon. It clouded up during the afternoon hours, and we saw it snowing. It started with big flakes. Then it came down in a thick shower.

Dreary, rainy, and windy, that seems to be the pattern of the early December weather. As I write this column, over 2,000 Central Maine Power Co. customers from Bremen, Waldoboro, Bristol and beyond are without power. For many, this is the second or third time without power in a little over a week. So far, mid-afternoon on Saturday, Fogler, Lessner, and Benner roads seem to be fairing okay; but the whitecaps on Biscay at the moment are impressive, and the old white pine trees are swaying mightily in the winds. It would be a good afternoon for a good, old-fashioned nap!