Don't pinch, the weather might change

This was originally written in the fall of 2011. I have updated a few things including adding a new picture taken on a much nicer day three years later than the original one. There is more recent information about fall on the Carolina coast at this link.

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I still have memories of the 2009 fall and 2011 fall seasons which even in their niceness were not exactly up to my standards of fall at the beach. Admittedly I have some high expectations of beach weather, but the weather especially in the fall along the Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina usually delivers more than I expect even if I am not dreaming.

Having some lingering warmth in the fall is to be expected along the Carolina coast near Bogue Sound, but it usually isn’t this consistent.

The fall of 2011 has been very similar to the first three fall seasons that we enjoyed after we moved here in 2006. However, this year might have given us one of the nicest Novembers that I have seen anywhere. On Sunday November 20 it was over seventy degrees Fahrenheit before 10 AM in Bluewater Cove where we live.

I have been out in my kayak several days this week. My uniform has been shorts and tee shirt on every trip, and I have yet to need a jacket. We have had couple of nights when I had to cover my tomato plants, but a reasonable person would likely have pulled up their tomato plants a while back. However, I did have fresh from the vine cherry tomatoes in my breakfast this morning.

With sunny blue skies, light breezes, and warm temperatures, there is little room for complaint. The last couple of falls, the fishing season has not been great. This year even with a visit from Hurricane Irene, the fishing has been good.

This week we enjoyed a nice trout dinner and another meal of fresh flounder a couple of days later. I always wanted to have fish in my backyard, and the Crystal Coast has given me that opportunity. What has really been nice is that I have caught something each time that I have been out over the last couple of weeks.

While I still maintain that fish are optional for enjoying yourself in a setting as nice as our area, it is nice to be rewarded for your efforts once in a while. Yesterday there was hardly any wind on the river, and I had to work a little for my trout, but I still had fun and enjoyed paddling around the river in the warm sunshine.

The evening before I took our skiff out in the river to capture a picture of the sunset on the White Oak. While my bare hands got a little cold on the stainless steel steering wheel, it was the coolest day of the week, and I didn’t even zipper up my light jacket.

I’m looking forward to November ending as nicely as it has been up until this point. According to my calculations the average high temperature through the first nineteen days of the month is 68F and the average low is 44F. Today is not going to hurt the average, we’re already to 74F just before 1 PM.

While most of our centipede yard is having its winter nap, we do have a small patch of grass that is still growing along with some beautiful geranium blooms and a fine crop of pansies and some smiling violas. While the patch of centipede does not hold a candle to late fall bluegrass in the mountains of Virginia, at least it does not have to be mowed in December like bluegrass.

Our coastal flowers certainly add a nice touch to fall and most of them are with us until late spring. Of course part of the point of having nice weather is enjoying it so with Sunday November 20 looking so nice, I think we’ll head over to the beach for a short walk. What better way is there to enjoy a nice November day than to go for a beach walk? Maybe we will find the beach looking as spectacular as it did on November 7.

I cannot think of anything better than an anticipated late November beach walk except maybe the potential of a New Year’s Day beach walk in the heart of winter. Our area is filled with beauty and surprises even during November. The don’t-pinch-me weather, the drop-dead gorgeous scenery, and the excitement of something new around every corner are just some of the reasons why we love living here in Carteret County.

Read more at Life Along The Crystal Coast.